


Avatar: Synergy

by MrMander



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-11 13:59:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 98
Words: 539,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3328922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrMander/pseuds/MrMander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Korra passes, a new foe wielding the long-forgotten power of Energybending wipes out the White Lotus and threatens all who would support the next Avatar. Born into a world that fears the Energybender more than it respects the Avatar, the new Avatar, Sen, must master the four elements in secret, and eventually uncover the mysteries of Energybending. Complete!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Culling the Lotus

The Grand Lotus shuffled his papers around on the podium once more. The preparation was taking longer than he'd expected, and his speech would have to be delayed.

Problems like this were to be expected, considering the scale of the endeavor. Order members were being gathered from across the globe to the new base in Ba Sing Se, so some complications were inevitable. Still, this was meant to be a climactic moment, and it shouldn't have to suffer just because some guard was late getting to his post.

After a long, awkward pause, and several re-shuffling's of his notes, a Lotus Sentry on the other side of the room gave him the all clear. The Grand Lotus gave a call to order, silencing the White Lotus agents who had begun to converse amongst themselves during the wait. They fell into silence as his voice carried out over loudspeakers across the hall.

"Order of the White Lotus," He began. "After many years, we are once again called to serve in the manner of our forebears."

Needlessly theatrical, this speech was, but the Order had been founded on ideals of poetry and beauty. They still liked to throw in a little embellishment now and then.

"With the death of Avatar Korra four years behind us, it is time to focus our efforts on the discovery and safeguarding of the new Avatar, as Avatar Aang tasked our predecessors. We have been working with the United Earth Kingdoms these past five years to gather information on all children of appropriate birthdate. A list of potential Avatar incarnates has been rigorously assembled and verified. Order Representatives will soon be dispatched to villages across the region to watch for signs of the Avatar."

The wind started to howl outside. Gusts slipped through open windows and sent a chill through the room.

"The new generation is upon us. This may seem a time of excitement and new purpose, but I urge you to carry out your duty solemnly and with dignity. The coming of a new Avatar often heralds the coming of new dangers as well. Always remember your purpose."

The wind screamed again outside, but the Order of the White Lotus screamed louder, with every member declaring their oath in unison.

"To protect the Balance," They screamed.

The wind screamed back.

With a shrieking howl and a heavy crack, the stone wall of the White Lotus assembly hall split in two, shattering to pebbles under the force of a screaming maelstrom, wind focused into a destructive hurricane. Debris and men alike were flung into the air and scattered before the storm.

Caught off-guard but not unprepared, it took little time for the White Lotus to mount a defense. Airbenders began to counter the gusting winds while earthbenders hurled heavy stones into the core of the storm, hoping to strike whatever Bender hid at the center. But as the massive stones hurtled towards their mark, the storm only took on new life. Gouts of lightning shot forth, following the trajectory of the attacking stones, striking those that launched them with burning fury. Soon the lightning strikes began to follow their marks to airbenders countering the storm, and any other who tried to halt the advance of the storm.

It thundered towards the center of the hall, catching anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path in a twisting gale, and striking those who stayed away with white-hot lightning. The Lotus did what they could, but even the attacks that managed to pierce the tornado seemed to have no effect. There were likely firebenders and waterbenders hidden within, deflecting attacks from their White Lotus counterparts.

The storm raged for a while, consuming the White Lotus who dared to stand in its way, but as the numbers of its opponents dwindled, so did the storms fury. Eventually, as the last of the Lotus acolytes fell, the howling winds faded to nothing. Only the Grand Lotus and his personal entourage stood witness to what was within.

A half dozen hooded figures, dressed in an unrecognizable uniform, but clearly marked in shades of yellow, red, green, and blue, to indicate the four elements. Then two figures in grey, one standing tall and proud, the other only a child, confused and anxious, likely no older than twelve.

"What do you want," The Grand Lotus demanded. He was in no position to demand anything, but he wouldn't falter in the face of what was undoubtedly yet another megalomaniac with a grudge against the Avatar.

"I want to make a demonstration," The tall grey figure said. His hood obscured much of his face, but a grey beard was visible beneath the hanging fabric.

His head turned subtly, scanning the room. There were four High Lotuses flanking the Grand Lotus. He raised his hands with fingers bent like claws, aligning each with one of the four Lotuses. Then with a fierce and sudden movement, he pulled his hands back.

There was a sound like howling again, but not like wind or wolf or any mortal force. It was an unnatural sound, sharp and painful to the ear. The Grand Lotus covered his ears, but it did nothing to dull the shrieking. He looked to his left, and saw the eyes of his subordinates droop as they fell into unconsciousness. The howling seemed to come from within them and around them at once.

The ones around the grey figures seemed deaf to the howling, or perhaps merely used to it. Even the child stood still as the horrendous noise tore through the air, tore through the bodies of the four High Lotuses, and eventually fell silent.

When the horrid howling stopped, the Grand Lotus finally regained his composure and stood to face his opponent. The others soon regained themselves as well, and returned to his side, for all the good they could do.

"Strike me," The hooded figure said.

The grand lotus and his companions remained motionless. There was a pause, which seemed all the more silent for the terrible noise that had come before it.

One of the High Lotus, a firebender, hesitantly eyed the child, but found his resolve soon enough. He could create lightning in this pause, and hopefully end this before it became even worse.

He gathered his strength and composed himself, resolving the possibility of wounding the child with the necessity of striking down this attacker, balancing his cause and his motivation, the dark and light. He drew on his center of balance, drawing chi along his arm, towards his finger, to its eventual purpose. He aimed at the grey one.

Nothing.

"You will stand witness," The grey one said, staring down the silent fingertips of the Lotus. "All but you."

He looked to the Grand Lotus. The others flailed, lashing out at the grey one with futile stances and strikes, unable to connect to the elements around them.

"The world will know that this is no parlor trick or deception."

The blue and green companions of the grey one struck out, ceasing the flailing's of the Lotus by trapping them in prisons of stone and ice. The heads were left exposed, facing towards the Grand Lotus as the grey one made his approach. Forcing them to watch as he placed his hand on the Grand Lotus' chest, forced to watch as he clenched his fist as if gripping some intangible fabric.

And then they were forced to watch as the grey one pulled, drawing with him a cobalt sheet of energy, glimmering yet somehow immaterial. They watched him pull as the color faded from the Grand Lotus' eyes and the blood faded from his veins.

"This is power."

With a final pull the spectral cobalt was torn from the Grand Lotus with a brief and horrifying sound like tearing meat from a bone. He fell to the ground, hollow and lifeless. The grey one ignored the lifeless corpse he had created and turned to his captive audience.

"No questions?" He said. It was almost a joke.

He grabbed the firebender who had tried to strike him by the chin and stared into his eyes. The hooded man's face was weathered and wrinkled, but still somehow youthful, as if he had aged before his time.

"No one will shelter the Avatar," he said. His eyes met the firebenders. His pupils were gray and ragged. "No one will hide him, train him, or protect him. Or they will answer to me. The Energybender."

With a flick of his wrist, he rendered all four of his captives unconscious. They would wake eventually, to spread his word. For now, he had a moment of privacy.

"Leave us," he said to his followers. Only the child remained behind as his minions retreated into the night, vanishing forever from the ruined hall.

The young boy looked around the devastation around him, the lifeless bodies and the ruined stone. Spectators had begun to gather outside the fearsome ruins that they had created.

"This was a waste," he said. He was trying to be stoic, but his elder could sense pain behind his words.

"This was necessary," the Energybender said. "Our power isn't limitless. We have to scare them, make them afraid to support the Avatar, or he might find allies that would let him overpower us."

He paused for a moment and surveyed his hands. They hadn't been this worn down an hour ago. He had improved on the techniques he had learned from his father, who had learned from his father, but across three generations, none of their family had found a way to counteract the damage Energybending dealt to the soul. Hopefully his younger brother would be able to finish their mission before the toll consumed him as it had their father and grandfather, and would eventually consume him.

"It will fall on you to finish this, brother."

"I know," the younger brother replied. "Find the Avatar. Finish what grandfather started."

"At any cost," his older brother concluded.


	2. The Hidden Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orphaned and alone, the new Avatar awakens and finds an ally. The Energybender begins his hunt.

The Beaker Hall orphanage never had quite enough food for everyone. After the Harrowing of the Lotus twelve years ago, orphanages had been swarmed with a sudden surge of abandoned children as cowardly parents rid themselves of children who might one day become the Avatar. Many orphanages had been unwilling to keep the same children out of fear of the Energybender, and so the abandoned generation all came to rest in a few highly secure facilities inside cities like Ba Sing Se or Omashu.

As mealtime began, the horde of sixteen year olds ate in silence. As the world resented them, they resented each other. Everyone knew that only one person, the potential Avatar, was to blame for their condition, everyone else was suffering for no reason. It was difficult to make friends when one day you might wake up and find out your best friend was responsible for every bad thing that had ever happened to you.

Two of the orphans in the corner got into a fight over more food. The argument eventually devolved into a fistfight. If there was anything the people in charge of this orphanage were thankful for, it was that everyone was too afraid to even attempt bending. If you could bend, that meant you were more likely to be the Avatar, and people hated you even more.

The fight was broken up, and oppressive silence returned to the dining hall. This was a joyless place, quiet and drab. Children their age were meant to chat and boast and flirt with one another, but the Avatar had robbed them of that chance. There were no friends or lovers in this place; only enemies.

Then the door slammed open. The kids put their heads down by instinct. Every few months someone barged in to yell at them, and they'd learned how to deal with it. They had been suffering like this for twelve years.

The Headmaster wasn't the most caring person in the world, but he was decent enough to try and shield his wards from random attacks. He stormed down the stairs and confronted the intruder.

"Just who do you think you are, barging in here like this? You think these kids haven't put up with enough already."

"Relax," the brutish intruder said. Several of his compatriots came through the door. "We aren't going to break anyone permanently. "

Suddenly outnumbered, the Headmaster became much less protective.

"And what do you intend to do?"

"We plan on saving these kids," The bandit said sarcastically. "We find the Avatar here, we'll sell them to the Energybender, and all these kids' worries disappear."

The bandit had no idea if the Energybender actually had a bounty on the Avatars head, but if he was capable of wiping out one of the most powerful organizations in the world, he was capable of paying out for a prize as valuable as the Avatar. If nothing else, he'd get on the good side of the most powerful person in the world. He turned to address his backup.

"Club 'em," he commanded. "If their eyes start to glow, they're ours."

His compatriots started running down the lines of teenagers, slamming them with heavy clubs. A few of them bothered to resist, but most of them just took the blow and let the bandits move on. Struggling wouldn't help much. They had all given up a long time ago.

The ringleader went down the middle of the room, staring at the kids. He'd repeated this process several times with no luck. He was running out of orphanages to beat up. It was a good thing the authorities didn't care much about these kids, or they'd be in serious trouble. Movement caught the corner of his eyes, and he pointed his club at the target.

"You! Cut it out!"

The teen moving along the lines froze in his steps, trying to look innocent. A few of the people near him rolled their eyes. He had a reputation.

The bandit called him over, and Hanjo answered. He strutted over to the bandit.

"Who are you?"

"Hanjo, sir, professional orphan."

"And what are you doing?"

"Stealing fruit, mostly. I figured some of my compatriots wouldn't miss it, them being unconscious and all."

The bandit didn't have any patience for cheekiness. He raised his club.

"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Hanjo panicked and threw up his arms to defend himself. He dropped an armful of stolen fruits and berries. "I already got clubbed! No glowing eyes, see, no Avatar!"

Hanjo turned and pointed to a deep purple bruise on his forehead. The bandit lowered his club. With a heavy sigh, Hanjo ran an arm along his forehead.

His bruise got smeared. Berry juice didn't dry very fast.

The bandit slammed Hanjo in the chest with a club, knocking the wind out of him. His companions stopped to watch the beat down. The bandit struck out at Hanjo again, striking him on the arm.

With his other arm, Hanjo flicked his wrist. A brick sore out of the wall and hit the bandit on the head. Hanjo's reputation at the orphanage was as one of the few to embrace his bending rather than reject it. He figured if he had a chance to be the Avatar, he might as well be a good one.

The brick didn't do much damage to the bandit, but it gave Hanjo some room to move. He backed away from the bandit and tore loose bricks from the walls, surrounding himself with hovering stones. The bandits' friends tore themselves away from their merciless beatings and backed him up.

"You must be a real idiot," the bandit shouted.

"Not as dumb as you," Hanjo shouted back. His voice was still hoarse from the hit to the gut. "Find the Avatar by turning on the Avatar State, brilliant plan."

One of the attackers rushed forward and Hanjo hit him in the face with a brick. That halted any other attacks for now. The bandits remained motionless. The ringleader even dropped his club.

The other orphans watched in awe. They all disliked each other, and Hanjo was the least liked of all, but for now they were all united in admiration of him, except perhaps the ones he'd stolen berries from.

The Bandit ringleader flexed his arms, and bricks tore themselves from the wall in a shower of dust and pebbles. Beams of light pierced the holes in the walls and caught the airborne dust, creating spotlights throughout the orphanage. One of them fell quite dramatically on Hanjo's face.

Unfortunately, the sudden light made him blink, and bandits have a knack for capitalizing on even the smallest weaknesses. A flurry of bricks hit him in the chest, one after the other, and he lost all focus, dropping his own ammunition to the ground.

"This one seems promising," the leader said. "Hit him hard!"

The bandits fell on Hanjo, slamming him with clubs and stones. Grunts and moans of pain echoed through the dining hall.

"Come on, Avatar Hanjo," The leader taunted. "Show us some Airbending!"

"Hey, that reminds me," one of the lackey bandits chimed in. "I heard some guru fella say that Air comes from the chest, or something."

"Yeah, that's called breathing, idiot."

"No, it was a bending thing. Something about nunchukras or what you call 'em. Said airbending came from the chest."

"Sounds like a plan," the leader said. Warping stones to his will, he bound Hanjo to the wall by his arms, exposing his chest. He shattered bricks into small stones. "Let's see some air!"

One of his shattered stones struck Hanjo in the chest. When Hanjo failed to show off any airbending, he hit Hanjo in the chest again. Then again. Then a third time.

His fellow students had let go of any admiration for Hanjo and were now cowering behind upturned tables and chairs.

"It'll all be over soon," one of them, a boy named Sen muttered. "It'll all be over soon."

He was lying. He knew bandits liked to draw these things out for their own amusement. This could go on for hours if they felt like it. The authorities didn't care about these kids enough to respond in time, and no one here was strong enough to do anything about it. Hanjo was the only one who knew anything about bending.

But that was all that had to happen, wasn't it? Hanjo could deal with this, they just had to give him some time to recover. The orphan pressed his fingers against the dirt floor. Sen had always felt the connection, knew what he was capable of, but he'd denied it out of fear. He knew he was an earthbender, but he'd never practiced. But now was as good a time as any to start.

Rolling out from the cover of his table, Sen slammed his hands into the ground, opening himself to the spiritual connection he felt with the stones. A shockwave travelled out towards the bandits, and the ground underneath them churned and cracked. It put them off balance, and the bandits stopped their attack on Hanjo for a moment.

Hanjo was already unconscious. He'd taken too long to act. All he'd done was aggravate the bandits.

"There's one," the ringleader called out. "Get him too."

"No, I just wanted to," The orphan began, but couldn't bring himself to finish. "This is a mistake!"

The bandits drew in, wielding clubs and hovering stones. The ringleader let Hanjo fall to the ground as he turned all his attention, and his barrage of stones, to a new target.

"Get away!"

The first stone flew towards Sen. He put his hands forward, trying to shield himself, trying to deflect the stone, trying to do anything to stop it. The flying rock changed direction, shooting back where it had come from, striking the bandit ringleader in the eye. He fell to the ground with a shocked scream as the stone dug into his eye.

His companions spared a moment to look at their fallen leader before charging forward in a vengeful attack. They stormed the orphan with clubs high.

Sen panicked, flailing his arms and sending a scattered cloud of pebbles flying at them, slowing them only briefly and depriving him of any useful materials. The bandits closed in.

"Stop!"

With nothing left to do, the orphan threw up his hands to shelter his face with his arms. The first club hit his arm, connecting with a heavy crack.

A surge of air came from below, knocking the attacking bandits off their feet. Those few orphans who were still watching gasped in shock.

Hanjo had regained consciousness just in time to watch Sen awaken as the Avatar.

***

Three weeks later, the Energybender arrived. The city guards had mustered just to make the civilians feel safe, but as he walked towards the Beaker Hall, they backed away slowly and silently. The man in the grey hood walked to the door unimpeded. The Headmaster had been expecting him, but he was not a brave man and he fell to his knees nonetheless.

"We didn't know, we couldn't know, and he isn't here anymore, we are so, so sorry."

"I believe you," The Energybender said. The Headmaster briefly stopped trembling.

The Energybender knelt down, until he was on level with the cowering Headmaster. With a flick of his fingers he forced the Headmaster to look at him. The Headmaster began to shake again, but even trembling eyes could make out the sharp, defined features of the man staring back at him. His eyes looked back with rugged grey irises, surrounded by unnatural grey circles on the skin.

"Tell me everything about him," The Energybender commanded, "And I will consider you innocent of the heinous crime of sheltering the Avatar."

The Headmaster began to say everything.

"He's a young man, sixteen years old, he has black hair and dark brown skin and his eyes are green. He's about five and a half feet tall and he's very scrawny. He left three weeks ago heading east, and he took another orphan named Honjo, I mean Hanjo, it was Hanjo, with him, and Hanjo was wounded so they can't have gotten far."

"You're forgetting something," The energybender said.

"What, what am I forgetting, I told you everything I know!"

"You didn't tell me his name," The Energybender hissed. He placed his hand flat on the Headmaster's chest. The Headmaster soiled himself.

"I don't know his name! I never asked! He never made trouble, never helped, I never bothered to learn his name!"

The Energybender's grey eyes glared down at the filthy Headmaster. He was a deplorable man. He briefly considered using Energybending on him as an example, but decided against it. The cost of Energybending was too high to waste on wretches like this, even though he'd found a way to prevent the damage that had destroyed his grandfather, father and brother before him.

"You are innocent," He said. The Headmaster fell to the floor in a shivering heap.

Without another word, the Energybender departed, travelling east. Crowds split as he walked, no one daring to come within arm's reach. For more than a decade they had been dreading his return, and now he walked among them. Now, he was on the hunt.

***

They'd made their introductions on the road. His name was Sen.

They'd never really noticed each other before. Hanjo did too much and Sen didn't do enough for their paths to ever cross. Nobody would have guessed that they'd be fugitives together. Hanjo had always sort of wanted to be a fugitive, but the massive bruises and possible broken ribs were putting a damper on his enthusiasm.

Sen hadn't said much since he'd told Hanjo his name. He was focused on moving, getting away from the orphanage and anyone else he might put in danger just by being around them. They had to stop at some point, though, and the setting sun was as good a reason as any. They took shelter behind a large rocky overhang, away from the main roads. Hanjo carved them a small hole in the rock to shield them from the weather, and there they stopped.

"You'll have to learn to do that too, soon," Hanjo said. They needed to start talking.

"Why?"

"Because I'm hurt," Hanjo began. "And also because you're going to have to save the world."

Sen was silent.

"Look, Avatar," Hanjo began. Sen had to get used to being called that. "Everybody back at Beaker Hall had to put up with a lot of crap, and none of it was our fault."

"It was mine."

That caught Hanjo off guard. He'd had a whole monologue ready to go and now Sen had thrown off the pacing completely.

"Not my point," Hanjo said, trying to get back on track. "The point is, sometimes things happen, and even if they're bad, you have to do the best you can with what you have, and you, Avatar, have so much more! You're the master of all four elements!"

"I can barely Earthbend!"

"Correction," Hanjo said, poking Sen in the forehead. "You can barely Earthbend and Airbend! You're two kinds of amateur, which is better than just one kind."

Hanjo scooted around until he was next to Sen. He wrapped a bruised arm around his travelling companions shoulder.

"Look, you have nothing to be afraid of. I'm going to get you started on Earthbending until we find you a real master, and then one for Fire, and then Air, then Water, and suddenly you're a full avatar! Just like Korra!"

"Who's going to help me? Everyone's afraid of the Avatar!"

"I'm not," Hanjo said. Sen fell silent.

"I'm just a mediocre Earthbender, and I'm willing to help, right? There's got to be at least four Masters out there who'll help you, right?"

Sen stared at the ground. Hanjo figured he was gaining ground, and it was time to make the final push.

"I know a good place to get started on our search. I'll lead the way. You focus on bending."

"Where should I start?"

"I don't know; spell your name with rocks or something. I'm going to bed."

Then Hanjo went to bed, and Sen managed to spell half of an S, which is just a small C, before giving up.


	3. The Original Earthbenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wandering the wilderness, Avatar Sen and his new friend Hanjo have a close call with the local wildlife.

Travel was uneventful. The United Earth Kingdom's population was mostly clustered in large population centers, so they didn't encounter too many small villages or towns while they wandered. The meandering path through the forest kept them safe from the Energybender's search, but also meant they had to sleep in the dirt and forage for food. On the upside, removing dirt from edible roots made decent earthbending practice.

"So the way I see it, Avatar Sen, is Korra and Aang both knew Energybending too. So, if we get you to the point where you can do that whole talking to the past lives thing, you just ask Korra what to do, and bam, Howler's gone."

"Howler?"

"Some people call the Energybender that, because you know, there's a howling noise when he…when he does his thing, you know."

Sen had gotten livelier and more talkative, but it was probably best not to remind him about the Energybender's ability to rip people's souls out. Wasn't good for morale.

"So how do we get me there," Sen asked. "I tried just talking to myself, you know, 'Hey Korra', and I got nothing."

"I don't know. Spiritual stuff is not my area of expertise. I'm just spitballing ideas here."

"You're a really terrible master, you know."

"Hey, am I making you call me Guru? I'm just a guy trying to do his best."

They paused and glared at each other for a bit before continuing their walk. Sen squinted, and he could barely make out a plant he recognized and tore the soil around it out of the ground. Earthbending was pretty easy for him now that he was actually trying.

"I'm sorry Hanjo, it's just kind of hard, neither of us knowing what we have to do."

"Don't worry about it," Hanjo said. Sen tossed him a chunk of the root, and Hanjo took a bite of it. He tried to talk and eat at the same time, but the root was tough and bitter. He finished chewing before he continued.

"I figure I'll train with Earthbending same as you, and then I'll be a master. Maybe I'll learn some cool technique too."

"Yeah, Avatar teammates have a habit of doing that. You think you'll learn lavabending, or maybe invent a new type of bending?"

Hanjo grinned to himself.

"Funny you should mention that."

"What, you got a new technique in mind already?"

"No, not that. You'll see. Anyway, back to what you said earlier. You making it official? I'm part of Team Avatar?"

"I don't see why you wouldn't be."

"Awesome," Hanjo said. He'd been limping the past few weeks, but he started to take on a strut. That was a mistake, now his leg hurt like hell. He started limping again. Sen laughed at him.

The geography started to change. Less big trees, more scrub grass and small bushes. Mountains were starting to show in the distance.

"We should start turning east. Seems like we're coming up on the desert."

Trying to cross the Siwong would only end in a very dead Avatar, and that wasn't what they wanted. East would take them to the coastline, and then they could follow it north towards Zaofu.

"Makes sense. You want to head for Zaofu? The Beifongs have always liked the Avatar, they'll probably help us."

"We might stop there, but I don't think we should go to the Beifongs. Howler's probably on our tail, and he'd be watching them."

Sen nodded. The Beifongs and the Metal Clan were powerful, but the Energybender had proven his power as well. It would be better to avoid his attention entirely than risk a confrontation they might lose.

"So where are we going, then? You seem to have a destination in mind."

"Well, long term, I figure we head for Republic City and Korra's Portal. We find an Earthbending master on the way, and then we go into the Spirit World to help you do the talking-to-Korra stuff. After that, we can come out either the North or South spirit portals to throw the Energybender off our tail."

"That's a good plan," Sen said.

"I've been thinking about what I'd do if I was the Avatar for a long time," Hanjo admitted. "Although you weren't part of the plan."

"Well my plan for being the Avatar was not being the Avatar," Sen said. "So we've both been thrown off."

They turned east and kept moving. The trees started to come back, and the soil got softer underfoot over hours of walking. As days went on the terrain shifted again, gradually becoming rockier and more mountainous.

"This is going to be a problem," Hanjo said.

"How do you figure?"

"How many plants grow on mountains? We can't climb over them if we rely on foraging. We'll have to go around, or stop at a town and get supplies before we make the climb."

"If we stop in a town that could put the Energybender on our tail."

"Which is why this is going to be a problem," Hanjo restated. "But honestly, I think we should risk it. I know I can't be the only one getting sick of roots. Finding a town would let us get some real food."

"We find berries now and then," Sen argued.

"Not to mention we could get a map, and if we keep anyone from realizing you're the Avatar, we might be able to score some transportation."

"We've got feet," Sen argued.

"You really don't want to go to a city, do you?"

Sen shook his head.

"Well too bad," Hanjo shot back, grabbing Sen by the wrist and dragging him away from the mountains. "Good Avatar's listen to their Team, and as I represent all of Team Avatar, your team votes find a town."

"When I talk to Korra I'm going to ask her if you can fire someone from Team Avatar," Sen mumbled. Hanjo laughed at him.

Hanjo led the way to what his gut told him was the direction of a town. They didn't find one, but they did find a road, and roads usually led to towns, so it was just as good.

Hanjo led the way down the trail of upturned soil, occasionally flicking a pebble back at Sen to test his reflexes and his earthbending abilities. Sen deflected them all easily. Eventually Hanjo decided it was time for a bigger test.

"Alright Avatar, let's see your progress," Hanjo declared, stopping suddenly. Sen came to a halt behind him, sighing. "Before we reach whatever town we're headed for, I want you to be able to lift a boulder as big as me! Get started!"

Sen shrugged and turned his attention to the ground. He was actually fairly confident in his Earthbending, despite his lack of practice. It was coming naturally to him.

With a stomp of his foot and a sweeping pull of his arm, a large chunk of earth tore itself free of the ground and began to hover in the air. It was slow going and unsteady, but it was definitely moving. Sen reached out with his other arm, twisting it in the air, and the clod of soil started to stabilize and rose steadily from the ground.

"Alright! Now move it towards me for a size comparison."

"Why don't you just walk over there?"

"Learning experience," Hanjo declared. Sen grunted.

With a gentle sweep of his arms he commanded the earth to move left. When Hanjo was satisfied with his progress, he took a step or two towards it, sparing Sen the effort of moving it further. Hanjo examined the rock to see if it met his criteria.

"It's a little shorter than me," he said skeptically. "But I suppose it's wider around, so I'll give it to you. Good work, Avatar!"

Sen exhaled heavily as he let the stone drop. That wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Apparently being the Avatar wasn't a free pass to bending talent.

"You've made really good progress considering you couldn't bend at all a week ago," Hanjo reminded him. "Don't be worried if it's a little challenging."

Sen wasn't exactly proud, but something about Hanjo's tone felt condescending. He decided to level the playing field.

"Let's see you do the same thing," He challenged.

Hanjo thought about it for a moment. He examined the rock that Sen had finished moving and rubbed his chin.

"Alright," He said. "I guess it's not fair for me to boss you around if I can't do it."

That's all Sen wanted to hear. He sat down and watched while Hanjo readied himself to match Sen's feat of earthbending.

"Keep in mind I'm injured, alright? Don't hold it against me if I screw up."

"Not a problem."

Hanjo braced himself and imitated Sen's motions, focusing on the rock. Things started to shake, but not the rock. Hanjo looked around.

"Did I do that?"

The ground shook again. It definitely wasn't Hanjo. Sen stood up and looked around.

"Maybe there's a railway nearby?"

The rumble stopped and started again. Hanjo shook his head.

"Train's don't stop and start like that," He said. "It's got to be something else."

The rumbling started again, this time even louder and more intense. Sen looked at the ground. They were still on the road, standing in the middle of the dirt path. He looked up and down the path. The rumbling had gone on without stopping for an unusually long time.

Looking down the path, Sen finally realized what was going on. He grabbed Hanjo by the collar and dragged him to the side, towards the tree line.

"This isn't a road!"

Hanjo wasn't able to question what it was for quite a while, until Sen had finally stopped choking him by dragging him by the collar. Once they were clear of the not-road, Hanjo finally got a chance to breath and ask what the heck was going on.

"What the heck is-"

He didn't actually get the chance to ask what the heck was going on, because before he finished asking, the heck that was going on burst out of the ground. A gopherlion tore itself out of the ground, crawling along the dirt path that its tunneling created. Its fur was mangy and scratched, showing that it had been in combat lately. It sniffed the ground where Sen and Hanjo had been walking.

"Oh, that's what's going on," Hanjo said. Sen shushed him.

The gopherlions mane shuffled as it sniffed and huffed at the ground. Eventually its nose reached the stone that Sen had been moving, and its head took a sudden turn towards the tree that Sen and Hanjo were hiding behind.

"Oh crud, run!"

Sen grabbed Hanjo by the collar again, gagging him once more.

"What are you doing," Hanjo coughed. "We can't fight a gopherlion!"

"Just start Earthbending," Sen ordered. "I have an idea."

Sen stomped the ground, sending a shock through the earth. The gopherlion had stopped tunneling, but the rumbling hadn't stopped.

The gopherlion caught sight of him almost immediately, and began its attack. They weren't particularly fast on land, but they were huge and they had powerful claws. If this didn't work, Sen would probably get mauled. What a way to go.

Hanjo found his courage and backed him up. He lifted the biggest stone he could and sent it flying towards the gopherlion. It was an amateurish attack, and not particularly good, but the gopherlion avoided it out of instinct. Between Sen and Hanjo, they managed to keep the Gopherlion at bay until reinforcements arrive. Gopherlions avoid rocks out of instinct because they have a natural rivalry with badgermoles.

With a final, massive rumble, intense enough to knock Sen and Hanjo off their feet, the badgermole ripped open the ground beneath the gopherlion and dove out of the ground, catching its foe on massive claws. The force of the impact carried both the massive tunneling beasts far from the pair of earthbenders and deep into the woods. Sen was more than happy to let the two of them duke it out far away from them.

"How'd you do that," Hanjo said. His eyes were wide with surprise and admiration.

"We're all earthbenders," Sen said. "I figured it would give us a hand if it knew we were in trouble."

He could hear the two beasts howling and clawing at each other in the distance. The scratches on the gopherlion had let him know the badgermole had to be near, so from there it was just a matter of letting it know where they were. Still, he was a bit surprised it had worked.

Eventually the animalistic sounds of combat slowed down and eventually stopped. Sen dared to peek out from behind the tree. He could barely make out the Badgermole through the trees. No sign of the gopherlion.

"I think it won," Sen said. "Come on. Maybe we can help it."

"Help it? It's a giant earthbending monster!"

"Gopherlions have claws too," Sen said.

Hanjo stayed behind while Sen moved back towards the clearing that they'd mistaken for a road. The badgermole was there, but it didn't much look like it had won. Its skin was torn all over, and it was lying on its side, breathing heavily. Sen walked towards its face.

The badgermoles blind eyes stared forward, ignorant of the world around. It didn't react to Sen's movements. He stomped on the ground once, making a shockwave just like his first fight with the bandit. The badgermole suddenly sprung to focus, its eyes frantically darting around. It saw Sen, but didn't focus on him, continuing its scan of the area. A circle of displaced earth showed where the gopherlion had tunneled to make its escape, but it looked past that as well.

After a while the badgermole lurched to its feet, barely able to stand, and began calling out. Sen tried to calm it down before it hurt itself even more. He knew almost nothing about badgermoles, so he tried petting it like he would a dog, avoiding the claw marks in its furry hide. That didn't work, so he decided to step back and let its panic play out.

It crawled some distance away, and then came to a halt. Sen heard shuffling and heavy breaths. Then squeaking. Badgermoles didn't seem like a squeaking animal. He decided it was time to investigate.

He stepped slowly around the wounded animal, trying to get to its face again. He heard more squeaking, growing faster and more frantic. When he finally reached the front, he saw the source.

A young badgermole, small for its kind but still nearly the same size as Sen, was stomping in circles in front of the larger badgermole, squeaking as it stomped. Every stomp sent a small shockwave through the ground.

"Oh no," Sen said. He suddenly realized what he'd done. "You came because I thought I was…"

The wounded badgermole looked at Sen, and at its child. Its breathing was slower and more ragged now. The young badgermole stopped stomping and pressed its head against its mother's cheek, letting out a low whine. Sen sighed and looked the badgermole in the eyes.

He stomped his foot once, creating a shockwave again. The badgermole felt his presence with its seismic sense. Sen stomped again. The younger badgermole also turned to look at him. He gave a final, massive stomp, heavy enough that the large badgermole lurched and the younger one was sent off balance, tumbling away from its mother. Towards Sen.

The mother gave one last heavy sigh. Sen didn't know if it was clever enough to understand his purpose, but he hoped it had. He put his hand on the young badgermoles head, trying to calm it. It worked much better than it had on the mother.

Hanjo had caught up, finally, to see what was going on. He saw Sen cuddling with a badgermole, and once again had to question what was going on in his life.

"She came to protect us because she thought I was its child," Sen said, his voice heavy with guilt. There were tears welling up in his eyes.

"Oh," Hanjo said quietly. He didn't quite know how to process this. Eventually it all caught up to him, and he knew what he had to say.

"Well, Sen, you're one step closer to being an Avatar."

Sen didn't say anything. He was focused on the badgermole he'd orphaned.

"You've got yourself an Animal Guide, the way I see it."

Sen stared at the badgermole for a while, and then smiled.

"I guess I do. What do you say, kid? Want to be an animal guide?"

The little one stomped again, creating a ripple that knocked Hanjo and Sen to the ground.

"He says yes," Sen grunted. He got off the ground and grabbed his new companion by the chin. "Let's call you Gun."

Sen started walking the way they'd been travelling before this whole incident, and Hanjo followed him. It was time for them all to move on.

"C'mon Gun! We're on the road again."

Gun grunted once, and promptly disappeared underground. Sen dove after him a little too late. He stared at the patch of displaced soil where the badgermole had been sitting.

"That was embarrassing," Hanjo mumbled.

"Well," Sen grunted. "It's not like we were friends, right? We knew him five minutes."

"Still, it seemed kind of…destined, right? Like it was meant to be."

"Let's just go on," Sen said.

The duo started walking again, and as they moved, they failed to notice a lump of shifting dirt following their heels.


	4. Twin Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally back in civilization, Sen learns more about Earthbending while Hanjo discovers a new threat.

Hanjo and Sen managed to find a road that wasn't the byproduct of a large predatory monster eventually, and they followed it. Carts and fellow travelers passing up and down on either side confirmed that there was some kind of major city along this road. They'd finally hit a lucky break. One traveler, a fellow named Kodo, even stuck with them for a while, despite the fact that they hadn't bathed in weeks, and answered some of their questions.

"Oh yeah, Zang's a real decent sized city. No rail lines through it, not yet, but it's still got a few trade routes left running the old ostrich-horse and buggy style."

"Have you been there often?"

"I travel back and forth for business, but I don't often spend time there. I do have a good friend that lives there, though, so I keep in touch over radio, keep up to date, you know?"

"What do they think about the Avatar situation?"

Hanjo had lied to the traveler and told him they were eighteen, but often got mistaken for sixteen. He had talked earlier about all the trouble he'd gotten into being mistaken for a possible Avatar when he wasn't, so hopefully the traveler wouldn't suspect something.

"Oh, they're of two minds. It's like that all around this area. People close to that orphanage where it started are all afraid of Howler, but everyone close to Zaofu thinks they have to help the Avatar. Towns in-between, like Zang, are all split down the middle."

Hanjo shrugged at Sen. It was better than nothing. They could play it safe in Zang long enough to get closer to Zaofu, where finding help would be easier. The fact that they knew they were heading towards definite safety for the first time in weeks was good for lifting their spirits.

"Just tell them how old you are and there should be nothing to worry about."

"Thanks for the help, stranger," Hanjo said. "My friend and I are going to take a break for lunch, care to join us?"

"No thanks, friend," Kodo said. "If you make it to Zang soon, though, I'll probably still be holed up at the inn. Look me up when you get there!"

Hanjo and Sen stopped walking and waved goodbye to their companion as he continued down the road.

"Lunchtime," Hanjo said.

"We haven't got any food," Sen reminded him.

In response, Hanjo held out a package wrapped in paper. He unraveled the string keeping it bound together and revealed a loaf of bread. He smiled smugly. Sen slapped him.

"You stole that!"

"No, it fell off of a bread tree," Hanjo said. He tore off a chunk and ate it greedily. He offered a piece to Sen as well.

"Avatar's don't steal things," Sen objected.

"Avatar's also don't die of malnutrition," Hanjo shot back. "When we get to town we'll do some honest labor and buy our next meal the right way, if that's how you want it. But you need to eat something."

Sen grunted and took the bread. It didn't even taste that good, and they had nothing to wash it down with, so it left a dry ache in his mouth. This was what karma tasted like, he thought.

With stomachs full of stolen bread, they continued on their way. The road was getting livelier now, hopefully a sign that they were getting closer to their destination. It took a few hours yet, but Zang was finally in sight. They picked up their pace as soon as they laid eyes on the town. It was a small little hamlet by any standard, but to two teenagers who'd been wandering the wilds for weeks it might as well have been Ba Sing Se. There weren't many satomobiles, even on Main Street, and most of the buildings were still classic Earth Kingdom architecture instead of the updated style, but it was civilization, and that was what mattered.

"The first thing we should do is find a place to work," Hanjo suggested. "Once we have some money, we'll stock up on food, supplies, some new clothes, and probably rent a room at the inn, I haven't slept on a bed in months!"

"We've only been on the road a few weeks," Sen said.

"I know, a bunch of bullies stole my bed back at the orphanage," Hanjo replied. "I slept on the floor."

Hanjo was suddenly distracted by something and dashed off to gaze through some storefront window. He beckoned Sen over to see it as well.

"Look at this! They've got a TV!"

A TV, or TeleVarrick, used a lot of fancy mechanical things that neither Hanjo nor Sen understood to display video images on a glass screen. While they were still somewhat rare, TeleVarrick's were becoming more and more common in households across the nations, several decades after the first model had been invented. It had been one of Varrick's last great inventions, and one of few notable creations in the past few decades. After the Earth Empire crisis, Varrick and all the other great inventors had seemed to hit a brick wall, and no one knew why. Some people thought they were afraid of creating another Spirit Cannon, others thought that Harmonic Convergence had focused the world towards spirituality rather than technology. For whatever reason, Varrick, Asami Sato, and all other innovators had simply run out of ideas. Many people found that highly suspicious.

"This is a little fuzzier than I expected," Sen said of the TeleVarrick. The image was greyed out and fuzzy looking. He supposed it was technologically impressive, but the real world looked much better than the black and white blur on the TeleVarrick's screen. It was displaying a pro-bending match, and Sen could hardly see what they were doing.

"I know, but come on, show some enthusiasm! We didn't have anything like this back at the orphanage."

A very large and imposing figure crept up behind them quite suddenly, and grabbed each of them by the shoulder.

"Now, two orphans on the run," the large man said. "Don't that sound familiar?"

Sen kept his mouth shut. Hanjo had proven fantastic at coming up with lies on the spot, so it was time for him to go to work.

"Why would it sound familiar?"

"Because the Avatar's been on the run with a friend of his for weeks now," the huge man said.

"Oh, did he have a friend," Hanjo said. "Well I can see what you're thinking now, I see your point, but I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place. My friend and I here are orphans, yeah, and we are on the run, but for entirely different reasons, my good man. You see, with the Avatar out and about, we don't have to worry about being mistaken for him anymore! Nobody will be suspicious of us, nobody will dislike us, and we can finally go out in the world without having to worry! Or so I thought…"

Hanjo gave a dejected sigh and looked at his feet. Sen had to admit, he was really, really good at this.

"We're not even the right age for it," Hanjo continued. The real key to lying was to be consistent about it. If you're going to lie, tell everyone the same lie. As far as the world was concerned he and Sen were eighteen now.

The large man seemed to be buying it. His posture was a lot less threatening now, and he wasn't glaring quite so much.

"Alright boys, I'll tell you what. You want to work, we've got work around. Me and some of the men in town go on a patrol, you know, making sure the Avatar isn't anywhere around. That's why I caught you, because I was watching for folks like you. But because we're out and about, stuff doesn't get done around town. Talk to anyone you see doing work; ask around, I'm sure you'll find something. Tell 'em Wang sent you and you'll fit right in."

That sounded like a plan, so they nodded and thanked Wang for the advice. He shook their hands and continued his patrol. The two travelling companions conspired as soon as he turned his back.

"They know we're travelling as a duo, so I think we should split up to find work, we'll attract less attention," Sen suggested.

"Good plan," Hanjo said. "I'll cover the east side, you cover the west. Sound good? We'll meet back here at nightfall."

They shook hands and parted ways, Hanjo heading east and Sen heading west. It didn't take long for either of them to find work. Women whose husbands were out on "patrol" had plenty of work for strapping young men to do. Within a few hours both had enough spare money to afford some clean clothes and a fresh lunch, but it would take a lot more money to keep them decently supplied for the rest of the trip.

As they travelled, word started to spread about the two helpful young men, and eventually people started to actively seek Sen out. Word had gotten around that he was an earthbender, and someone had a special task for him. It was better for him if someone tracked him down anyway, he had a hard time getting around; the streets signs in this town were almost unreadable.

A girl a little older than Sen tracked him down and dragged him away from his latest small job to show him a shed without a roof and a large block of granite.

"You're an earthbender, right? I want you to take that, and make it fit that," she said, pointing at the stone block and the shed in turn.

"I don't know if I'm that good," Sen said with an awkward shrug. The girl kept batting her eyelashes at him, probably trying to flirt him out of a paycheck.

"Come on," she said, prodding him in the lower back. "Cut a few corners and lift it up, it's not hard."

"What kind of shed needs a granite roof anyway? Won't wood work just fine?"

"There's usually more Earthbenders around town, so it's easier to make things out of rock. But they're all on patrol, so it's just been sitting there. But now you can do it! So do it."

He examined the stone, trying to measure out what he thought was a good roof shape with his mind. It took him a while. He'd never been taught anything about geometry in the orphanage.

"It's not a shed, by the way," the girl said, breaking his concentration completely. "It's a house, for my pet Hog Monkey."

"You keep one of those as a pet?"

"He's not a very good pet," the girl said. "But he's mine and I love him. I just need to keep him in something very sturdy so he doesn't smash it."

Sen decided to get a little more hands on. He grabbed a nearby stone and started scratching out markings on the granite slab, drawing out the shape of a roof on it.

"My name's Kyo, by the way."

"My name is," Sen said, before pausing. Hanjo had given him an alias to use earlier, but he couldn't remember it for a moment. It came back to him quickly enough, though. "Wei."

He finished up his markings on the slab and readied himself to shape it. He'd never done anything that required actual precision yet, so he was looking forward to testing himself. He opened his palm and thrust his hand forward in a chopping motion.

The whole block went sliding backwards, nearly knocking down Kyo's fence. Sen managed to pull it back just in time. Kyo squealed in horror as it came to a halt just short of the wooden planks. Her father would kill her if she got their property damaged.

"I'm so sorry," Sen said. He'd torn up the grass all over her lawn just to save her fence. "I'm not very good at this."

"I can see that," Kyo sighed. "Have you ever had a real lesson?"

"Not really," Sen admitted. "Most people aren't willing to teach a guy around my age."

Kyo examined the swath of dirt Sen had torn into the lawn. The grass would grow back, but it would leave an ugly spot for a couple of weeks. Nothing her father would be too angry about.

"Well, I know a few earthbenders; maybe I can give you a lesson."

She pushed Sen into position in front of the slab, and then pulled and pushed his limbs until he was in a proper bending stance. She pointed at the rock.

"My uncle Kuro says that breaking rock is a lot different than moving it. You have to take something that's whole, and make it not whole. So what he says to do is imagine the parts of the rock you want to break as something you don't like, and imagine the part you want to keep as something you do like."

She got behind Sen and sat down on a barrel.

"So imagine those outside parts are something you hate," Kyo said. "And then get rid of them."

He stopped to think for a while. He focused on the bandit who'd attacked him at the orphanage, and then the Energybender, he tried the Headmaster who had let him and all his fellow orphans be abused, but he couldn't bring himself to really hate any of them. He hardly even knew anything about them, especially the Energybender.

That was what he really hated. Not knowing things. He focused on the frustration and let it out on the stone, splintering two large pieces off of it.

He hated the fact that he had no idea what he was doing as an Avatar. He didn't know who he could trust, besides Hanjo. He didn't know who his enemies were or what they wanted. His life had been boring and unremarkable before, but it had been simple. Now he had more questions than most people dealt with in a lifetime. He wanted answers.

With another heavy blow, he tore a chunk out of the granite. It was starting to take on the right shape now, but there was another huge chunk yet to be removed. Sen thought about the biggest question he had; what was he going to do next? Hanjo seemed to have a destination in mind, but did he have a plan after that? What were they going to do for the rest of their journey, across all the months and years it would take Sen to master all four elements?

Sen pushed forward with both hands, and the last chunk of stone vanished into a cloud of dust as he shattered it completely. He was left with a perfectly roof-shaped chunk of granite. He let go of his anger for a second and turned to Kyo, satisfied. She seemed to have gotten several inches taller, and she was staring wide-eyed at his feet.

Sen looked down. He was standing in a small crater, apparently of his own creation. He awkwardly lifted the soil back into place and shrugged at Kyo.

"Sorry," he said.

"You got pretty intense there," Kyo said. "Are you alright?"

"I was just thinking," Sen explained. "About the Avatar, mostly. I've had to go through a lot because of him."

"Oh."

Kyo glanced over at the granite roof and nodded approvingly. She seemed to be looking for a change in topic.

"So, how about lifting that into place now?"

Sen nodded. He'd practiced moving heavy stones earlier, so he didn't need any special instructions for this. Kyo nodded approvingly as the rooftop slid into place.

"Perfect," she said. Sen gave her a confident thumbs up. She went into the house to retrieve Sen's payment. Her Hog Monkey slipped out the door as she entered, and bolted for his new house, paying Sen no attention. He liked it that way. Hog Monkeys were noisy, dangerous animals, and he didn't like them.

Kyo returned with a respectable amount of money, thanked Sen for his time, and sent him on his way rather abruptly. He didn't ask what her deal was, better to just move on and try to find another job to do.

One the other side of town, Hanjo was having just as much luck with work. He was doing less wandering from place to place, and more doing long term work. Right now he was helping some workers load chunks of metal onto a satomobile. They'd been at this for a few hours now.

"Where's all this metal going, by the way?"

"Rail depot down the road," one of the workers said. "They're trying to get a rail line out to the mine nearby, but the projects stalling, so for now it still comes through our town."

"But if that rail gets finished, won't you all be out of a job?"

"Yeah, we'll probably stop doing this," another worker said. He wiped the sweat off his brow. "But if a rail goes to the mine, it would come here too, so that'd make this place a lot livelier. It'd make as many jobs as it takes."

"Makes sense," Hanjo said.

He went back to work, lifting another heavy container and carrying it towards a truck. He wondered if he could try metalbending it instead. He didn't see anyone else metalbending, though, so this had to be platinum, or some other unbendable metal. It was probably a good idea to wait until he was better at earthbending to try metalbending anyway.

As time went on, Hanjo noticed people getting quieter and quieter. When he'd arrived the workers were throwing friendly banter back and forth nonstop, but over time they all stopped talking to each other. Hanjo looked around to see what could be causing this. Considering he was a fugitive on the run, anything suspicious needed to be investigated.

There was nothing particularly threatening about anyone here, but he noticed someone standing at the edge of the room that had not been there earlier. He dressed like a police officer, but there was a badge on his chest that Hanjo didn't recognize. He didn't seem to be scaring anyone, but his appearance had shut down conversation in the room.

The strange officer wandered away eventually, and conversation started back up again, confirming Hanjo's suspicions. He turned to the man he was working with, a portly fellow named Zu.

"Who was the guy in the uniform?"

"You ain't seen his kind before? Guess you're from down south, yeah?"

Hanjo nodded. Zu chuckled to himself.

"That fellow is called a Weaver," Zu explained. "After the White Lotus got torn to bits, a Minister up on the other side of Ba Sing Se created his own security force, saying he was looking out for us."

"That seems like a good thing," Hanjo said. "But I get the feeling you're going to tell me otherwise."

"Clever kid," Zu said. "The Weaver's didn't waste much time trying to ferret out Avatar supporters, saying they was keeping us all safe by making sure nobody was hiding him. A lot of people got thrown in prison for not a whole lot of reason."

Zu tossed another bundle of metal into the bed of a satomobile and grabbed another out of Hanjo's hands.

"Now, I'm not going to open my door for no Avatar if he comes knocking, but those Weavers are using people's fear against them. Nobody here likes 'em."

Hanjo made a note of that. The Weavers were going to be a problem for him in and Sen in the future. The last thing they needed was to run afoul of a Ministerial security force.

"They aren't even supposed to be outside of Minister Raisu's own borders, but Parliament doesn't care enough to stop them from accusing people willy-nilly. Still, they don't usually come this far south."

"Why not?"

"The desert, mostly," Zu continued. "And the fact that you have to go through Zaofu to avoid the desert. Weaver's tried to get the Beifongs accused of something or another a few years back, and Minister Beifong counter-accused them of framing him, won the case, ended up banning them from his city entirely. It was a real embarrassment for their club."

Zaofu was starting to sound better and better every day. Maybe they could even stop and talk with the Beifongs personally. Their family seemed to be doing a great job of keeping anti-Avatar forces out of the town, so there was a chance there'd be no Energybender sympathizers at all.

"Hey, you ever drove a Satomobile before, kid?"

"Not once, Zu," Hanjo replied.

"Then consider this a lesson. Just climb in, we leave the keys in the cab."

Zu then gave him a handy lesson in running Satomobiles. Enough to get him around the corner of a building and hand it off to a more experienced driver. The experience driving would come in handy later. Seeing as Sen probably wouldn't get his hands on a flying bison anytime soon, a satomobile would be good for transportation.

That was the last thing anyone at this establishment needed done, so Hanjo collected his payment, bid Zu goodbye, and went on to the next job, and then the next one, until it started getting dark. It was time to meet up with Sen and count the day's profits.

The two met at the location they'd agreed on early in the morning. They were exhausted and hungry, so they purchased as much food as their money would buy immediately, and then checked into a hotel room.

"This isn't all that much," Sen sighed, looking at their meager collection of supplies. "But it's enough that you can stop stealing stuff, right?"

Hanjo ignored that question and moved on.

"It'll be enough to get us to a city with a train station, at least. We can get to Zaofu within a day if we get on the right route."

"A day of walking?"

"Uh, no," Hanjo said. "It'll probably be a week at least to get to the next town, then one day on the train. Maybe I could get Zu to let us take a truck to it instead…"

"Who's Zu?"

"A friendly guy at this factory I worked at. Taught me how to drive a satomobile, and he told me about a new bad guy we have to worry about."

"Great," Sen said with a sigh. He flopped down on his bed as Hanjo explained the situation with the Weavers and Minister Raisu. Sen just shook his head and pulled the covers over himself. He was suddenly much more tired.

"At least we learned something," Hanjo said, before calling it a night.


	5. The Weaver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A furry friend gets Sen and Hanjo into trouble with the Weaver; a daring escape ensues

Sen and Hanjo awoke to a startlingly quiet city. Zang wasn't a big town, but there should be people moving and talking at a time like this. The two of them couldn't hear anything. They grabbed their supplies and hurried downstairs, trying to keep a lid on the panic bubbling inside. Nobody was on the main floor of the hotel. No clerks, no maids, no one sitting in the lobby. Since there were no witnesses now, they let themselves panic.

"What the heck is going on," Sen said. He wrapped his arms around himself. "What the heck did we do?"

"We didn't do anything," Hanjo said, slapping him on the head. "Everybody else did something! They went somewhere."

He was keeping his theories to himself for now. All he could think was that they'd been found out, Howler was on his way, and all the townspeople had run from his wrath. But that was worst case scenario. Hopefully it was just some strange misunderstanding.

"We need to get a move on."

On that Sen agreed. They barged out the door. The streets were equally empty, but there was noise now, a quiet shifting sound coming from some distance away. The duo looked at each other and nodded. They should investigate.

Silently they crept towards the source of the noise. As they got closer, it became clear that there was a large crowd having conversations about something. The whole town had gathered around something. Sen and Hanjo split up to find some of the people they'd befriended the previous day, hoping to get an explanation. Sen found Kyo and managed to squeeze through the crowd to her side. She seemed glad to see him.

"Wei! Thank goodness you're here. We're going to need earthbenders."

"What's going on? We slept through it all."

"I guess no one went looking for you because you don't live here," She explained. "But they got the whole town together this morning. The Weavers are trying to arrest someone."

Sen did not manage to hide his panic. If the Weavers were on his tail, that meant very bad things. But from what Sen had heard from Hanjo, it seemed the Weavers often accused people randomly. Hopefully this was one such case.

"What for?"

"He thinks the Avatar came through here a few days ago," Kyo said. Sen sighed in relief. "He's accused Wang of allowing him passage."

That didn't make sense. Wang was the leader of the people trying to keep the Avatar out. What evidence could the Weaver possibly present?

"You should get into the middle of the circle," Kyo suggested. "Tell people you're an Earthbender, they'll want you on the scene."

The people immediately around Sen heard Kyo and made room for Sen to move. He nodded and started moving towards the middle, pushing people aside if he had to. As he got closer, he saw a large group of grown men having a standoff with the Weaver agent, who had Wang in handcuffs. He joined them all and stared the Weaver down. After a short moment, Hanjo slipped through the crowd and joined the platoon of Earthbenders as well.

The Weaver looked at his wristwatch a few times. After about a minute had passed, he spoke to his opponents.

"If you don't disperse within a minute, I'll arrest you all on obstruction of justice."

"You got no jurisdiction here, ya pig," someone shouted.

"The security of the United Earth Kingdom transcends jurisdiction," The Weaver shouted back. "You should all be thanking me for removing this Avatar sympathizer from your midst."

"I'm telling you, I ain't no Avatar lover," Wang objected. He rattled the chains on his hand. "I lead the patrol that keeps him outta this town! I told you that seven times!"

"And yet you allow unsupervised minors matching his description to pass freely into your town," The Weaver said. He glared at Hanjo. "Isn't that right, Kon and Wei?"

Sen's heart dropped into his gut. Wang looked at the two as well, and a smile found its way to his face.

"Hey, hey, I know you two! Tell this guy how I grilled you before I let you into town, right? Let him know I mean business."

"Please do," The Weaver said.

Sen hesitated. The Weaver waved him forward.

"Don't worry, you two aren't under scrutiny. A traveler at the inn by the name of Kodo corroborated the alibi you provided to Wang."

Hanjo restrained a laugh. He patted himself on the back for being consistent in his lying. Hopefully it would be this easy to lie their way all to Republic City. He stepped forward, and Sen soon followed his example.

"Well, he stopped us from doing anything until he'd interviewed us about our past," Hanjo explained. "We explained how we couldn't possibly be related the Avatar, and only then did he let us go."

"What exactly did he ask you," The Weaver questioned. There was something very suspicious about his tone.

"Oh, he asked us where we were from-"

"You're lying," The Weaver interrupted. "Step back."

Hanjo obeyed. The Weaver turned to Sen.

"Wei, you have once chance to tell me the truth. Don't be like your companion, or the two of you will be charged with perjury."

They weren't even under oath, Sen thought to himself. But the Weaver would know a lie anyway. He'd called Hanjo out so quickly, there was only one explanation; he was a Truth-seer. He could read your heart rate to determine when you were lying. Sen would have to tell the truth, and nothing but.

"He didn't really ask us anything," Sen said. The Weaver nodded at this, and allowed him to continue. "But we told him without being asked, why we were on the move, and how old we were, and why we were here."

The Weaver nodded and looked at Wang.

"Very well," He said. "Wang is not guilty on charges of aiding and abetting the Avatar."

The whole town relaxed at once. Sen's heart finally started beating at the right pace again.

"However," The Weaver shouted. "Wei has convinced me that he is guilty of criminal negligence in his position."

"You can't do that," Wang shouted. He ran at the Weaver, but the Weaver metalbent the chains around his wrist, holding him in place by his arms. "I'm a volunteer! I can't be negligent in a job I ain't being paid for! This is just you trumping up charges!"

"He's right," Someone in the crowd shouted shouted. "You can't do this!"

The crowd tensed up again, and the earthbenders moved forward to back up Sen. The Weaver removed several plates of metal from his belt and set them hovering in the air between him and the earthbenders. Sen slammed his foot on the ground and got ready for a fight.

"Any continued earthbending will be considered hostile action! I will be forced to defend myself!"

"No one's earthbending," someone shouted.

"Then why is the earth shaking," The Weaver questioned. "Your attempt at a sneak attack will…wait."

He backed his shards of metal up, and the Earthbenders backed up as well.

"There's been some kind of misunderstanding. None of you are Earthbending. It's coming from…"

He bent down and stared at the dirt. Shaking his head, he stomped his foot on the ground, and closed his eyes as he focused on the reverberating soil. Then his eyes opened in shock. The ground split open beneath his feet and he toppled to the ground. A small badgermole popped out of the ground.

"Gun?"

The badgermole sniffed at the Weaver a few times before giving a dissatisfied huff. Gun turned around to look at the rest of the crowd, and then spotted Sen. The young beast squeaked once, and then trotted over to Sen's side happily.

"A badgermole," the Weaver said. His eyes narrowed.

"You seem to have an odd affinity with this animal," The Weaver said accusingly.

Sen tried his best to ignore Gun, but the badgermole was walking circles around him.

"We found him in the woods after his mother died," Hanjo said. "We didn't know he had followed us!"

It was close enough to the truth that the truth-seeing Weaver didn't call him out on it. Still, he stepped closer to Sen.

"You two claim to be older than the Avatar, but if I didn't know better, I'd say that creature could be an Animal Guide."

He placed his foot flat on the ground. Sen was sweating, Hanjo was looking around in a frenzy, trying to come up with a lie good enough to fool the Weaver, and Gun was still trying to get Sen to pet him.

"Tell me that you aren't the Avatar," The Weaver said.

There was a very heavy pause. Hanjo was the one to break it.

"Well, the thing about that, Mr. Weaver, you see-"

The Weaver was hit in the head with a rock.

"Run for it!"

A patch of shifting earth made the crowd part ways, creating a path large enough for Sen, Hanjo, and Gun to bolt down. They heard screaming behind them, and felt the ground shake as the Weaver or the earthbenders tried to attack them. Staying one step ahead of whatever was attacking them; Hanjo led the group down Main Street and away from the crowd.

They never bothered to look behind them, but it didn't take a genius to guess that the attackers wouldn't be far behind. They were two kids and a badgermole versus a dangerous professional metalbender.

"This is all your badgermoles fault!"

"His name is Gun," Sen shouted back. "And you're the one who said he was our Animal Guide!"

Hanjo managed to think for a moment and actually had something that he thought was a good idea.

"Gun! Do something guide-y! Get us out of this mess!"

He only thought it was a good idea.

"He's just a kid!"

"Appa got Aang out of all kinds of stuff, and Naga slapped an Equalist out of midair! Gun can earn his keep!"

Gun then failed to do anything of any use to anyone. Hanjo groaned, but he'd had an actual good idea in the intervening seconds. They rounded a corner, and he put his plan into action.

The Weaver followed them around a corner, and found nothing. He looked around every corner before the obvious occurred to him. It was clear to him that they'd employed the badgermoles tunneling ability to escape under the street. He tore open the ground beneath his feet and dove in after them.

Meanwhile, several feet above the ground, Hanjo had torn open the wall of one of the old stone buildings and tucked all three of them inside.

"This was a really good idea," Sen said, talking through a mouthful of badgermole fur.

Hanjo reopened the wall and let them all fall back to the ground. They bolted again, following Hanjo to wherever it was that he was headed. He led them to a factory and then hopped into the seat of one of the trucks.

"Hanjo!"

"I know I know, Avatars don't steal things," Hanjo said frantically. "But Avatars also don't die! Now come on!"

Gun hopped into the back of the truck, leaving Sen the only one on the ground. He groaned and hopped into the passenger seat.

Zu and some of the earthbenders barged through the factory door. They saw what Hanjo was doing and closed the distance, shouting at him all the while. Luckily, the factory workers always left the keys in the ignition.

"I'm really sorry about this Zu!" He shouted over his shoulder as he sped away. "You're a really nice guy!"

Zu never got to hear that last part because Hanjo was speeding away, not that it would have made him feel any better. Hanjo hit the open road and started pushing the satomobile as fast as he could make it go.

Unfortunately, the residents of Zang were much better drivers, and they caught up to him in just a few minutes.

"Sen, do something Avatar!"

"Those are innocent people, Hanjo!"

"Innocent people who are going to get us killed if they catch us," Hanjo retorted. "Just make a wall or something, so they stop following us."

Sen turned around. It would have been nice to stand in the back of the truck, but Gun was taking up half of it already and Hanjo's driving was too crappy for him to get any solid footing. Their pursuers were gaining too much ground to waste time, so Sen did everything he could think of.

He tore holes in the dirt and hurled stones behind them, but his attacks frequently missed the mark, flying wide of his target for reasons he couldn't understand. Sen turned to Hanjo.

"They're better than me at this," He screamed.

"I said do something Avatar," Hanjo said. "Make with the glowing eyes!"

"I can't do that."

A rock hit the back of the truck, giving off a loud thud. Gun let out a distressed squeal.

The other earthbenders had closed to attack distance, and they were starting to pelt the truck with stones. Sen did what he could to push them aside, but there were too many for him to stop all on his own. One of them broke the driver side mirror, sending shards of glass at Hanjo. He swerved and their pursuers gained even more ground. Then another rock hit Gun on the head. That would prove to be a mistake.

Even a young badgermole is tough enough to withstand a single rock to the head, because it's a typical playtime activity of the young ones to launch rocks at each other to prove their superiority. With that hit to the head, Gun felt his skills were being challenged. He turned around and let out a high pitched yelp at his attackers. Then he lifted a rock the size of a building out of the road.

Everyone pursuing the rogue satomobile swerved to the side as the massive stone barreled down the road. They crashed into trees or rolled into ditches, but as the stone faded backwards, it became clear there was no one left on the road behind Sen and company.

"Yes," Hanjo shouted triumphantly. "I knew he'd be a good Animal Guide!"

"Amazing, Gun!"

Sen reached into his pack and grabbed a small chunk of food, tossing it to Gun. The Badgermole ate its treat in contented silence.

"We are a great Team Avatar," Hanjo said. He relaxed a bit and started driving the satomobile with one hand, gesturing with the other. "You and me have had everything go right for us so far. It's destiny, Sen, we're going to be awesome."

Sen looked back over his shoulder. He wasn't quite as excited.

"What happens to them, though?" He looked back in the direction of Zang again. "We got out, but what happens to all the people who helped us? The Energybender is going to come for them."

Hanjo hadn't thought of that. That was a really good point. They had chased Hanjo and Sen, true, but only to try and protect themselves. He'd feel bad if they got hurt.

"You know what," Hanjo said. "I got a good feeling about it. I think everything's going to work out alright."

"I hope you're right," Sen sighed.

***

The mob conglomerated back in town, occasionally bruised, but largely unharmed by the mass satomobile accident. They were in a panicked huddle, and the Weaver stood in the middle of them all, trying to gather testimony for his report.

"Now don't worry about a thing, all appropriate action will be taken," he said reassuringly. "I'll make a full report on everything that happened here."

"About that," Zu said, speaking loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. "I had a thought."

"I'm sure you're proud of your thought, sir, but please leave this to the professionals."

"No, see, I was thinking," Zu continued. "Why should we tell anyone?"

"Sir, those two are fugitives," The Weaver said. "They've brought down the wrath of the Energybender on you all. Your only hope is to get full Ministerial protection."

"Yeah, no," Wang said. He moved into the center of the circle with Zu and the Weaver. "I think I get my friends point."

"Howler ain't going to bring any wrath on anybody," Zu explained. "If he never hears about this. We're a tiny town, why would he have one 'a his spies here?"

"And from what I'm seeing," Wang continued. "The only one filing any reports is you."

Zu cracked his knuckles.


	6. Metal Serpents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen and Hanjo's attempt to ride a train is interrupted by daring bandits known as Rail Tracers

Sen had always wanted to ride a train. There was something about watching the terrain sail by so quickly that took his mind off everything about being an Avatar. For once he could just be a teenager who was finally getting to explore the world.

Getting Gun onto the train had been a chore, but they'd found him a comfy spot in a cargo section and he'd finally relaxed. Sen and Hanjo had boarded separately, to avoid suspicion, but they'd quickly reunited on board. Their train car was very lightly populated, so they could talk fairly openly about their plans.

"I talked with the station master, this will take us right to Zaofu," Hanjo said. "I wonder if Wing and Wei still live there? I've always idolized those two. That's why I chose your alias, you know. Wei. I was going to call myself Wing but I thought that would be too suspicious."

"So I get to be your idol," Sen said, amused.

"Of course, Sen," Hanjo said. "You're the Avatar. You're the idol."

"Doesn't feel like it," Sen said.

"That's just because of the Energybender, though," Hanjo explained. "When we take care of him, Sen, I'm telling you, it'll be smooth sailing. Shaking hands with world leaders, red carpet premieres of any mover you want."

"Isn't there supposed to be something about the balance of the world in there too?"

"You can fit it between the movers and the world leaders, if you want," Hanjo chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"I've got to actually do the saving the world thing at least once before I get any of that stuff," Sen explained. "Let's focus on that first, all right?"

"Deal."

Hanjo picked up some brochure that had been lying around, either left there by the train company or by a recent passenger. It was a Varrick Industries advertisement, which somehow managed to be aggressive and loud despite being made of paper. Despite all the excitement and innovation it promised, a shadow seemed to hang over every word, and Hanjo found himself re-reading the same sentences over and over again, having forgotten what he had just read. Confused, Hanjo tried to pass the pamphlet off to Sen, but he refused it.

Sen was too busy looking out the window to care about any technology. You couldn't reinvent the mountains, and they were his focus right now. It was silly of him to anthropomorphize geology, but he really admired how immovable mountains were. The same snow-covered peaks had been here as long as anyone could remember, living through every war and thousands of Avatars. It was fun to stare at them, as blurry as they were in the distance.

Something interrupted his view for a second. It looked like another train car, but that was impossible. There was only one rail here. It vanished as soon as it appeared.

Several minutes later, a group of railway employees barged into the room, looking scared. Sen rolled his eyes. Of course there was a problem.

"We ask that you all remain calm," One employee said. People immediately began not being calm. "Please move forward into the train in a slow and orderly fashion."

The party of employees slowly moved through the train car to escort people forward. They got to Sen and Hanjo soon enough.

"Can we help in any way," Sen asked. "We're both Earthbenders."

"The best thing you kids can do is move forward and help maintain order in the upper cars, if you're so willing to help. We can handle anything that happens."

An employee broke off from the pack and started leading them forward. Hanjo let his curiosity get the better of him.

"So what exactly is going on?"

"Rail Tracers," the escort said. "They use metalbending to create an artificial railing alongside ours, and rob trains without having to stop them. They generally focus on cargo containers, so I assure you you're in no personal danger."

"Aww no, Gun," Sen said.

"Gun?"

"Did any of your buddies talk about two kids trying to get a stubborn badgermole on the train?"

"That was you?"

Sen nodded. Their escort groaned.

"Have they ever abducted live cargo before?"

"Yes," the escort said. "Exotic animals like Badgermoles are especially common targets."

Sen and Hanjo immediately turned around and started walking the other way. There was no way they were going to abandon Gun after he'd gotten them out of Zang safely. He was a mess of an animal, but he was their animal. To their surprise, the escort started walking with them without question.

"You aren't going to try and stop us," Hanjo asked.

"I had a lemur when I was a kid. I know how important pets are, pal," he replied. "My name's Tserang, by the way."

"I'm Kon, and this is Wei," Hanjo said. Tserang nodded and kept moving. He even covered for the kids when they passed another employee. Sen was starting to like this guy.

"So, you seem to be familiar with the Rail Tracers," Hanjo said. "Any clues on their usual routine."

"Just one. Other metalbenders can detach their cars pretty easily. Any chance either of you are…"

"No such luck," Hanjo said. "We aren't even very good earthbenders, honestly."

"I'm not even a bender," Tserang said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm very confident in our odds," Hanjo said. Sen couldn't tell if he actually meant that.

The first cargo car was uneventful, having been left untouched, at least so far. Same with the second. The third one showed signs that it had been broken into, but no Rail Tracers.

"That's bad," Tserang said. "If there was no trouble down the line then there'd be agents here assessing the damage."

"So we're heading for trouble. Good to know."

Sen reached to the bottom of the car. Clods of dirt and small pebbles had stuck to the bottom of some crates that had been resting on the ground, and earth was in short supply on a speeding train. He'd need the ammunition. He moved forward, holding the loose stones in the palm of his hand.

The fifth car had been absolutely ransacked. Crates had been torn to bits everywhere and luggage was scattered across the area, but still no Rail Tracers. Gun was in the seventh car, which meant they were almost guaranteed to encounter trouble in the sixth. Tserang led the way.

The moment they opened the door a scream rang out. They rushed in to see a massive hole torn in the side of the train car, with train employees forming a barrier between it and any of the luggage. The Rail Tracers were finally in sight, standing just in front of the hole.

"Tserang! Why'd you bring kids here?"

"They wanted to help, and they've got something important back here."

"Well they better be metalbenders, because our last one just got thrown overboard."

Tserang shook his head. The questioning employee sighed.

"We can all end this peacefully if you just hand over a reasonable amount of valuables," one of the Rail Tracers said. "Especially whatever important thing your babysitter's talking about. Once it's worth our while, we'll leave. Deal?"

"It's a deal," Hanjo said, catching everyone off guard. All the employees looked at him like he was an idiot, but Sen just shook his head. He could see what was coming.

"I'll hand over my stuff first," Hanjo said. "And I think you'll find it more than enough. I just have to go to the next train car to get it, okay?"

"This kid's going to go far in life, see," the lead Rail Tracer said. "Alright, head on over and get your stuff. We'll see if it meets our standards."

Hanjo couldn't believe something this dumb was actually going to work. Tserang seemed to have caught on as well, because he put his hand in front of his mouth to hide a grin. The rest of the employees were out of the loop, and just kept looking back and forth in confusion.

Tserang burst out laughing as the young badgermole dove through the door and started attacking the Rail Tracers. As the bandits scrambled back to their makeshift train car, the rest of the employees finally got the joke and joined in the laughter. Gun bit one of the bandits on the rear, sending him hobbling across the cargo container, and they started laughing even harder.

When the last of the Tracers was on board their car and the whole crew faded into the distance, Gun stopped his rampage and nuzzled Sen expectantly, looking for a treat. Sen didn't have any food on him, but he did give Gun a very affectionate pat on the head, which barely managed to satisfy his ego.

The other employees started shuffling back towards the passenger cars to tell the passengers to relax. Tserang stayed behind to watch over the teenagers and their badgermole.

"Hey, what about that guy who got thrown overboard? Is he going to be okay?"

"Oh, most likely," Tserang said. "We all get taught how to fall off speeding trains. It's an occupational hazard."

"How do you keep getting employees?"

"We have really good insurance."

The three of them managed to calm the ornery badgermole and get Gun back into his resting spot in the seventh cargo car. Tserang wiped badgermole fur off of his uniform and shook hands with the kids.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," He said. "This could have gone much worse without you two and your badgermole."

"We're just glad we could help," Sen said. He really meant it. It was nice to do something right and not have to face some kind of consequences for once. Nobody but the bad guys got hurt this time. Not to mention they hadn't blown their cover at all.

"I'll put in a good word for you in the kitchen car," Tserang said. "Train food isn't very good, but free food is the best kind, right?"

"Sounds right to me," Hanjo said.

"You two should get back to your seats ASAP," Tserang advised. "We're about to come up on the Zaofu mainline, where six rail lines run side by side. It's awesome watching the cars race past, or alongside you."

Sen and Hanjo took their seats and looked out the window expectantly. Sure enough, winding metal tracks came into view, and before long a second train had pulled up alongside them. Sen pressed his face against the glass. Once the rails got closer they'd probably be able to see right through the windows of the other train car.

As they pulled up alongside the other train, Sen groaned. Some of the windows were broken. He couldn't see anyone inside.

A heavy thud came from the roof above, and with a great grinding shriek, the roof of the train car tore open. Their fellow passengers panicked and clung tightly to their seats as surges of air rushed through the vehicle. A muscular figure dropped from the ceiling, landing in the middle of the car. He started shouting over the sound of rushing wind. He struck a dramatic pose as he introduced himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Shai Dan," he began.

"The most dangerous Rail Tracer ever!" another passenger screamed.

"Thank you, ma'am, for continuing my introduction," Shai Dan said. "Now shut up. Please hand over your valuables. Jewelry preferred."

He pulled out a metal tin and started holding it out like a miser begging for coin. He went up and down the line of seats, stopping at every passenger, taking their jewelry before stashing it in a pouch on his belt. He even thanked them for their 'donations'. Sen didn't much like his sense of humor. When he got to Sen, he had a joke of his own prepared.

"Sorry, sir," He said meekly. "But I'm dirt broke."

Sen held up his palm, which was still covered in dirt from earlier, and displayed it to Shai Dan. The highwayman actually seemed amused.

"Oh, dirt broke, that's a good one," Shai Dan said with a chuckle. "I'll have to remember that-"

The cloud of dirt flew out of Sen's palm, striking Shai Dan in his right eye. Sen had meant to get him in both eyes, but his aim wasn't very good. Shai Dan dropped his collection tray to claw at his eyes, and Sen caught it as it fell. With a heavy swing, he slammed the metal tray into Shai Dan's chin.

Shai Dan pushed Sen away and took a few steps back to clear his eyes. When he finally regained his sight, he was no longer so amused.

"I try to play the gentleman bandit routine, I try to be charming about it," He muttered angrily. "But there's always got to be a guy like you who confuses my natural charisma for softness."

He pulled the metal tray out of Sen's hand with his bending and split it into six bladed pieces. Sen was now out of ammo and ideas.

"Now I'm going to show you all why I'm the best Rail Tracer there ever was!"

He sent a piece of metal flying at Sen. He dove behind his chair and let the bladed shard embed itself in the seat cushions. Shai Dan kept an eye on his hiding spot, waiting for him to show himself.

"Who else could pull off robbing the entire Zaofu mainline at once? No one, that's who! I'm the best there ever was, or ever will be! Give up now and I'll only toss you off the train."

"You make it sound so appealing," Sen shouted back.

"Your other option is that I tie you to the back and let the train drag you all the way to Zaofu!"

That actually did make the first option sound appealing. Sen looked for something he could use. Dirt that had gotten stuck to the bottom of someone's shoes, an errant pebble that hadn't gotten swept away, anything.

Shai Dan let another blade fly into the chair, just to prove he was still a threat. Sen ducked as he felt the blade sink deep into the cushion. Shai Dan started chuckling again, but it was a much more sinister chuckle.

Hanjo, meanwhile, was trying to play himself off as an innocent bystander. He wouldn't do Sen any good getting himself stabbed by a bandit. Better to wait for the perfect opportunity and strike then. As he observed the length of the train car, he saw his opportunity.

"Wei, now!"

Sen had absolutely nothing to do and no idea what Hanjo could possibly want him to do, so he stayed behind his chair. Shai Dan shifted his focus to Hanjo, though, and thus he ignored the train car door opening behind him. The sound of rushing air from the open ceiling disguised the sound it made as it opened, and the footsteps as a new arrival entered.

Tserang dropped a small boulder on the bandit's head, stunning him for just a second.

"Kon, Wei, I got rocks!"

Hanjo jumped out of his seat and pulled Tserang's rocks towards himself. He didn't waste any time launching them right back at Shai Dan. The new barrage managed to keep him off his feet long enough for Sen to join in the attack as well. Shai Dan made the mistake of ignoring Tserang's presence once again, and as he tried to retaliate against the teenagers, Tserang clubbed him on the head with a wrench. He fell forward and hit the ground hard.

Slamming his hands down fiercely, Shai Dan made the floor of the train car ripple, sending his attackers off balance. He pulled a fragment of the torn roof downwards, grabbing onto it with one hand and collecting his scattered loot with the other. He bent the material of the roof until he was on top of the car. Sen sent some stones flying after him, but they all flew wide of their target and went soaring into the air.

"I've still got the loot," Shai Dan bragged. He leaped to the roof of the adjacent train car and laughed at his opponents.

Sen and Tserang weren't about to lift themselves to the top of the train, but Hanjo was a little more daring. He stood on top of the largest stone Tserang had brought in and used it to propel himself to the top of the train.

Getting his footing on top of the vehicle was much more difficult than he had anticipated. The robbery had not slowed the train down at all. After toppling down a few times he finally managed to figure out his balance and chase after Shai Dan. He resisted the urge to launch rocks after his quarry. Up here he only had so much ammunition.

Shai Dan tore open the rooftops behind him, making it harder for Hanjo to give chase, but he managed. After a while, the bandit came to a dead halt and held his hands up.

"Look kid," He shouted over the roaring air. "I can respect this. You've given me a good fight, made this heist something to really brag about. But if you keep this up, I'm going to have to do something you'll regret. Turn around and I'll let you be the guy who survived Shai Dan. Keep this up-"

Shai Dan tore a piece of piping off the top of the train car and sharpened it into a spear with his bending. He flourished the makeshift spear at Hanjo.

"-and you're just another homicide charge."

Hanjo thought about all the precious stones Shai Dan would be making off with. The pouch on his belt had to have dozens of diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones in it. He shook his head.

"Alright, you can go," Hanjo said.

Shai Dan gave his worthy opponent a salute. He turned to face the makeshift train car that was his getaway, and leapt off the train.

Halfway through the jump, Shai Dan felt a tug on his waist, lost his balance completely, and nearly plummeted off the train. He managed to catch himself on the railing, but he should still be falling over. The only thing keeping him from plummeting to certain doom was his conspicuously hovering belt pouch.

"You like that," Hanjo shouted. He had his hand extended, focused on Shai Dan's belt. "I figured you'd appreciate it."

Shai Dan figured it out. He actually was impressed.

"You got me by the jewels," He said. Gemstones were just minerals, when you got down to it, and they could be bent like any other rock. Hanjo was holding him in place with his own loot.

"You can still escape if, you want," Hanjo shouted. "But you aren't going anywhere with the loot."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Shai Dan laughed. Hanjo laughed with him.

"Problem is," Shai Dan continued, suddenly taking a more sinister tone. "This is my legend, not yours. So I've got to win."

Shai Dan's spear, which he'd discarded earlier while making his escape, soared through the air at Hanjo.

Hanjo felt a heavy impact hit him from the right, spinning him around. He tugged unconsciously, and Shai Dan's belt pouch tore itself from his waist. The Rail Tracer had time to realize how stupid his whole plan was before he plummeted to the ground.

Hanjo got his bearings back. He was being pressed down by something oddly heavy. He was definitely not impaled, though, which was a good thing.

"You alright, Kon?"

Tserang was pressing Hanjo against the ground, having barely tackled him before the spear went sailing past. The odd weight wasn't coming from Tserang himself, but from a strange pair of gloves he was wearing. Tserang helped Hanjo to his feet and demonstrated his new equipment.

"Nice, huh," he said, flexing the fingers of his metal gloves. He had a matching pair of boots. "Magnetic accessories. Varrick invented them to film The Legend of Bolin 12: Revenge of the Colossus. Us railways guys got our hands on them later. Good for rooftop fights."

Tserang helped Hanjo back to their car. The trip was much easier with his magnetic shoes keeping them in place. Sen was relieved to see the two come back in one piece, and even more excited to see that Hanjo had recovered the stolen valuables. He handed them off to Tserang.

"I'll see these all get back to their rightful owners once we make station at Zaofu."

"Can you return mine first? It's the biggest, most expensive looking one," Hanjo joked.

"Hey, come on now," Tserang laughed. "Avatars don't steal."

Sen and Hanjo froze. Sen had really been hoping to avoid this.

"Two kids travelling with a badgermole, diving into danger just to help people? Who else could you be," He said with a smile. "Don't worry; I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

Sen smiled back. He figured it was time for a real introduction.

"I'm Avatar Sen," He said. "This is Hanjo."

"Nice to finally meet you," Tserang said. "A lot of people have been waiting a long time for you to show up."

"They're going to have to wait a bit longer," Sen said. "I'm not even very good at Earthbending yet."

"You'll get there," Tserang assured him. "Until then, enjoy the ride."


	7. The Sword of Zaofu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally in Zaofu, Sen and Hanjo take a break to enjoy themselves, but the city of the Metal Clan may hold more than they bargained for

Zaofu was everything they'd imagined it to be. Glittering towers soared into the sky, bridged by shifting metal walkways and crawling monorail lines. Kuvira's disassembly of the domes had opened up a new era of expansionism in the city of the Metal Clan, as the buildings poured outwards and upwards at once. Experimental architecture had changed the face of many corners of the city, but only one innovation had traveled through the whole city; the soaring skyway.

The abundance of skyscrapers had made certain commutes a bit of a pain, having to go twenty stories down and then twenty stories up again just to get to an office that was, relatively speaking, only about fifty feet away. You could look through the window of a neighboring office but take almost half an hour to get to it. The skyway's changed that. Now railings travelled along the sides of buildings, carrying mobile skyways that allowed you to walk from one skyscraper to another with ease.

"We've got to go on one of those," Sen said. Hanjo agreed.

Unlike the small community of Zang, Zaofu was too crowded for the two new arrivals to receive any special attention. Gun had tunneled himself into the ground shortly after their arrival, so there was nothing that special about the two of them now. They were free to wander the streets with impunity.

They felt like they stuck out, being two modestly dressed teenagers in a city full of men and women dressed in artistic finery and formal business wear, but all the overdressed adults were too busy with their business or pleasure to pay any attention to them. The most attention they got was someone asking them to hold an elevator.

When they finally got to one of the soaring skyways, they realized they had no idea where they were headed. They decided to wing it and hope they ended up somewhere useful. They enjoyed the ride up and down the sides of the skyscrapers, until they decided to change to another skyway. They bustled through crowds, pushing past businessmen, artists, and a young couple on a date to get to another exhilarating ride on the skyway trail.

"How long do you think we should do this?"

"I've got at least forty minutes left in me before it stops being cool," Hanjo said. He pressed his face against the glass to watch the skyscrapers soar past.

"Well, I mean, there's other stuff to do in Zaofu, isn't there?"

"Yeah, but we can do that later. I saw a really tall building over that way and I want to ride the skyway on that one."

The couple they had pushed past earlier stood next to them at the skyway window, apparently un-offended by the way Hanjo had barged past them. The boy was tall, wiry, and a little goofy looking, and the girl next to him was clearly out of his league. She was short, but she had very intense brown eyes that seemed to be looking at everything at once. Sen looked out the window and tried not to make a fool out of himself by staring at the pretty girl.

"If you're looking for something to do," The girl said to Hanjo. "The metalbending museum got a new piece recently. I'm sure you've heard of Sokka's sword?"

Even Sen knew about Sokka's sword, and he was clueless about the outside world. Though it had undergone long periods of obscurity, being lost on the Earth kingdom coastline before Sokka recovered it, and then left unused by the descendant of Sokka who had inherited it, the times in which it had been used were glorious indeed. Though Sokka's grandson had been too lazy to use the blade, his great-granddaughter had put it to good use fighting in the Seventh Kingdom Uprisings, using it to win several battles of the short war. She had apparently decided to gift it to the Zaofu metalbending museum, on the grounds it was connected to the meteor Toph had used to build up her metalbending school.

The attractive girl's geeky-looking boyfriend gave them directions to the museum, and said that they would probably see each other again at the museum. Hanjo and Sen paid little attention to them and bolted off to see the fancy space sword. The crowds around the building were thick, as the sword was apparently a popular new exhibit, but Hanjo and Sen managed to push through. The packed crowd got thicker as they got nearer to the sword exhibit, and they were unable to get too close to the sword. They could still see it, and that was enough for the duo.

It was not especially impressive in its appearance; except for the strangely dark color that the meteoric iron gave the blade, it was a fairly standard Jian longsword. The White Lotus emblem on the hilt still remained intact, one of the only remnants of the old order in the world after the Energybender's attack. The wrappings on the handle had been replaced several times, apparently, but everything else was still the exact same as it had been when Sokka first forged it. It had never even been sharpened; the strange alloy it was made of had an uncanny ability to hold an edge.

Hanjo caught a glimpse of the goofy-looking boy who had given them directions on the other side of the crowd, though he had somehow lost his girlfriend. The boy vanished into the crowd as quickly as he had appeared. Hanjo elbowed Sen and pointed out the sudden disappearance.

"I can barely see the sword from here," Sen objected. "How was I supposed to see that?"

Hanjo glanced at the sword's display case. It was clearly visible, though far away. he wondered why Sen couldn't see it well. His line of thought was quickly distracted by a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned around to see the dorky boy standing behind him, having crossed the crowd at an uncanny speed.

"Told you we'd see each other," The boy said. Hanjo was a little suspicious now. This boy was not the unassuming civilian he had first appeared to be.

"What happened to the girl you were with?"

"Oh, she's out and about. I'll introduce you later. I can show you some other cool stuff, if you want."

Sen agreed to the tour before Hanjo had a chance to object. It would just create more problems now if Hanjo voiced his suspicions, so he followed along.

"My name's Canto, by the way," the boy said. He led them to a display of the metal cage that had held Toph prisoner just before she had invented metalbending. Hanjo introduced himself and Sen, using their aliases of Kon and Wei. Canto shook their hands and continued on his seemingly friendly tour. The meteor that Korra had used to become the first metalbending avatar, and the chain she had used in her later battle with Zaheer, were the primary draws of the exhibit focused on Korra, the first metalbending Avatar. Sen felt a strange surge of recognition whenever he looked at the history of Korra laid out before him.

After leading them through the interesting bits of history, Canto took them down to the more abandoned sections of the museum. They stopped in front of a large model that ranked metals by how easy they were to metalbend. The hardest were aluminum and platinum, along with precious metals like gold and silver. At the bottom rung you had unrefined iron, and a whole spectrum of metals in between.

"This one's a bit outdated," Canto admitted. "Nowadays they can refine iron so well it can barely be bent. There's no impurities unless you deliberately leave them in."

It was, technically, possible to bend completely purified metal, but there were very few instances of it being done, and those few times were in very isolated, calm conditions. It was unlikely that anyone would ever bend platinum in a real fight. Canto turned around to look at Hanjo.

"Any chance you're a metalbender, Hanjo?"

"Not yet, at least," Hanjo said. He was still fairly confident he could learn it one day, but it would take some professional training first.

Hanjo saw Sen's jaw drop out of the corner of his eye, and realized what he had done far too late. He'd been duped into revealing his real name with one of the simplest tricks in the book. Canto held up his hands in an expression of surrender. This wing of the museum was nearly empty, but he kept his voice low anyway.

"Don't worry, calm down," Canto said. Sen and Hanjo did not listen at all. If they had to fight in the middle of a museum, so be it.

"You two are really bad at noticing when you're being followed," Canto said.

As he spoke, some of the tourists in this part of the museum gradually shifted around to different exhibits, quite conveniently placing themselves between the trio of young men and all the exits. Canto glanced around, then returned his attention to the Avatar and his companion.

"I'm on your side," Canto said. "You've got a lot of friends here, but that's made it a popular target for your enemies too. It's not as safe here as you think."

"Then we'll leave on our own, thanks," Hanjo said. He backed a few steps away from Canto, and Sen followed him. The tourists behind them tensed visibly. Canto crossed his arms and tapped his elbow eleven times, the number of suspicious tourists he saw. Hanjo took another step back as he saw the suspicious gesture.

"If you're really on our side you won't try to stop us," Hanjo warned one more time. He didn't believe Canto's story in the slightest. If he were to turn around and see the "tourists" rapidly closing in on him, he might change his mind, but he did not turn around until he heard a dull thud and a loud scream.

A spike of ice that might have otherwise impaled Hanjo sailed broad to the side and crashed against the wall of the museum. One of the disguised enemies was bent over backwards, clutching at his gut. Canto's girlfriend was standing in front of the prone figure, and with a heavy swing of her leg, she slammed her heel into the attacker's face like a hammer, shattering his nose and teeth. The display of brutal violence shattered Sen's growing attraction to Ada, as well as the victims jaw.

Canto pulled a sword seemingly out of nowhere, and tossed it to his girlfriend, who removed a matching blade from a matching hiding place. Twin swords in hand, she went to work dismantling the attacking force. There were benders among the enemy force, and though she displayed no bending of her own, her martial skills and her swords made her more than a match for every single one of the eleven attackers. Sen was equal parts impressed and distressed by the display. She was talented, but she was unrestrained, using her blades without a care in the world for the pain she inflicted on her targets. Sen knew in the back of his head that cutting people is what swords were for, but it wasn't something he liked to see.

He looked closer at the battlefield, and in between the gleaming blades, Sen saw the glint of a smile on her face. Something about that made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"Ah, I said I'd introduce her," Canto said. "This is Ada."

Hanjo took in the sight of battle. All of the enemies had stopped focusing on the boys to deal with the female maelstrom of blades that had dropped into their midst. Hanjo looked to Canto.

"You going to help her or what?"

"Does she look like she needs my help?"

As if on cue, Ada swept her blade across the heels of the last attacker, sending them to the ground. Once she was certain that all her opponents were soundly defeated, Ada turned to the trio and gave a light smirk. Sen's face turned red, but then turned pale again when Ada strode confidently over to Canto and kissed him passionately.

Ada let go of Canto and shook her head, regaining her senses. None of the training she had done had prepared her for the sheer exhilaration of combat. Her heart was pounding, her adrenaline was pumping, she felt like she could take on the world. Despite her adrenaline high, she did have some duties to attend to. She straightened her hair and bowed towards the Avatar.

"My name is Ada," She said. She had not heard Canto introduce her, preoccupied as she was by completely dismantling a superior force, so she got a bit redundant. "It's an honor to meet you. But we should leave."

The commotion had attracted undue attention, and spectators were starting to gather. Ada led the way to an employee area of the museum, and quickly led them through winding maintenance tunnels. Sen kept pace as Ada led them into increasingly darker tunnels. Hanjo was still having his misgivings about the whole scenario, but Ada had proven quite decisively that she was there to protect them. He decided to play along for now.

Ada came to a dead halt in the walls of the maintenance tunnel, right next to an arrow-shaped chalk mark on the wall. She slammed her arm against the stone wall and waited. Nothing happened, so she turned to Sen.

"There's a safehouse back here," she said. "Can you open it up for us? Someone's supposed to be stationed inside, but they aren't."

Sen held his questions and walked up the portion of the wall with the chalk mark. He pressed his hands against it and moved the stones slowly, trying to get a feel for where the opening was. When he was confident, he began to dismantle the wall in their way.

"Are neither of you benders," Hanjo asked. It seemed strange that in a city defined by metalbending, the first people they'd met were both nonbenders.

"Unfortunately, no," Canto said. "There's meant to be one in every safehouse, but I guess they're slacking off."

Sen removed the last piece of the brick wall, and a cloud of dust rose up. Apparently the agent who was supposed to be stationed here had been slacking for quite some time. The area was covered in dust and cob webs. The four hurried inside, and Sen and Hanjo teamed up to rebuild the wall, completely disguising the fact that it had ever opened. Once they were safe, Ada offered them some long overdue explanations.

"We're with the Beifong family, technically," Ada said. "They knew they'd be spied on by the Energybender, so they trusted a family friend, our master Ko Rin, to handle supporting the Avatar in secret on their behalf. This way they can give you the support you need while still avoiding suspicion themselves."

The Beifongs were heavily involved in world affairs to this day. Huan's daughter ruled over Zaofu, an entire province of the Earth Kingdom, and her cousin Rannoch Beifong served as a Minister in the United Earth Kingdom Parliament. Since some of the other provincial leaders and Ministers were more heavily opposed to the Avatar, the Beifongs overtly giving Sen support would spark tension across the whole country. It made sense for them to keep their support under wraps.

"So the Beifongs use people like you as proxies," Hanjo said.

"Technically. We serve Ko Rin, not any of the Beifongs. Our operation was started by Baatar Junior shortly before his death. With him gone, no one in the Beifong family knows about us. They're often scrutinized by truth-seers, so secrecy is key."

Hanjo nodded. He'd been hoping to meet Wing and Wei while they were here, but he understood why that wasn't possible. The name Bataar Junior troubled him slightly, but Kuvira's former fiancee had spent most of his life atoning for his part in creating the Spirit Cannon, so Hanjo felt like he could trust this last effort. Hopefully the fact that his final act had helped save the new Avatar's life would help further redeem Bataar Jr.'s tainted reputation.

Canto had taken up position at the dusty radio and was trying to use it to connect to Ko Rin, intending to fill their master in on all the details, but he was having no luck so far. If this was a phone everything would be so much easier, but it was hard to get a phone line into a secret safehouse. He passed the time by helping Ada answer the Avatar's questions.

"So how do you two know who we are?"

"Technically, we only know who Hanjo is. Our allies recovered his documents from the orphanage, and it was easy to get his description from fellow orphans. You, however, were much more troublesome, Avatar. We don't know your name, your parents, your history. Anything."

"Well, um, I'm Sen," He said. "That's actually all I can tell you. I don't know any of that other stuff either."

Most of Sen's life was a blank slate, now that he thought about it. His years at the orphanage had been very uneventful.

"It's an honor to meet you, Avatar Sen."

Ada bowed deeply. Sen had never been bowed to before. He should probably get used to it. He had the feeling it was going to happen a lot more in the near future.

"So how did you two find us?"

"Coincidence, actually," Ada admitted. "We really were heading to the museum when we met you."

"Ada is very interested in swords," Canto chimed in. Ada rolled her eyes.

"There's a little more to it than that," Ada mumbled. The real explanation was long-winded and convoluted, so she spared Sen the details. He had other questions anyway. Sen asked a few questions about the Energybender. Unfortunately, Ada had no more answers than Sen did. The man known as Howler was still an enigma, rarely making public appearances or speaking to anyone outside of his organization. His methods, his agenda, and the true extent of his powers was still a mystery. One of the only conclusive facts, thanks to the last survivors of the White Lotus, was that this Energybender was likely a successor or partner to the one who had destroyed the White Lotus. The Energybender responsible for attacking the Lotus Headquarters had been an elderly man with a plain face; the current Energybender who had appeared at Beaker Hall was young, with grey circles around his eyes.

The radio suddenly crackled to life, catching all those in the room off guard. Canto grabbed the mouthpiece and started listing off a sequence of numbers, completely meaningless to any random listener, but a very meaningful signal to Ko Rin. It said that they were in a secure location but were being pursued, and that they had the Avatar with them.

"My location is likewise secure, we may speak freely," an elderly mans voice said. Canto explained the full situation of the museum attack. The radio was silent for a brief moment when Canto finished his summation.

"May I speak to the Avatar?"

Canto relinquished the radio, and Sen reluctantly sat in front of the microphone.

"Hi, this is Avatar Sen," He said sheepishly.

"I regret that we cannot meet in person, Avatar," Ko Rin said. "I would like to know more about your situation. What skills you have, where you have been, anything that may help me serve you."

Sen gave Ko Rin an abridged version of his adventures thus far, including people who might know he was the Avatar, as well as the fact that he had little to no skills in earthbending.

"My agents will take steps to ensure that the town of Zang and the train worker Tserang remain secure, then. As to your bending training, I believe I can find you a master that should suit your needs. The process may take several days, to ensure the utmost security. You should be safe for the moment, so rest easy. Ada can lead you to a more comfortable safehouse at nightfall, when travel is more secure. I will be in contact when we are ready to move."

The radio crackled once more and then fell silent. Sen happily stepped away from the radio and looked over his new allies. As impressive as Ada was, she was counterbalanced by Canto, who did not exactly exude usefulness. They made an odd pair. Sen wondered how a talented warrior had ended up with a quiet dork like Canto. Maybe that was just some latent jealousy talking, though.

"So, when we get out of here," Hanjo began. "What then?"

"We'll cycle through several safehouses until Ko Rin finds you a master. Our enemies will be watching us closely after this attack, though, so this may take a while."

"I like the idea of moving faster, though. Could we leave today?"

"In theory," Ada said roughly. "We have resources set up in advance to help you, but the question is finding a master. Among other concerns."

Ada and Canto glanced briefly at Hanjo, then tried to act like they hadn't. Their training in stealth was apparently subpar, because Hanjo definitely noticed.

"What's that look supposed to mean?"

"Well, if we could use you to track the Avatar, Hanjo," Ada explained. "So could anyone. It's nothing personal, but we think you should part ways with the Avatar."

"That's not going to happen," Sen stated. Hanjo had rarely heard him be so decisive. Ada shrugged.

"It was only a suggestion. I understand wanting to keep people close."

Ada and Canto smiled warmly at one another. Perhaps this situation dug up some fond memories for the young couple. Sen was just glad they weren't trying to take him and Hanjo apart. Hanjo had been his only direction so far, even if he insisted on keeping their destination secret. He would be a very confused Avatar without Hanjo leading the way.

The four of them broke off into their pre-determined pairs, Ada with Canto and Hanjo with Sen, to discuss recent events. Hanjo and Sen mostly discussed business, and while Ada and Canto started out much the same, they rapidly devolved into more flirtatious behavior. Sen was surprised that he didn't feel bothered by this. His earlier attraction to Ada had been a very passing thing, apparently. With that out of his mind, he could focus on planning with Hanjo. Hanjo eventually had an idea that required the input of the flirty couple. Hanjo forced them out of their game of winking and whispering and made them listen to him.

"You said you had a way to get us out of here already, right?"

"We do. We have a vehicle and supplies ready to go once Ko Rin is done."

"And why are we waiting on Ko Rin?"

"Because we need an earthbending master for Sen."

"We can find another one," Hanjo explained. "Probably a better one. If the Energybender really is watching you that closely, he'll notice if a talented master suddenly disappears."

Hanjo had a point. Howler would likely be watching out for sudden disappearances like that, especially in Zaofu. It might be better to recruit a master from a town under less heavy scrutiny, so their travels with the Avatar would go unnoticed.

"I think we should leave now. If Ko Rin has to worry that much about security, we should just leave him out of it. He can't let the enemy know if he doesn't know."

Ada shook her head intensely.

"No way. No. We're not going behind Ko Rin's back on this one. We need him to make sure we can travel stealthily, so we can avoid attention."

"But can't you two do that?"

"Not on such short notice. It would take a long time to plan all that out..."

"Not if you went with them," Canto said. Sen could see Ada's shoes come loose as she nearly jumped out of them. Hanjo had actually been thinking something along those lines, so he nodded in agreement.

"I was actually going to invite both of you," Hanjo added. "If you're willing."

"I'm no good on the road or in a fight," Canto said, and Hanjo didn't doubt it. Inviting Canto had mostly been a courtesy move; you could tell just from looking at the wiry nerd that he was no good in a fight. "I'd only use up supplies. Ada will be much more help."

"What do you think, Sen?"

Sen was of two minds. Ada had a lot of the things they needed; she had intelligence, combat skills, and resources. They'd be much better off for having her. On the other hand, Sen could not shake the image of her slicing Energybender troops to ribbons from his head. She was overzealous in combat, to the point where Sen worried about being in a fight with her. He couldn't just say that to her, though; she seemed to be nice enough when she wasn't in the middle of a fight, and Sen was loathe to hurt her feelings. He decided to leave it up to her.

"I'd like to know what Ada thinks," Sen said. Nobody had yet asked her opinion on this plan. She had been sitting around looking confused while Hanjo and Canto had discussed things. The three turned to her, and she shook her head slowly.

"I can't just- I can't leave so suddenly. I mean, my parents, and Ko Rin, what would they think? And Canto, you-"

"I'll explain everything, doll," Canto said with a sickeningly saccharine tone. "This is the kind of thing you were born to do. I mean, the way you fought earlier, I've never seen you so excited! You were meant for adventure."

Ada could remember the earlier rampage. She'd never felt quite so alive, not in all her years of training, or dating Canto, had anything made her quite as excited as the rush of combat. She could feel something like an addiction already. She wanted to fight again. She needed to fight again. She looked at Sen, the Avatar, and saw the adventure of a lifetime. The thought of it set her heart pounding, and she made up her mind. Sen caught the eager look in his eyes and almost regretted his decision.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Canto clapped his hands together and stood up. Ada got up, stretched out her arms, and then gave Canto an uncomfortably long kiss. Hanjo and Sen waited awkwardly for the two lovers to part lips. Hanjo coughed lightly as it dragged on. They pulled their faces apart at his insistence.

"Call me when you get the chance," a deeply lovestruck Canto said.

"Of course," Ada said, in a tone so light-hearted you'd almost forget she had single-handedly demolished eleven trained soldiers just an hour earlier. Even the biggest badasses had to get a little flowery sometimes.

Hanjo tore open the brick wall of the safehouse, and the two lovers reluctantly parted ways. Canto ran off to an unknown destination, while Ada led Hanjo and Sen to their exit from Zaofu. They escaped the museum, which was now surrounded by police and curious bystanders, and dove through open streets and hidden passages. Eventually their frantic sprint took them to a tunnel underground, merely on part of a complex network. The amount of earthbenders that lived in Zaofu made secret tunnels such as this very easy to make.

A quiet march through underground tunnels first led them to a hidden armory, a stockpile of weaponry and armor. Hanjo was very excited to see some of the fancy tools, but Ada insisted they only take a few things. She handed Hanjo a smoke canister hidden within a rock; the rock around the gas dispenser could be earthbent like any other stone, making it more useful than a traditional throwable canister. She gave Sen a few platinum orbs; she explained that there were stones in the center of each. Someone who knew about the hidden stones would be able to bend them, seemingly defying the laws of metalbending and preventing other earthbenders from stealing or deflecting the stones with their own bending. She then took one last thing, a small round device, but refused to explain what it was. Sen didn't like that she was already keeping secrets, but decided to trust her, since he was apparently stuck with her now.

Finally, she grabbed two swords, a pair of short Dao swords with a strange mechanism on the back. She traded out the blades she had used earlier for the new pair. With a flick of a switch, an electric current ran through both swords, explaining the function of the strange device on the flat of the blade. Sen would not want to be on the receiving end of such a vicious pair of swords. Luckily Ada was now on his team.

Abandoning the armory just as quickly as they had arrived, Ada continued their slog through the dark tunnels of the underground. They were barely illuminated by crystals that gave off a dull green glow. Sen wished he could firebend, just so he was actually able to see. Ada seemed to have an instinctive knowledge of where to go, and they soon arrived at their detination. They emerged from the tunnel network into what seemed to be a garage.

Hanjo admired several silent rows of satomobiles as they walked past. They were in various states of disrepair, many of them having been cannibalized for parts, but others were still in very good shape. Ada led them past rows and row of the vehicles, stopping in front of one covered by a tarp. Hanjo got very excited, and what was under the tarp did not disappoint. It was a beautiful machine, gleaming black and silver like it was fresh out of the factory. Ada noticed Hanjo's admiration.

"Some of us call it the Avatarmobile," She said.

"That is exactly what I was going to call it," Hanjo said with a smile.

"Everything we need should already be inside," Ada said. Hanjo took a look at the interior. It was just as posh as the paintjob on the outside, probably the fanciest upholstery available all around. Looking at the seats, it had room for six people. No cupholders, though. Sen had other concerns.

"We're never going to fit Gun in there," he said.

"Who's Gun?"

As if in answer, Gun emerged from the rocky ground of the garage. He took one look at the rows of Satomobiles, snarled, and vanished back into the earth immediately. Apparently he didn't like satomobiles.

"That was Gun," Hanjo said. "Animal guide."

Ada looked deeply concerned by the fact that she was going to be travelling with what was, by all appearances, a feral animal. She took a deep breath. travelling with the Avatar was the ultimate adventure, she recalled to herself, it was worth any amount of animal companions.

"You know, I have the feeling it'll be alright," Sen said. Gun had showed an uncanny ability to follow them in the past, after all. "Let's go."

Ada hopped into the drivers seat, as Hanjo barely knew how to drive, and started the engine. Hanjo and Sen tucked themselves into the backseat, relaxed, and enjoyed the ride.


	8. Looking Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new ally and new resources, Team Avatar crosses the barren expanse of the Stark Road, an empty plain with hidden dangers. Sen tries to get in touch with his spiritual side.

Wherever they were going, they were getting there a lot faster thanks to Ada and the Avatarmobile, but Sen still had no idea what their destination was. Hanjo and Ada had conferred about Hanjo's secret destination, but Sen was still out of the loop. He finally let his curiosity get the better of him.

"Please tell me where we're going," Sen begged. His only hope was that Ada would be more forthcoming. Hanjo's lips were sealed.

"Somewhere familiar," Ada hinted. "At least to your past life. It should help you connect with Korra. But it'll be more effective if it's a surprise."

Despite her advice, Sen still felt like guessing.

"Is it the pro-bending arena?"

It was not. It was also not Air Temple Island, the Spirit Portals, the South Pole, Sato Manor, or the one sushi stand with the pictures of Avatars, but they should probably go there sometime for a picture.

The only thing Ada and Hanjo would talk about was that it was past the Stark Road, a strip of road that winded through mountains, stretching out for such a distance that most satomobiles would run out of gas before even crossing it. It only existed for caravans and other long-duration trips, and was very sparsely travelled.

"The Gasoline Oasis is the last stop before we hit the Stark Road," Ada said. "It's a small business that sprung up just to serve travelers on this road. We can get gasoline and top off our supplies there, just to be safe."

The Avatarmobile was very fuel efficient, but even they'd need a spare gas tank to cross the whole road. Sen had raised the possibility of getting Gun to tunnel them through the mountains instead, but Hanjo and Ada were not willing to trust the satomobile to Gun's tunneling skills. Gun didn't seem to like the Avatarmobile much anyway. He refused to ride in it, preferring to tunnel alongside instead. He popped up now and then to huff angrily at the vehicle, but stayed underground otherwise. Sen didn't know how he could keep up travelling at these speeds for so long, but Gun seemed to be doing fine.

Even now Sen could see why they called it the Stark Road. The verdant evergreen forests of Zaofu province were giving way to scrub grass and small bushes. It wasn't quite as bad as the Siwong, but it was a fairly inhospitable landscape.

They found their way to the Gasoline Oasis after a few hours. It was a ramshackle building held together by rusty nails and prayers. Sen could practically smell the tetanus in the air. A few sketchy looking customers eyed the fancy chrome trimmings of the Avatarmobile, so Hanjo stayed with the vehicle while Sen and Ada got the necessary supplies.

"Do you have a phone, by any chance," Ada asked the elderly clerk. She shook her head, and Ada was clearly disappointed.

"You know, if you want, I could Astral Project myself to Canto and give him a message."

"Oh, that'd be great! Could you tell him-"

"Ada no," Sen said hastily. "That was joking. I can hardly earthbend."

Ada glared at him angrily. Sen put "the boyfriend" into his list of things that he could not joke about with Ada. He really didn't know what to do about her. Travelling with Hanjo and Gun had sort of happened organically, but Ada was different. She'd kind of come out of nowhere, and her violent entry into his life had left him with an awkward first impression. He figured talking business was a good place to start.

"So, do you think we'll encounter any trouble on the road?"

"Not likely," Ada said. "It's too desolate out there to support many bandit bases or large predators. The only thing we're liable to die of is boredom."

"I spent three weeks wandering the woods with only Hanjo for company," Sen said. "I can handle boredom."

Ada actually laughed at that. Sen was glad to hear her laugh. She was a normal person after all. Hopefully the two of them would become friends.

Hanjo stopped glaring at the sketchy people when Ada returned. She had swords, so there was no need to be intimidating when she was around. There were many kinds of people in the world, but all kinds agreed that large swords were to be avoided whenever convenient. They squeezed the supplies into the trunk and set off again. The road started getting very steep and very twisted within a mile or two. Ada took it slowly and carefully up the slopes.

"So, Ada tell me," Hanjo began. He put his feet up and Ada smacked them down. It didn't dissuade him. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what's going on in your life, overall? We know you have a boyfriend and you're a cool spy kind of girl, but what about the rest of your life? You're about the same age as me and Sen, but you're not an orphan like us."

"No, I'm not," Ada said. Zaofu was highly secure and very supportive of the Avatar; children had not been abandoned as frequently as they had been in the other provinces. Ada's parents had kept her despite the "risk" of her becoming the new Avatar. They had been a little relieved when she'd turned out a non-bender, though.

"You go to school or anything?"

"Not really," Ada replied. "If you're looking to find out what a normal life in Zaofu is like, you're probably asking the wrong person. I'm a black ops paramilitary agent, if you recall."

"You have a valid point," Hanjo said. "New question: What's it like being a black ops paramilitary agent?"

"Boring, until you two showed up. I spent all my days training. One time I tailed a Weaver to see what he was up to and make sure he didn't arrest anyone. I didn't do much else."

"What kind of secret agent are you?"

"A very special one. My unit was built exclusively to support you, Sen. Without you there, we didn't really have anything to do."

Ko Rin had organized the Ministers secret team into several groups, designating each with a specific duty. Ada had never met any agents outside her own small group, but she knew that there were teams focused on espionage, communication, and resource acquisition. Her group had been built specifically for the Avatar, acquiring resources for him and, in Ada's case, accompanying him and assuring his safety.

"How did you get a boyfriend in all the training and stuff?"

"Me and Canto worked together," Ada explained. "Eventually we decided to try something more. Ko Rin tried to separate us, at first, but we found workarounds, and he gave up."

"Please do go into detail about your courtship process," Hanjo asked sarcastically. "I'd like to know everything about how that guy managed to seduce you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hanjo began to backpedal hard enough to win a bike race in reverse. When Ada was satisfied with his confused retraction, she told him to stop talking, which he gladly did. It was hard to keep Hanjo's mouth shut for long, though, and within an hour of driving he was back into the conversation. This time his topic of choice would be something more helpful, though.

"Have you tried doing any meditating, Sen? Slipping through the world, and all that."

"Not a whole lot. We've been on the move most of the time since I've known I was the Avatar, haven't we?"

Sen had yet to think about a long-term plan for himself. Right now his two big concerns were to learn Earthbending and not get killed by the Energybender. Everything else was a tertiary objective. Spirituality had barely occurred to him.

"Well, I figure since Ada's doing the driving and everyone here knows you're the Avatar," Hanjo explained. "Why don't you do that monk thing and try to get in touch with your spiritual side."

"Ko Rin gave me some lessons that might help you," Ada offered. "He says not to envision yourself travelling between the material and spirit worlds, but to recognize that you already are between them."

"That's a little better than 'do that monk thing', yeah," Sen joked. Hanjo was, naturally, offended.

"The roads a little rough ahead, so don't start just yet," Ada told him. "We'll reach a very smooth plateau soon, so you can try then."

Sen listened to her advice and waited. The Avatarmobile was soon jostled by a bumpy, poorly paved road, shortly before they began a climb up a steep incline, forcing Sen to lean side to side as the vehicles center of balance shifted. This took quite some time before the level of the road normalized and they were once again on flat ground.

It was pretty obvious why they called it the Stark Road now. Hanjo couldn't see even see the end of the road ahead. The flat expanse stretched outwards past the horizon, seeming to vanish into the sky far in the distance.

"Well, this looks…calming," Sen muttered.

"It's very sparse," Ada said, agreeing. "But, sometimes that helps the spirit. Airbenders used to live completely without possessions, you know."

Hanjo was glad he was an earthbender, then. He really liked stuff. Sen decided it was time to give meditation a try.

He closed his eyes and focused on Ada's earlier words, imagining himself in both worlds at once. He pictured familiar sights from the material plane; the corridors of Beaker Hall, the arching trees of the forests, and the skyscrapers of Zaofu whirring by as he rode the skyways. Then he imagined the spirit world. He'd never been there, so this was much harder. He remembered descriptions of it, though, and constructed an image of shimmering auroras in the sky, strange alien plants, and glowing spirits wandering through fields of pink grass.

He took a deep breath, exhaled, and found his mind wandering to an image of a great tree, its branches spreading further than his eyes could see. There was something like a cloud sitting at the bottom, but not a cloud. All of it was bathed in a blindingly brilliant light, like staring directly into the sun.

The satomobile jerked suddenly, tearing him abruptly from his vision. Back in the real world, he was highly disoriented, and it took him a minute to straighten out his head.

"What just happened," He said, blinking black spots from his eyes.

"Nothing," Hanjo snapped back.

"Ada?"

"Nothing."

In reality, Ada had accidentally run over a squirrelsnake, and panicked for a second, swerving slightly. Hanjo knew Sen was a bit of a softy and wouldn't like knowing about a dead animal, so he'd covered it up. Ada had just followed his lead.

"Did the meditating thing work," Hanjo asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Almost," Sen said. He could still picture the mysterious tree in his head. "Then 'nothing' happened."

"You're closer than you were before, at least," Ada said. "Did you see anything in particular?"

"A giant tree, with a stone cloud at the bottom."

"Was the tree old and twisted?"

"No, it was giant and healthy," Sen said. Thinking about it made his head hurt. "It had so many branches and leaves I couldn't even see them all. Everything was bright, too. There was light everywhere."

"I'm not familiar with it. The Tree of Time is very important to Avatars, but that doesn't sound like it."

"What about the thing at the bottom, the stone cloud," Hanjo asked.

"It doesn't match anything I've seen either," Ada said. "But my experience with the Spirit World is very limited."

"Have you been there?"

"Yes, Master Ko Rin took me through the Spirit Portal in Republic City once. It was a short visit, but he familiarized me with locations like the Tree of Time and Korra's Garden. I've never meditated across the planes like Sen can, of course."

"Is there a difference between going through the portals and meditating there," Sen asked. "Besides keeping your bending?"

"Yes. While entering through the portals, you keep your ability to bend, but you're bound by certain physical limitations like gravity and fatigue. Those who meditate across the planes have less, I would call it 'physicality'. They can travel great distances instantly, ignore barriers and obstacles, and manipulate spirit energy more directly. The stress of separation between body and soul usually kills the meditating one if they stay too long, though."

"I don't think I was really in the Spirit World," Sen concluded. "I could still feel myself breathing, and my heart beating."

"Perhaps the Avatar Spirit was guiding you," Ada suggested. "Showing you a potential destination for the future. Avatar's have exhibited the ability in the past."

"I'll keep it in mind if I see any giant trees," Sen said. "Right now it's just giving me a headache."

They were in the midst of the Stark Road now, as the sun vanished over the flat line of the eastern horizon. There was nothing to be seen but dusty road ahead and dusty road behind. They were all seated very close together, but every one of the three felt very alone. The pervasive quiet seeped into the vehicle, silencing all passengers for quite some time. Sen nursed his aching head, Ada thought of the future, and Hanjo wondered if he could paint a giant picture on the ground here and would someone in an airplane be able to see it.

Sen closed his eyes and gripped his temples, trying to shake off the headache his rude awakening had given him. It had been hours and he still made no progress clearing his mind. The more he tried to retrieve the mental image of the tree, the more his head hurt. He gave up entirely and suddenly found himself exhausted. Over time, he fell asleep completely.

"Do you think we should stop for the night? Better to wake him up now than shake him awake later."

Ada checked the fuel gauge. If they filled up in the morning, they'd have enough gas to cross the rest of the Stark Road. Now was as good a time as any to stop for the night.

She pulled into a flat clearing on the side of the road as Hanjo woke Sen. He wasn't too put off by being woken up, and he helped them all unpack their things. As they set up the camp, Gun emerged from the hillside and wandered over to the side of Sen's bedroll. He didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that he'd tunneled through miles of stone at a breakneck pace. Hanjo was impressed with the little guys' spirit, but he had to wonder if all badgermoles were like that or if Gun was special.

The Animal Guides presence seemed to lull Sen into an even more restful state, and he fell asleep before the other two had finished setting up their sleeping arrangement. They both stayed awake for a while yet. Ada tried to call Gun over to her, wanting to acquaint herself with the strange creature, but Gun refused her summons. Out of curiosity, Hanjo tried to do the same, and Gun wandered lazily to his side almost instantly. Ada was offended.

"Don't be like that," Hanjo said sleepily. "He thinks me and Sen are like him because we're earthbenders, and you're not one."

As an experiment, Ada started pushing nearby stones around with her hands, but Gun saw right through her charade, and scattered all the stones she was toying with. The badgermole huffed angrily and turned his back on Ada.

"Well, I really feel like part of the team," Ada grunted. Gun snorted derisively, sensing her frustration.

"Tell me about it," Hanjo said.

Ada looked at him expectantly, but he never offered an explanation. Hanjo rolled himself up in his sheets, enjoying the feeling of having something between him and the dirt, and fell asleep. Ada eventually joined them all in the land of dreams.

Hanjo woke the next morning, feeling refreshed. He'd been woken by the sounds of chewing, and assumed breakfast was started already. With a yawn and a stretch, he examined his surroundings. Breakfast was definitely not happening, because he was the only one awake, except for Gun, who was loudly chewing on something that was both crunchy and juicy at the same time. Hanjo let out a disgusted grunt and crawled out of his sleeping bag.

It was time to enjoy a real breakfast for the first time in weeks. He'd noticed bacon and bread in their food supplies and decided bacon and toast would be a good breakfast. He dug the food out and found the portable grill they'd been supplied and got cooking. Ada was woken by his rummaging and lazily sat up to observe the cooking process.

Hanjo had absolutely no idea if he was doing this right, but the first piece of bacon was palatable, so he handed some off to Ada to get a second opinion. She didn't spit it out, so he assumed he was doing well.

"Did you use the gas grill?"

"Yeah, I did," He said. Sudden realization dawned. "Oh no! Did I accidentally use up our extra gas and strand us out here?"

"What? No," Ada said sleepily. "We have plenty of gas."

Hanjo let out the longest sigh of his life. That had been the most stressful seven seconds of his life, or at least in the top ten. He'd had a lot of very stressful seven seconds lately.

"I just didn't know you knew how to work it," Ada said. She was managing to fall asleep while still eating. Hanjo would do the same thing if he could, but as he was sitting over a hit grill, sleeping now would end with a badly burned face, and he was too handsome to allow that to happen to himself.

He finished up with the bacon and started on toast. He set the first piece on fire, but the rest of it went fairly well, and Gun didn't seem to mind eating the bread after Hanjo had panicked, tossed it into the dirt, and stomped on it for five minutes.

"Hey Sen," Hanjo shouted. "Time to wake up, Avatar."

Sen didn't respond. Ada managed to overcome her sleepiness long enough to check on him. She let out a long, lazy 'hmm' as she watched over him.

"What's up with sleepyhead," Hanjo asked. He was really proud of his cooking, and wanted Sen to get a taste of it before it got cold.

"I think he's having some kind of spiritual experience," Ada said. She sounded more awake now. Sen was still sleeping like a stone. Ada held a hand over his mouth.

"His breathing and his heart are slow," Ada said, feeling his breath leave his mouth in slow, heavy gasps. "And he isn't responding to noise or contact."

Hanjo bent over his friend, staring at Sen's restful face. He was barely moving at all; even his breathing was shallow and still. Hanjo snapped his fingers in front of Sen's face a few times, and the Avatar did not respond.

"I think yesterday's meditation connected him to spiritual energy, and it overcame his mind in his sleep. He could be in contact with Raava herself for all we know."

"Well good for him," Hanjo said. "If he's been at it all night then he must have learned something useful."

"Yes, but its best we not wake him. He should wake on his own when he's done communing, and interrupting the link might harm him."

"Alright then." Hanjo bent over Sen's face. "Say hello to Korra for me, pal."

Hanjo popped into the comfortable seats of the Satomobile and lounged for an hour while he waited for Sen to wake. Ada, finally fully awake, started packing up the supplies that Hanjo had taken out. She didn't complain at all, so Hanjo assumed it was a fair division of labor. He cooked, she cleaned, like an old married couple except they were both young and not married. Gun occasionally dove into the ground to fetch some food for himself, but he always returned quickly. The Badgermole seemed upset that they weren't on the move. Ada topped off the gas tank, preparing them for the day's drive, and then joined Hanjo in the Avatarmobile as they waited.

After the third hour of waiting for Sen to wake up, Hanjo got a little impatient. He stomped over to Sen and examined his still unmoving body. Ada tried to pull him away. Gun was lounging near Sen's motionless body, chewing on some insect he'd pulled out of the ground. The badgermole finished devouring the torso, and then spat the head to the side, into a pile of similar heads. He'd been hunting those for a while, apparently.

"We're wasting a lot of time with this," Hanjo grunted. "Are you sure we can't wake him up?"

"We shouldn't," Ada said. "Depending on what kind of vision he's having, we may not need to go to your destination at all. He might even be seeing something that will lead us to an earthbending master for you two."

The sounds of Gun's chewing started to get on Hanjo's already tense nerves, stretched to their limits by Sen's' unconsciousness and Ada's know it all behavior about spirit stuff. He turned to tell the badgermole off just in time to see him spit another head to the side.

Why would Gun eat the whole bug except the head, Hanjo thought. He'd eat scorched, dust-coated bread, but not the head of a bug? Why would he suddenly be picky about his meals? There had to be something different about those bugs, and something had to have happened for Gun to be afraid of their heads.

Hanjo knelt down on the ground beside Sen's sleeping bag and pulled him forcefully out of it. Ada tried to stop him, but he kept pulling. Sen didn't seem to respond to being tugged around. His arm hung limply as Hanjo pulled it to the side and rolled up his sleeve.

One of the massive ant creatures flopped out of Sen's shirtsleeve. Large red welts were spread up and down Sen's arm, and some were oozing yellowish pus. Ada screamed.

Hanjo ripped the head off the ant creature and held it in his palm. It was a perfect match for the insects Gun had been hunting all morning.

"Do you have some kind of field guide," Hanjo asked Ada hurriedly. "We need to find out what this is, now."

Ada dove into their supply bags, finding the books she'd stashed at the bottom. After a few minutes of frantic flipping through pages, she found the section about insects. She carefully proceeded through it until she found a picture that matched the ant creature.

"It's a Witherroot Ant," She recited. "It only eats the roots of a poisonous plant, so its fangs are covered in toxic juices that can cause paralysis."

"Is it lethal?"

"It says not directly…" Ada read. "But if it's left untreated for too long, the bite might get so infected it causes other problems."

Hanjo looked at the swollen arm of his friend. They couldn't afford a risk like that.

"Is there some kind of remedy?"

"There's nothing natural," Ada said. "But it can be treated with medical antiseptics and sanitizers. We have some of those."

Ada handed the book off to Hanjo while she retrieved the medical supplies. Gun started sniffing at Sen's wounds. He whimpered unhappily as he smelled sickness coming from his master. He went to Hanjo to be comforted, but Hanjo was too busy reading everything the guide book had to say about the Witherroot Ant.

The toxins they were covered in weren't particularly dangerous or fast moving, but the book noted that delaying treatment would increase the danger, and thanks to Ada's preoccupation with spiritual shenanigans, they'd done just that. Hopefully they had enough supplies to reverse the damage time had caused.

Ada returned, ready to work, and she didn't waste any time cleaning Sen's wounds and treating them with the antiseptics. To Hanjo, it looked like things were going fairly well, but Ada sighed occasionally, which lowered his hopes. After a period of repeatedly cleaning the bites and then wrapping them in bandages, Ada looked like she was finally done. Hanjo immediately asked what the verdict was.

"He's okay for now," Ada said. "But I think the poison is still in his blood. It'll come back later."

"We need to get him to a professional," Hanjo stated. "There's a town just on the other side of this road, right?"

"Close enough. Let's move."

They unceremoniously deposited Sen into the back seat of the car and strapped him in. With their supplies packed up, they departed down the Stark Road again.

"From what I read, it sounds like we have plenty of time to get him to a doctor, right? Everything will be fine."

Ada said nothing. Hanjo didn't have to think much to guess what she was going through. If she hadn't insisted on leaving Sen alone, they might have caught the infection much earlier and been able to prevent it entirely. They had spent hours expecting him to be doing some kind of Avatar thing, and now they were wasting hours on the drive. It was past noon by the time Ada finally said what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry about this," She said. "It's all my fault, me and my big stupid mouth. 'Oh, he's meditating, of course he isn't dying', I'm an idiot."

"Eh, you screwed up," Hanjo said. "We'll deal with it. It's not like he's going to die."

Ada didn't even want to think about Sen dying. She'd hardly been travelling with him for three days; if she got the Avatar killed in that little time she'd go down as history's biggest idiot. Luckily that was a remote possibility. She could never undo her stupid mistake, but she could make sure no one faced any consequences. Hopefully Sen would forgive her.

"Everyone screws up at one time or another, even Sen," Hanjo continued. "But none of us are dead, so it all works out. You can make as many mistakes as you want, as long as you fix them all."

Ada was surprised at how wise Hanjo could be. If he had a more poetic vocabulary and a less smug tone, he'd sound a lot like Ko Rin.

An hour later, Sen finally overcame the paralytic effects of the Witherroot toxin. He was initially panicked and incoherent, but Hanjo talked him into settling down and eating something to recover his strength. After taking a few deep breaths and eating a meal, Sen was more like his usual self, but the toxin had affected him in more than one way.

"I could still think," Sen said, grasping at his head. "I couldn't call for help, or open my eyes, or feel if it was still biting me. I could still think."

Sen fell into silence, and Hanjo and Ada let him have his moment of contemplation. He examined the bandages on his arm and the red, inflamed skin that was peeking out around the edges. He had more to say, but he didn't know if he should tell his companions. During his paralysis he had experienced strange, nightmarish visions, like white masks staring at him and the feelings of metal bindings on his wrist. Sen tried to strike up conversation, ask what had happened while he'd been out, but any discussions that happened seemed awkward and forced, and they failed to take his mind off the nightmares. Sen gave up and tried to get some actual sleep. His prior unconsciousness had not been restful in any way, and he felt Sen had fallen asleep again, Hanjo and Ada tried to have a conversation about his well-being.

"He seemed alright to me," Hanjo said. "He wasn't rambling or slurring or anything."

"I don't think it's that kind of toxin," Ada countered. "But you're right. He seems fairly healthy, all things considered."

"Still, did you notice that he was, I don't know, a little off tone?"

"I don't know what you mean," Ada said.

"He usually doesn't talk like he was," Hanjo said. "There was something off about him. Like he didn't really want to say the things he was saying."

"I haven't known him long enough to say," Ada said. "But it wouldn't surprise me. Paralysis can be traumatizing."

"I think there's something else going on here," Hanjo said suspiciously. He stared at his sleeping friend. Sen wasn't exactly snoozing peacefully; he tossed and turned in his sleep, and you could see his eyelids shift as his eyes darted restlessly. Something more than the pain was troubling him.

"I'll trust your judgment, Hanjo," Ada said. "But it'll be up to Sen to tell us more."

Hanjo had a hunch that they weren't going to be told anytime soon. They were still hours away from medical care, and they had little to do to pass the time except worry about Sen. Ko Rin really should've packed a deck of cards in his Avatar Survival Kit, Hanjo thought.

After a few hours they reached the downhill slope of the Stark Road, a sure sign that they were getting closer to the end of the drive. There were still no signs of civilization, though. Hanjo peered down the side of the mountain they were driving on. Smoke from campfires was visible in the distance. Hanjo checked the map and found no sign of civilization on this stretch of road. He conferred with Ada about it and she agreed with his initial assessment; ambush. Bandits camping out at the side of the road to waylay travelers just coming off the Stark Road.

They both resolved to speed through the ambush site as quickly as possible, but life, and Sen's stomach, had other plans. Exactly as they were driving through the most treacherous stretch of road, Sen suddenly awoke with a violent groan and declared that he needed to throw up. After a short, intense debate, Ada agreed to stop the vehicle.

"You've got those fancy swords," Hanjo assured her. "We can handle anything that comes our way."

She was not so sure. She had a strange feeling about the trees, like someone was watching them from within the branches. Once he had gotten over his intense nausea, Sen agreed with her. She took the ailing Avatar by his shoulder and led him cautiously back to the vehicle.

"Come on, let's get you to a doctor," she said. She saw flickering movement in the branches, but nothing came of it. She and Sen returned to the vehicle and departed quickly.

No sooner had they left than a young man descended from the trees, examining the road they had driven down. He and his bandit comrades had been intending to rob the lot of them, but the young man had changed his mind when he'd seen Sen's sickened state, something his minions were none too happy about.

"That looked like the biggest score in weeks, Suda," One of them declared, likewise dropping from the treetops. Suda used his metalbending to create zipline paths through the trees, allowing he and his comrades to move through the treetops stealthily. A few dozen more bandits descended from the trees, complaining to the young boss.

"That boy was sick," Suda stated. "Robbing him now might have gotten him killed."

"But it would've fed us like kings for weeks," one bandit protested.

"We'll have plenty of time to rob them later," Suda declared. "Follow them into town, let them find a doctor, then take everything. I want a ride in that fancy satomobile of theirs."


	9. Rogue Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bandit Suda finally attacks Sen, having spared the young Avatar once before, but the metalbending thief may not be as hostile as he first appears.

Sen examined his bandaged arm. The doctor had said he'd taken care of everything, but the bandages had to stay. Sen had the feeling the things he'd seen in his fever dreams would stick with him too. Hanjo saw the grim look on Sen's face and cheered him up.

"Don't worry about it," Hanjo advised. "You'll forget all about it once we get where we're going."

"You know, you still haven't told me where that is," Sen said. He was glad to take his mind off his hallucinations. Ada was glad they weren't talking about how she had caused those problems in the first place. She had apologized to Sen, of course, but they had never really talked about it. It was a conversation she was glad to avoid.

"We told you," Hanjo said. "We're bending the element of surprise on this one. No wait, that was a terrible pun, forget I ever said that."

"Nope," Sen said. "I'm going to remember that forever, and so is every Avatar that ever comes after me."

"Your terrible joke will live on long after the mountains have crumbled to dust," Ada continued.

It felt good to just joke around again. Sen hadn't done that in a while. He hoped nothing would happen any time soon. He needed a little time to just goof around with Hanjo.

He got his wish, and for hours he got to relax in the Avatarmobile, having his back and forth with Hanjo and Ada about whatever he felt like talking about, and only what he felt like talking about. He only got it that way, of course, because the bad things coming had intentionally decided to delay themselves.

"You sure we can keep this chase up, Suda? We can make a roadblock any time."

"I trust you guys," Suda said to his henchmen. "Keep an eye on them. Don't move until they stop."

The bandits were getting more and more upset with Suda. They'd been following this single satomobile for more than a day now. It was a hefty prize to take, but that only made the bandits more impatient, not less.

"I'm surprised you're not letting them go by. You always liked kids."

"I am a kid," Suda said. "I got to make friends my own age someday, you old farts."

"Hey, don't lump as all together," someone objected. "I'm a decade younger than the rest of these guys!"

"And a decade older than me," Suda replied. Twenty was a little young to be the boss of a bandit clan, but he was the only metalbender around, and all the guys liked him. They didn't much like how he picked their targets, though. Many of them were more fond of attacking indiscriminately, not waiting for a rich and vulnerable target like the kids in the fancy satomobile.

The vehicle itself would keep every one of the guys fed for weeks. He would let them keep it, because of course they wanted to, but they'd just tear it up and make it into a junker. It was too nice to be left in the hands of these savages, so Suda would sell it to someone respectable, then steal it back and sell it to someone else respectable. After he got to drive it, of course. He couldn't shake the feeling he was destined for that satomobile.

The Satomobiles driver, the girl, looked to be the only real problem they'd face in the heist. She seemed very aware, very focused, and occasionally Suda got the feeling that she could see his bandits zip lining through the trees. They'd carved out a fairly sheltered little route along the roadside, but the camouflage wasn't perfect. It didn't much matter if they'd been spotted. She'd have to stop eventually, and Suda's bandits outnumbered her retinue ten to one.

Ada stopped at the side of the road, at an area that looked like it had been used as a campsite recently. The earth nation was so massive that roadside campsites like this were common, used so weary drivers wouldn't have to drive through the night to reach the next town. Unfortunately, on well-travelled roads, they often became hotspots of bandit activity. Hanjo and Sen were demanding lunch, though, so she'd been outvoted when the issue of stopping or not came to a vote. Ada had seen hints of motion in the treetops earlier, but her suspicions were unconfirmed for now. It could be wild Hog Monkeys swinging from the branches for all she knew. It was worth checking out in either case. Hog Monkeys could be just as destructive as bandits if they felt like it.

"You two focus on making lunch," Ada said. "I'm going to secure the perimeter."

"If that's code for 'I need to use the ladies room', it's the worst code I've ever heard," Sen said.

"We're all buddy buddy now Ada, you can tell us when you need to go," Hanjo continued.

Ada ignored their jokes and stared up at the treetops. She could swear she heard giggling, followed by a thud. It was far away, though, in the highest branches.

"Keep your eyes open," Ada cautioned.

"If you need to go I think we should be closing our eyes," Hanjo said, covering his face with his hand jokingly.

"I do not need to-"

She thought about continuing, but decided there was no point. In a way it was kind of comforting that they joked with her like that. She had been worried that Hanjo and Sen would think less of her after she'd allowed Sen to get poisoned by the ants. The fact that they still thought of her as a friend put her heart at ease. Still, she was not eager to fail Sen again, so if there was a threat to be found in these woods, she would find it.

Ada proceeded into the bushes surrounding the campsite and drew one of her Dao swords. She could use both just as well as she could use one, but she preferred the single-handed style, mostly because it left a backup if she got disarmed.

Remembering Ko Rin had ever taught her about stealth, Ada crept silently through the undergrowth, watching her steps carefully to avoid anything that might make unnecessary sound. It was an impressive display, but Suda had been watching her since the campsite, so it was all pointless.

He passed a message along to his bandits, using the sound of wind through the trees and far-off birds to disguise the sound of their whispering. Suda would go directly for their satomobile, incapacitating the boys on the way, while the bandit horde distracted the girl. Suda wanted to handle the vehicle personally, to ensure enough supplies were left behind for the teenagers to get to safety. The bandits were right; he had a soft spot for kids.

With a final, wordless signal to his men, they put the plan in action. The bandits dropped out of the trees, instantly surrounding Ada, while Suda metalbent his zip-line towards the satomobile. Ada didn't waste any time defending herself. Electrified thrusts with her sword drove the first wave of attackers back; they hadn't counted on her having anything so high-tech. After they accounted for the electric blade, they found themselves still woefully underprepared. Ada was one of the best swordswomen in Zaofu, and these bandits barely knew which end of a blade to hold.

She went through every motion she'd practiced, sweeping her eyes rapidly across the battlefield to analyze her opponents and respond. Their feet were here, so hers went there. One thrust with his right hand, she swept to his left. Someone steps back, she steps forward, gaining ground. She was like a machine, her opponents acted and she responded in perfect, scripted form. She tried not to get caught up in the moment, tried not to enjoy the rush of battle, but she failed. It was fun to test her skills against actual opponents, even ones as incompetent as the bandits.

Sensing one coming up behind her, she drew her second blade and pushed it behind her, activating the electric shocks on both swords as she thrust outwards. Two unlucky bandits caught the full force of the sparking blades and fell to the ground in quivering piles on either side of her. She jumped over the bandit body blockade and continued her fight, smiling all the while.

Suda had quite a bit more luck on his end of the fight. He caught Hanjo unawares, trapping him in metal bonds before he had a chance to react. Sen had more time to see the offensive coming, and he managed to avoid the first strike.

Sen hastily tore open the belt pouch containing the metal orbs he'd received in Zaofu. He'd had very little opportunity to practice with the weighted stones, but he didn't have much choice. Hopefully his attacker would be caught off guard by the seemingly unbendable stones long enough for Sen to get the upper hand.

Suda dropped out of the cover of the trees, giving Sen a clear target. The bandit's clothes were ragged and ill-fitting, but they couldn't hide the rugged physique beneath. Sen had met very few people quite as absolutely massive as Suda; everything about him was big, from his tangled, thick black hair to his heavyset eyebrows.

That just made him a big target, Sen assured himself. Sen launched the first volley of metal-plated rocks to almost no effect. Most of them went off course completely, and Suda dodged the few that almost found their mark. Dodging kept him from attacking, though, and that was progress.

Suda mistakenly believed Sen to be a metalbender, just as Sen had intended, and was pleasantly surprised; this would be more interesting than he thought. Not that Suda looked forward to a fight, ever, but he felt better about stealing things if the owner could fight for them. It felt more like he was winning things than stealing them if they fought back.

He was confident in his own metalbending skill, and when Sen launched the next volley, he didn't bother to dodge. Only one of the spheres made a course for his head. He focused on it, and found he could do absolutely nothing. He had a very brief second to register the confusion before the platinum orb hit him square in the face. Suda felt his nose go pop as he fell to the ground.

Sen took his momentary advantage to try and free Hanjo from his restraints, but the bonds were too tight. The metal band had woven itself into an intricate knot around his arms and legs, holding him in place quite firmly.

"Alright, alright, I don't get it," Suda began. His nose was bleeding, but he was otherwise fine, so he stood up. He examined the metal spheres that Sen had left lying on the ground. "You aren't a metalbender, since you can't get those chains off, but those balls are clearly metal, and you can bend them but I can't. What's the deal?"

He wasn't making much sense, probably due to head trauma. Suda cracked an awkward smile, a strange expression made more strange by the blood dripping across his lips.

"I have got to know how you do this," Suda asked. "What's the secret?"

Sen stared at him blankly. He wasn't attacking now, but he had been earlier, so he was of mixed feelings on the strange bandit. Suda decided it was time to garner some trust. Whatever trick Sen was using, he really wanted to know it.

"We clearly got off on the wrong foot," He began. "Hi, my name's Suda. I am a bandit by trade, but I'm not unreasonable. Remember when you stopped last night to vomit and you didn't get attacked? That was me doing the not attacking. I let you get better."

Hanjo and Sen did not respond. Were they waiting for something? Suda couldn't tell, so he decided to sweeten the pot. He flicked his wrist, and the metal bonds holding Hanjo in place loosened and fell to the ground.

"See? I'm not a bad guy."

Sen had a funny feeling in the pit of his gut about Suda. He couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad idea to trust him. He looked to Hanjo for advice. Hanjo decided that was his cue to take charge of the situation.

"Where's the girl at? Is she okay?"

Suda listened to the background noise of protracted violence. The screams he heard were mostly coming from his own men. These kids were just full of surprises.

"Sounds to me like she's doing alright. Tell me your secret, and I'll call off the attack."

"Call off your men first," Hanjo demanded. Suda supposed that was reasonable. He was, after all, the attacker in this scenario. Suda drew a flare gun from his belt and fired it straight up, briefly illuminating the twilight sky with a flash of bright red.

"That's the signal," Suda said, pointing at the rapidly fading flare. "Deal's a deal."

Sen called the stones back. They wobbled through the air back to his hands, and when they were secure, he tossed one to Suda. Suda examined the oddly weighted piece of metal.

"Feels strange," He noted. "Is this some kind of new alloy? Or did you just figure out how to bend platinum?"

"It's ordinary platinum," Sen explained. "But there's a rock sealed inside. If you know the rocks there, and where it is inside the ball, you can bend it if you're practiced enough. Anyone else won't be able to."

"Clever clever," Suda chanted under his breath. He rolled the stone in his hand, getting a feel for where the stone was inside the platinum. Once he was confident, he sent the stone whizzing through the air, shattering a tree branch into splinters. The strange feeling Sen had only intensified. Suda had mastered the trick stones in only a few seconds. He was obviously a very talented bender.

Maybe even talented enough to be a Master, Sen thought.

"That's marvelous," he said. "I love it. I'll have to get myself some. Unless of course you feel like selling yours."

"Not for sale," Sen replied. This was the moment where things went wrong or right. The bandit would either back down like he was supposed to, or betray their deal, like bandits usually did. Sen got the feeling Suda would keep his end of the bargain. Something in the pit of his gut told him Suda was not a bad person, despite his career as a bandit.

"Well, I'm not a poor man, I'll find some other way to buy them," Suda said. He returned the metal orb to Sen. Sen and Hanjo relaxed. Suda was keeping his word. The sounds of battle in the distance had stopped, being replaced by the sounds of panicked retreat, signifying that his men had already stopped attacking Ada. He'd follow them eventually, but he had more questions first.

"That really is a lovely trick," he repeated. "Did you come up with it on your own?"

"No, it was a…friend of ours."

"Well your friend is a downright genius," Suda said. He heard crashing footsteps in the bushes behind them. Probably the girl, exhausted from her battle, desperate to return to camp. Much to Suda's surprise, it was his own men crashing through the undergrowth.

Sen panicked, expecting the worst, and stomped his foot heavily. By the time Suda held up his hands to stop the advance of his men, Gun was already tunneling his way to the surface.

"What are you doing here, I called for a retreat!"

"The girl won't let us! We tried backing off and she chased us down, waving those blasted swords of hers like a madman! She's probably still hunting down Kozu's group!"

Gun emerged from the ground, sending earthy debris flying through the air. The already tense group of bandits panicked and covered their heads. Only Suda seemed unfazed. He watched the snarling badgermole with a look of admiration and surprise on his face.

"You've got a badgermole too," Suda said, astonished. He deflected the falling rocks away from his head and examined the exotic creature. "You are just full of surprises, aren't-"

Suda froze suddenly, and his jaw dropped. Sen could see the look in his eyes, and he knew exactly what it meant. Suda had figured it out. His eyes were, surprisingly, full of guilt.

"Spirits," he mumbled. "Everyone, this is all a terrible misunderstanding! We should apologize to-"

"Apologize," One of his bandits shouted incredulously. "I've been zapped more times than a lightning rod tonight, I'm not leaving until I get some money for my trouble!"

"You imbecile, do you have any idea who that is," Suda asked. "This is the Avatar! We are not going to hurt the Avatar!"

In a case of monumentally bad timing only comparable with Sozin's Comet and a Lunar Eclipse arriving on the same day, Ada closed on the bandits just in time to hear Suda shout "hurt the Avatar". Her mission was to not let that happen, so she acted quickly. She flicked the switch on her blade and dove at Suda, slashing the sword across his chest.

Suda's reflexes were good, but Ada was a professional, and the electrified Dao cut through his shirt and the skin beneath, singing both with its crackling energy. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was a painful one. Suda panicked and ran way hastily, and his bandits followed him into the distant forest, vanishing into the trees without a trace. Ada, satisfied in her defense of the Avatar, sheathed her swords and looked to Sen, expecting to see approval. All she got was an angry glare.

"Ada! He wasn't a threat."

"But I heard him-"

"He was trying to call off his men," Sen shouted. "What is wrong with you?"

Sen stepped forward, but Hanjo pushed him back into place, away from Ada.

"It was a misunderstanding, Sen," He said. "Ada was just trying to keep us safe. He wasn't even hurt that bad."

There was a moment of tense silence. Sen stared angrily at Ada. Her eyes darted guiltily between Sen's judgmental gaze and the forest path that Suda had fled on. Hanjo placed himself between the two, ready to intervene if the silence broke out into an argument.

This was exactly the kind of behavior that Sen had been afraid of. Ada had been too eager to fight, and she'd hurt someone that she hadn't needed to. Luckily she had restrained herself enough to not mortally wound Suda. The bandit would probably be fine, given enough time to recover. That alone kept Sen from sending her home right here and now.

Sen eventually shattered the quiet tension with a heavy sigh.

"Just don't do it again," He commanded. "Look before you leap."

Hopefully she could learn from this. Ada had been in very few fights before, apparently, so it was understandable that she didn't know her limits. If she kept acting like this, though, something would have to be done.

"I promise," Ada said hastily. "It'll never happen again."

Sen nodded and walked away from the staredown. Ada sighed in relief. Hanjo gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder before joining Sen back at the campsite. This had been a far too tiring day, and they were all eager to rest.


	10. The Remnant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanjo's mystery destination is finally revealed, and Sen meets the last living member of Korra's team. Danger lurks just behind the group, and a familiar face comes to warn them.

Despite their apparent reconciliation, Sen and Ada didn't do much talking the next day. Hanjo did most of the talking anyway; they were apparently nearing his mystery destination, and he was all too eager to brag about what a great idea it was to come here, wherever here was.

After hours of Hanjo's ego stroking, he declared that they had reached their destination. Sen was eager to finally have his questions answered, but he only had more questions after seeing it. It was just a house. A very nice one, surrounded by a high fence and with a lovely cliff-side view of the ocean, but still just a house. Not even one he recognized; in all the stories he knew about Korra's life, none of them involved quaint seaside shacks.

"What exactly are we here to see," He asked.

"Not what," Hanjo said. Every word dripped with ego; he was incredibly proud of himself. "But who?"

Ada smiled reassuringly at Sen while Hanjo walked up to the gated fence and hammered on it loudly. After a moment, a young woman poked her head out of the house's front door and then proceeded to the gate. She was much too young to have known Korra very well, so Sen was still left wondering who he was here to see.

"We don't take visitors," The woman said impatiently. Apparently she was used to getting unwanted guests. That was curious. And who was the second person in "we"?

"But this is the Avatar," Hanjo said, gesturing enthusiastically to Sen. Sen stepped forward meekly, waving his hand at the stranger. She looked him over very critically, and seemed to approve. Why Hanjo trusted her with Sen's identity, Sen didn't know. Questions were piling up faster than they were being answered.

"He'll be excited to see you, then," She said welcomingly. She unlocked the platinum gate and guided Sen and company up the path into the home. Hanjo was practically dancing up the path, and Ada seemed rather upbeat as well. Sen would be glad to meet their mystery man and get it over with.

Their female guide told them to be quiet as they entered, and she stepped gently into the house's interior, quietly calling out into another room.

"Grandpa, someone's here to see you," She said.

"Did you finally stop chasing off the autograph kid? Good," An old man's voice called back loudly. "I've told you it's no trouble, an old man needs company, but what do you do? Keep telling him to go away, that's what."

Sen could hear bones creak from here as the old man in the other room stood up. As he came into view, it was obvious that he was old enough to have known Korra very well. His hair was white, his skin was wrinkled and spotted, and his back was bent by age. Despite all that, his shoulders remained broad and his eyes were sharp, showing that age had done little to dull his spirit. He smiled broadly as soon as he laid eyes on Sen. Something about those eyes looked at Sen in a very familiar way.

"It's been a while, Avatar," He said.

His head felt light as memories that weren't his rushed to the front of his mind. The images were muddled and unclear, but the message was very clear: you can trust this person with your life.

"Bolin?"

"Good to see you again," Bolin said. "How about some tea?"

Bolin led Sen to the porch, already rambling about his long history with the Avatar, while Hanjo stayed behind to examine the various trinkets Bolin kept of his life; movie posters, newspaper clippings, and pro-bending trophies. Ada asked Bolin's granddaughter if they had a phone, which they did, and hurried off to tell Canto about the journey so far.

"Now, I imagine you're here on very important Avatar business," Bolin said as they finally reached the porch. "Howler, most likely. Very clever of him to wait until you were dead to make his move, I'll admit. Why, Korra and the rest of us would have whipped him the moment he showed his ugly face!"

Bolin briefly shook his fist defiantly at absolutely nothing before dropping it limply to his side.

"But that's not an option anymore. So you have to do it!"

Bolin pointed at two chairs set up beside a small table, and was very specific about which one Sen had to sit in.

"Now, Korra used to visit here whenever she had time. She and I would sit at this table, on this porch, she actually used a different chair but one of my fat grandchildren broke the original, but it's the same kind of seat so it should work, and we'd drink tea from these cups."

"There's no cups here," Sen said quietly, looking at the barren table.

"Oh," Bolin said. "My bad, Opal always made the tea. Stay here and be spiritual."

Bolin vanished into the house for a good twenty minutes, returning with two teacups in his hands. Handing one to Sen and keeping the other for himself, he sat down and stared at the seaside.

"I'm afraid the tea isn't quite the same," He sighed regretfully. "Opal had a special touch, you know."

Sen tried some of the tea. He'd never really been a fan of tea, but he thought this cup was made pretty well.

"It's very good," He assured Bolin. Bolin didn't seem to hear the compliment.

For a moment they sat in silence, drinking tea and listening to the sound of the ocean far beneath their feet. Sen enjoyed how peaceful it was, but he didn't really feel very Avatar-y. The initial rush of memories from seeing Bolin had faded, leaving him feeling oddly hollow and incredibly alone.

"I don't mean to bother you, Bolin," He said shyly. "But I was hoping you could help me connect with Korra."

"Is this not working," Bolin replied, confused. "I thought with the tea, and the watching…"

Bolin smacked himself in the head suddenly.

"Of course," He said. His forehead had a red spot shaped like his hand on it. "Me and Korra never just sat around in silence, we were always talking about something."

He put his hand on his chin and froze for a few minutes. Sen was beginning to question if he hadn't fallen asleep when Bolin suddenly sprung back to motion.

"Do you remember the time we all got together to stop Dugan's Dragons from using Sozin's Comet to rob the First Republic Bank? Oh, the look on Mako's face when he finally used his firebending at full power! Nearly burned down the whole building, of course, but he was having a blast!"

Sen felt absolutely nothing. Bolin shook his head and tried again.

"What about the time we all went into the Spirit World, got rid of the leftover dark spirits? I nearly got my face stolen by that one nasty bug, you stepped in and- wait, no, that's not a good memory."

Sen felt a pang of unfamiliar guilt, but little else. Bolin tried again.

"Remember Lin's retirement party? She spent half the night trying to kick us all out of her house. Then at the very end she told us how much she cared about us all and how glad she was to have known us. You almost cried. And then she kicked us out of her house anyway."

Still nothing. Bolin listed off all kinds of the grand adventures he felt Sen should remember, but none of them stirred anything inside him. Meanwhile, Hanjo began eavesdropping on Ada, because he lacked anything better to do, and also because he was nosy.

"It hasn't been going well, all things considered, but Sen's safe and we're making progress. I'm trying to look on the bright side.," Ada said. Probably she'd just finished talking about the time Sen got bitten by ants and stabbed a relatively innocent person. She paused for a second while Canto spoke. Whatever he said, it sent her giggling. Hanjo hadn't heard Ada giggle before. She wasn't very good at it. Sounded forced.

"But, how have things been going on your end? Is Ko Rin very mad?"

She paused once again. Hanjo was beginning to think this was a waste of time, he couldn't even hear half the conversation.

"Well, that sounds absolutely riveting. Did I tell you I'm sitting in the home of the world's only lavabender," Ada chided. Clearly whatever Canto was up to was not nearly as exciting as their adventures.

"Don't say that," Ada said softly. "You know I miss you."

This is where it got mushy. Hanjo decided to leave while his stomach was still rightside-out. After about twenty minutes of what he could only assume was the most sickeningly saccharine teenage fever dream called love, Ada left the phone behind, blushing so hard you'd think she'd spilled red paint on herself.

"So what's the future Mr. Ada up to," Hanjo joked. Ada glared at him so intensely he could see the red fade from her cheeks as bubbly romantic feelings were replaced with a very biting anger.

"He's doing what he was trained to do," Ada reluctantly admitted. Hanjo saw some potential in her tone. She didn't exactly like what Canto was trained to do.

"What is that, exactly," Hanjo questioned. "I feel as though your 'special relationship' with Canto makes him an unofficial member of Team Avatar, so to speak. I'd like to be briefed on his capabilities."

Ada glared at the floorboards.

"He is…my group's specialist in monetary tracking and manipulation."

Hanjo was not the most linguistically gifted, but it still didn't take him long to break down the meaning of Ada's sentence.

"Your boyfriend is an accountant?"

"It's not like that," Ada objected. "He's an espionage agent, he just specializes in money. He finds out who's funding our enemies, and how we can get more money. All the money we have is thanks to him."

"Oh of course," Hanjo said. "Never underestimate the raw power of a flex spending account. I'm sure the Energybender will be running scared once he sees our black ops insurance policy. Tell me, do we have an undercover dental plan?"

Ada left the room without a word, which was alright with Hanjo. He'd used up all of his financial vocabulary already and didn't have any more jokes to make.

While Hanjo had been mocking Ada's incredibly mundane boyfriend, Bolin had been continuing his walk down memory lane with an Avatar who didn't even know what street they were on. He'd run out of grand adventures like their bargain with Wan Shi Tong and the first ever Avatar Adventures mover, and he was stuck talking about things like the time Opal bought Korra shoes that didn't fit and the three of them went shopping to find a pair that did and they bumped into Tahno and had a lovely chat about pro-bending.

"And then Tahno said, 'Tau Turtleducks? More like Tau Turtle-sucks!'. Or was it 'Hong-Li Hedgecats? More like Hong-Li Hedge-bads!'"

Bolin looked to the Avatar expectantly. Sen was staring blankly at him. The only thing that had changed was the amount of tea in Sen's cup. He was almost out. Bolin sighed. If this was Korra he'd have had a conversation going in no time flat. But it was someone else now, not his Avatar anymore. He shrugged and gave up.

"I've got nothing," he admitted. He pointed accusingly at his teacup. "I blame the tea. Doesn't have Opal's secret ingredient."

"Vanilla," Korra replied. "She kept it on the top shelf you were both too short to reach. Used airbending to get it down."

Bolin smiled to himself and took a drink of his vanilla-free tea. He could taste the difference, now that he thought about it. Should have figured it out earlier.

"It's the little things," Korra reminded him. She sat where Sen had been, but it was clear she was not really there. She looked as she had decades ago, long before she and Bolin had grown old and grey, though her visible spirit had an ethereal, misty quality to it. For many years Bolin had wanted nothing more than to see Korra one more time, but looking at her now, young yet ghostly, somehow felt hollow.

"It really is," Bolin agreed. "But nobody comes back from the dead just to give an old friend a tea recipe. Do you want to tell him something?"

"Tell Sen to be cautious and quiet. The opposite of me," Korra joked. "If he trusts his instincts and his friends, he'll know when to act."

"Understood." Bolin put his teacup down, suddenly unsatisfied with the taste. "You know, if you want to keep doing your…ghost thing, I think I can get us some tea the way Opal used to make."

Korra looked out at the world. Everything here was so familiar, but so far away. She couldn't feel the ocean breeze or smell the salt on the air. It wasn't her world anymore.

"So, Opal's gone," She said.

"Seven years ago last month," Bolin muttered. "I'm about all that's left of the old gang now."

"I'm sorry, Bolin. I can't stay."

"I understand," Bolin said. "Goodbye, Korra."

"Goodbye, Bolin."

Sen rubbed tears from his eyes curiously. He didn't understand why he would be crying. He looked expectantly at Bolin, who had a very somber look on his face.

"Did it work?"

"You could say that," Bolin said quietly. He looked away from Sen and stared at the horizon in silence for a long time. Sen drank some tea while he waited, suddenly very aware that it would be better with some vanilla. He'd never even tried vanilla before.

"Keep your head down," Bolin finally said. "Move quietly until you're ready to fight. Trust yourself and your friends, and you'll know when it's time."

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh, Korra was notorious for charging into things. Got her into trouble more than a few times. She wants you to be more careful."

"Wait, Korra said that?"

Bolin raised a thick white eyebrow at Sen. It took the young Avatar a minute to realize what was going on. That explained why he had been crying. The vanilla thing was still a mystery to him, though.

"Is that all she said?"

"Yup," Bolin said. He decided that Sen didn't particularly need to know about Opal's secret ingredient. He would keep that last bit of Avatar wisdom to himself. "You'll probably get another chance to talk to her later, so don't worry about that, but for now you're going to have to do things on your own."

Bolin stood up and lead the way back inside. Hanjo was caught up in reading the novelization of The Legend of Bolin 23: The Tangle in Serpents Pass and he nearly jumped out of his shoes when Bolin and Sen returned.

"Did it work?"

"Sorta," Sen told him. "She didn't say a lot."

"Because she knows you've got to figure some things out on your own," Bolin said. "Now, I imagine your next step is to find a firebending master…"

"Actually, Bolin, we aren't even very good at Earthbending," Sen admitted. Bolin looked confused.

"Hmm? You haven't mastered it yet? Isn't this kid your teacher?"

"We both grew up in an orphanage," Hanjo added. "I know some stuff I taught to Sen, but we were never really trained."

"Ah well, that's not a problem," Bolin assured them. He flexed his arms, and Sen could hear his joints pop loudly. "I'm not as out of shape as I look, kids. I'll teach you how me and Korra did things!"

"Grandpa, not in the house!"

"I wasn't going to, Su! One time," He mumbled. He took the two young earthbenders outside. Hanjo was barely containing his urge to dance again. Bolin led them to the open clearing of the yard. Bolin had done more than a few earthbending lessons here already, teaching his children, and then his grandchildren, but it had sat empty for quite some time. The sight of hopeful young faces in front of him added to the nostalgia that pervaded the day.

"Any chance we'll learn to lavabend? It's teachable right?"

It was a question Bolin had heard a hundred times, but there was only one answer.

"Not in my experience," Bolin said. His elderly face took on a look of wistful reminiscence. "I spent many years looking for an apprentice, but I never met another."

"Well, even if it's rare," Hanjo continued. "If anyone could learn it, it'd probably be me, right? Avatar's buddy and everything."

"We'll see," Bolin said. "For now, focus on Earthbending. I assume you both know the basics? Floating rocks and all that?"

Sen and Hanjo listed their capabilities to Bolin while Ada joined Bolin's granddaughter on the porch to watch the earthbending practice. She struck up a conversation as the duo demonstrated their skills.

"We haven't seen you in Zaofu in a while, Su," Ada said. She was named after her great-grandmother. "Has Bolin's health been getting worse?"

"He's actually quite healthy for his age," Su explained. "I just think he gets lonely, out here all on his own. He doesn't get much conversation, except when Ko Rin calls him."

"Ko Rin and Bolin know each other?"

"Oh yes," Su said.

Ada didn't think much of it. Bolin had lived in Zaofu for quite a while before moving out here, it wasn't hard to imagine he had met Ko Rin in that time. Still, it was strange to imagine Bolin belonging to Ko Rin's social circle. The spymaster was a little uptight, and Bolin, even in his old age, was a quite a free spirit.

"It seems to me that you two are better than you think," Bolin said, finishing his appraisal of their skills. "What you really need now is confidence, practice, and a few tricks up your sleeve. Here's a little something me and Korra cooked up together, a partner technique we called-"

Bolin was interrupted by the sight of someone leaping over his fence. The intruder waved his left hand frantically at them, holding the right hand limply by his side as he rushed towards. The intruder was stopped suddenly by the ground in front of him transforming into a burning moat of lava. He froze in shock. Bolin was breathing heavily, but the exertion of lavabending hardly seemed to affect him, even in his old age.

The intruder was a familiar face to Sen and the gang. The bandaged sword-wound on his right shoulder made it obvious. They just hadn't been expecting to see him again.

"Suda?"

Whatever urgent goal had been on Suda's mind earlier seemed to have vanished completely. He was staring wide-eyed at Bolin.

"Spirits," he mumbled. Then he started shouting across the lava moat. "You're my hero sir! Sands of the Siwong literally changed my life!

Bolin had never met a fan he didn't like, so he let the lava moat dissipate. Suda didn't wait for the stone to cool completely before he hopped frantically across, burning his heels along the way. Paying Sen and Hanjo no mind, Suda spoke only to Bolin.

"Your movers are the highest form of art," Suda began. "The experimental special effects in Mysteries of Hei Bai moved the medium forward by decades."

Bolim smiled happily as he soaked in the compliments. Ada stepped forward, sword drawn, and the sight of her and her blades brought Suda out of his star-struck reverie, making him remember why he was here in the first place.

"Oh yeah! The Avatar's going to die."

"What?"

"I came here to warn you," Suda continued. "My guys are going to sell you out to the Energybender. They'll probably reach a radio sometime today, and Howler won't be far behind. But Bolin's here! He's a master of drama and combat!"

Suda had hunted them down after failing to convince his fellow bandits not to call the Energybender. He had hoped to at least warn them in time to let them get a good lead, but that wasn't a problem anymore. Bolin was one of the greatest people on earth, in both acting and bending. Suda pointed enthusiastically at Bolin with his good arm, but the elderly actor slash global hero only shook his head.

"Now isn't the time to fight. Korra wanted you to keep your head down, and you're going to do that. You three need to get out of here."

"But you were going to train us," Sen objected. "What are we going to do now?"

Bolin looked Suda over, which, considering Suda's massive size, took a long time. The former bandit hung on his idols every word.

"You're an earthbender? A good one?"

"Very good, sir," Suda said, nodding fervently. "I studied all your moves in the movers."

"Then he'll be your master," Bolin said to Sen. "Take him with you when you go."

"What," Ada said angrily. "He's a bandit! We can't trust him."

"You stabbed me," Suda replied, pointing to his bandaged chest and shoulder. The fact that he'd come all this way to warn them should have earned him a few bonus points too, but he was mostly hung up about the getting cut with an electric sword thing.

"Relax," Bolin advised. He took Suda by the shoulder. Suda bit his lip out of excitement and pain. Bolin was touching him directly on his extremely painful wound, but Bolin was touching him. "I know exactly what to do."

"Now, young man, you're a big fan?" Suda nodded frantically, and Bolin nodded back, quite pleased. "Then of course you've heard of my twenty-seventh mover?"

"Rebirth of the Phoenix King? Fire Lord Izumi had it banned because it was offensive to her families honor. It was never even filmed. Varrick skipped straight to twenty-eight."

"But it was scripted," Bolin told him. "And I read that script. If you swear to me to serve the Avatar, teach him, and protect him with your life, I'll tell you how the mover ended."

Suda's jaw dropped. The "lost mover" was the holy grail of the Bolin fandom. He put his hand on his chest and swore on his life and honor to protect the Avatar. Ada looked incredulously at her allies as Bolin whispered the ending to the lost film in Suda's ears. The bandit choked back tears as Bolin revealed how he had (fictionally) defeated the reborn Phoenix King Ozai.

As soon as Bolin had finished explaining the end of the film, Suda rushed to Sen's side, giving a sharp salute as he began his eternal vigil to protect the Avatar. Bolin had trusted him with this responsibility, as well as the ending to the lost mover, and he would not disappoint his hero.

"Are we seriously going to let this happen," Ada asked.

"I think Suda is the one who should be complaining, really," Hanjo said. He gestured to the heavily bandaged wound Ada had given their new teammate. Ada rolled her eyes as Suda stuck his tongue out at her before snapping back to his vigilant scan of the surroundings, searching for any threat to the Avatar.

"Now, let's get you on the move," Bolin suggested. "Su, dear, do we have any supplies to give the Avatar?"

"Nothing like food or tools," Su said. "But we could just give him one of the boxes from the money room."

"Oh yeah, that would work. Do your own shopping."

Su jogged back to the house and returned with a fairly large box. Hanjo checked inside and his eyes turned as wide as tea saucers when he saw the box was nearly overflowing with money

"We have a lot of those," Su told him. Hanjo clenched the box tightly and dreamed of one day having his own money room.

"Now, hop in your fancy satomobile and be on your way. The sooner you get out of here the better."

"Wait," Sen interrupted. He wasn't just going to leave Bolin behind if the Energybender was coming. "What happens to you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm nearly a hundred years old and all of my friends are already dead. What can that jerk do to me?"

it was meant to be a joke, but Sen found it profoundly sad. Su coughed. Bolin glared at her.

"I already told you, go to Zaofu if anything like this happens. I'll call you when it all blows over. And it will blow over. I'll be fine."

Sen stared regretfully at Bolin as they packed up and drove away. Something in his heart was deeply hurt to see Bolin's smiling face fade into the distance and finally disappear behind a hill as they drove away. Suda was no less disappointed.

"I didn't get his autograph," Suda moped.

***

The Energybender arrived a week later, bringing with him a small army of his bending troops. They stationed themselves outside as he marched boldly into the house, flanked by a truth seer and his second in command.

"I didn't make enough tea for your friends," A voice from the porch called. The Energybender followed it. Bolin was sitting by the table, glaring into the distance and clutching a teacup in his hands. Another one sat waiting on the table. The Energybender pulled up a chair, but the earth grabbed it and pulled it away from him.

"That's Korra's chair," Bolin said, without ever looking at the intruder. The Energybender pulled up a different seat and took a place at the table opposite to Bolin. He grabbed the spare cup and took a drink. It was bland. He could smell a faint whiff of vanilla coming from Bolin's cup.

"You know why I'm here," The Energybender said. "You don't need to be hurt to shelter the memory of a dead friend."

"You can't do anything to hurt me," Bolin said.

Bolin never broke eye contact as the Energybender rose from his chair, placed a hand on Bolin's chest, and tugged on the strings of his soul.

"Tell me where the Avatar went."

Bolin took a sip of tea. Korra was right. Just a pinch of vanilla, and it was exactly like Opal used to make.

"No idea, actually," Bolin said. "I just know he was leaving. Never asked him where."

The Energybender looked to his truth seer. He nodded quietly. He wouldn't come all this way for nothing, though.

"Tell me everything you know about the Avatar," The Energybender commanded.

"Naturally," Bolin said. "Lovely person, really. Hot-headed, but always means well. Very talented bender, too, in all four elements."

"I believe he's talking about Korra," The truth seer said. "But he's still telling the truth, technically."

"He's wasting our time," The Energybender's lieutenant declared. "Keeping the Avatar ahead of us."

"Enough," The Energybender declared. He placed his hand on Bolin's chest and twisted his palm. Bolin felt a shock of pure pain travel through his ribs and down his spine.

"Tell me everything about the current Avatar," Howler commanded. "Or I will tear your soul apart."

Bolin looked his foe in the eyes, staring intently through the pain.

"Seven years ago, I woke up and my wife didn't. You can do nothing."

The Energybender focused on Bolin. He had a grip on the old man's soul, and he could feel every thought that coursed through his mind, and every emotion in his heart. Bolin truly believed that the Energybender couldn't hurt him. Belief was a dangerous thing, for an energybender. A strong spirit could overtake his own, and the Energybender didn't have his allies on hand to empower his own spirit. If it came down to a contest of will, there was a good chance Bolin would be victorious.

"We're wasting too much time," The Energybender said, masking his concession to Bolin's willpower. "There's only so many places the Avatar could have gone."

Bolin returned to his tea as the Energybender returned to his hunt.


	11. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen has gained an earthbending master and the attention of the Energybender. With his greatest enemy hot on his tail, the Avatar has no time to be interrupted by a wayward spirit.

With Bolin's home well behind them, the group, now including Suda, finally stopped for a day to practice Earthbending. Ada and Suda had been arguing all the time when cramped together in the Satomobile, and Sen was glad to give them some time to be apart. As soon as they had stopped, Ada wandered off to find someplace to be grumpy all on her own. Sen and Hanjo set up for some earthbending lessons. Gun emerged from the ground and casually regarded the earthbenders as he gnawed on a root he'd dug up. He'd been getting a lot bigger lately; he was almost twice the size he'd been when Sen and Hanjo had first met him. Within a few months he'd be a titan, just like his mother.

"I'm mostly going to have to talk you through earthbending, thanks to your female friend over there," Suda began. Ada heard him and made an obscene gesture in his direction.

"You guys really have to get over this eventually," Sen told him. Conflict between his companions was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't quite ready to call Suda or Ada his friends yet, but he knew he didn't want them to fight. With the Energybender on their tail, they had no time for petty arguments.

"I actually don't mind getting cut that much; it's happened before," Suda said. "The fact that we're on the same team now and she refuses to apologize for it is what chafes me."

"She'll get to it eventually," Hanjo assured him. "For now, focus on training us please."

Suda nodded and talked them through some basic drills he'd used in his early days of earthbending. He'd mostly learned from fellow bandits and other rogues; Suda had been born into a bad family. His father, a bender, had skipped town long before Suda ever got to know him, and his mother was hardly a caring individual, so he'd spent his childhood with whatever vagabonds were willing to keep a child around. He'd learned a very rough but highly effective form of earthbending from them, and he'd put his own finesse into it by duplicating Bolin's moves from the Movers he snuck into. By the time he'd joined up with Kuzo and the other bandits, he'd learned metalbending all on his own, and his talent had made him an obvious choice for leadership despite his young age.

In many ways he was a product of his environment, but he'd always thought of himself as a good person. He had to steal just to eat, but he never stole from anyone who really needed the money, and he never hurt anyone who didn't fight back. He kept his conscience mostly clear that way.

The fact that Ada couldn't see that hurt him more than he was letting on. He'd tried explaining all of that to her, but she saw him as just another bandit. He didn't quite know if it was that she was wrong, or that she might be right. Maybe his motivations didn't matter, and neither did his barely-there sense of morality. Maybe he was just a thief and that was all that mattered.

Whatever Ada thought of him, he had a chance to turn it around now. He was going to teach the Avatar and make his hero proud. Truth be told he'd probably have gone with Sen even if Bolin hadn't offered to tell him the ending to the twenty-seventh mover. He was always on the lookout for new and exciting things, and training the Avatar was sure to be the most exciting thing he'd ever done.

Suda was having them launch rocks at targets he'd marked on nearby trees, but Sen was having a very hard time hitting the targets. Those that did make impact seemed more like luck than skill. Hanjo was having much less trouble, and was trying to guide Sen through the process. Suda offered what advice he could, but none of it seemed to help Sen's aim.

Suda tried a different exercise, stacking rocks in a specific formation, and Sen found himself struggling again. His form, control, and motion were all perfect, even better than Hanjo's, but when it came down to actually putting the stone in the right place he fell flat, and Suda couldn't figure out why. He decided to try something that required less precision, to bolster Sen's ego.

"Stop my boulder without lifting your feet off the ground." He called up a large stone and let Hanjo go first. Hanjo went for the clever route; he bent the earth beneath his feet, giving him room to move as he bent the massive stone away. Suda considered that a pass and let Sen take his turn. The Avatar didn't move at all; when the stone approached him he split in half down the middle and let the pieces fall on either side of him. He seemed very satisfied with his demonstration. The lessons Kyo had given him about using his anger to carve stones had come in handy again, and his failure at the earlier exercises had given him plenty of anger to work with.

Suda kept teaching them lessons in brute force, giving them simple, broad tasks for Sen to accomplish. He excelled at digging trenches, exceeded expectations at creating stone traps, and he blew Suda's mind with his ability to create barriers. But the moment Suda sent them back to the target range, Sen faltered again. The taste of success made failure all the more bitter, and Sen tore the target tree out of the ground in frustration. Ada decided it was time to move on.

Back in the satomobile, they finally had a conversation topic other than Ada and Suda's arguments, which Hanjo enjoyed, but Sen was slightly less enthused about.

"Perhaps the small scale isn't Sen's forte," Ada suggested. "He obviously has a natural talent with the bigger tasks. Maybe he's more specialized?"

"It takes a brick to build a fortress," Suda said. It sounded wise, but really he was just quoting a mover. "Mastering the small things will make him even better at the big ones."

"Trying to focus his efforts on something he's not naturally talented at is going to be a lot of trouble," Hanjo added. "Wouldn't it be better to just use what he's already good at?"

"He's got to face the challenges now," Suda said. "What about when he gets to airbending, his opposing element? If he can't handle the challenges of earthbending, how will he succeed there?"

"He's got a point," Ada said. It was the first time the two had agreed since they'd joined up. "If Sen can't handle this, he'll have a worse time with the other elements."

"I can handle this," Sen objected. "There's just something wrong, I don't know what it is."

"I'd question the teaching environment first," Ada said, going back to her old tone.

"Hey," Hanjo shouted, shutting down the argument before it started. "I'm doing the same lesson's and I'm doing fine. Leave Suda out of this."

"Are you implying Sen alone is to blame?"

Hanjo looked at his friend. Sen stared back at him. Hanjo couldn't maintain eye contact.

"Yeah. I guess I am."

Sen turned away and stared out the window. The world outside was a blur to him, and they weren't even driving that fast. They were nearing another city now, and they were starting to see other satomobiles on the road, which affected how fast they could travel.

Occasionally a military vehicle drove by and they all ducked their heads. There was no telling who was on whose side nowadays. With half the parliament showing anti-Avatar sentiment, the UEK military was not a reliable ally in any way. Especially not for Suda, who probably had a few "wanted" posters up in this area.

"We have to decide on some kind of schedule for training," Suda said to his pupils. "Find a way to balance keeping ahead of Howler's forces and getting you two trained."

"We could try just stopping altogether, going deep into the woods or something and hiding out. With any luck, Howler's forces will go right past us."

"I don't like that," Sen said. "Even if they do go past us, who's to say we won't accidentally bump into them again when we start travelling?"

"Sen's right," Suda said. "If they're right behind us we at least know where they are."

"For now, we'll stay the course. Hopefully Bolin will have bought us enough time to outpace the Energybender's troops."

Ada said that, but she knew that Bolin's best efforts could only delay their enemies by a few hours at most. Hopefully it would help reassure Sen, who had been having some rough times lately.

His confidence had faltered somewhat in the past few days. His ineptitude at earthbending and the possibility of Bolin being harmed had put a damper on his spirits. Hanjo said they had managed to avoid causing any major trouble since leaving the orphanage. There had been a close call in a city named Zang, but since they hadn't heard of the Energybender attacking there, they assumed everything had gone alright. Up until Bolin, no one had actively been endangered by Sen being the Avatar.

Sen fully believed that Bolin would be fine; he was one of the world's greatest masters, after all. But the fact that there was a risk, that people could once again be hurt because of his presence, was dragging Sen down. They'd gone through so much without ever having the Energybender put on their tail that he had almost forgotten about the risk. It had been easy to ride around aimlessly with Hanjo and Ada. Now that they actually had an earthbending master with them, the responsibility of being the Avatar was hitting more close to home.

He could probably handle all of this, of course, if he was actually doing well learning earthbending, but his consistent failures were only enhancing his self-doubt. What kind of Avatar couldn't even learn the element he'd been born into?

Traffic came to a dead halt around the border between two provinces. Every province had its own independent government, despite the fact that they were all conjoined into the greater United Earth Kingdom, and each government enforced its borders and laws on an individual basis. Some provinces were very open, others had checkpoints on every road.

Hanjo immediately began piling bags and containers on top of Suda, trying to make him look like a lump of luggage. Suda was a very large person, so it took the lions share of their supplies to completely cover him. The supplies Ada had brought along from Zaofu included fake passports for the three of them, but she had not had time to make one for Suda yet, so he'd have to sneak across the border the old fashioned way. Suda persevered through the indignity of having boxes stacked on his head; he'd endured worse as a bandit. Namely, getting betrayed by all his so-called friends. That still stung.

Ada stopped at the border checkpoint and gladly offered the fake papers to the agent in charge. He looked them over. The documents listed them all as being members of the same family, as far as he knew they were the travelling Togo family, merchants on a mission to get a sale. It helped that Hanjo and Sen looked fairly similar. Anyone who didn't know better might say they were brothers. They had the same brown, fine hair and green eyes, their faces were about the same shape, everything matched up fairly well.

The border guard apparently fell for the resemblance, and completely ignored the conspicuous heap of luggage in the back seat, and they were allowed through.

"You kids be careful on the road," The border guard cautioned. "Strange things have been happening."

"What kind of things?"

"I dunno, I just look at the passports," He sighed. "People getting delayed, no one knows why. Not getting hurt or nothing, just showing up late."

That normally wouldn't be a problem, but they had an enigmatic killer on their tail, so any delay was a very bad thing. Ada sped down the road as soon as they were clear of the checkpoint.

"That sound like Spirit stuff to anyone else," Suda asked, shedding his cocoon of containers. "That sounds like Spirit stuff to me."

"That sounds right," Sen agreed. "Nobody's getting hurt, so it's probably just some wayward spirit with bad timing."

"Well you're the Avatar, so any spirit business is fine with us, right? It's not a problem."

Hanjo rested his feet on the seat in front of him and relaxed. Sen wasn't feeling quite so confident. He hadn't really done anything very spiritual yet. The Avatar state had taken over at Beaker Hall, but that didn't really count. He didn't know how well he'd do in his first real bridge-between-worlds outing. Considering how he was screwing up at earthbending, he doubted he'd do a good job.

"I know how to deal with spirits too," Suda added.

"The Bolin movers aren't an academic source," Ada sniped.

"I have actually talked to spirits, thanks," Suda shot back. "Me and the guys used to run into them now and then back when we lived in the woods."

"Did you ever run into one of the bad ones?"

"Of course we did," Suda said. "We threw rocks at it until it went away."

Somehow Sen did not feel he should make a spiritual role model of Suda. He could tell Ada felt the same way, but, in a distressing turn of events, Hanjo was nodding his head in agreement. Time to shut this line of thought down.

"Nobody's throwing rocks at anything until I talk with it," Sen said. "Whatever's going on, it isn't hurting anything, so we aren't hurting it."

"You might need to repeat that for Ada," Suda said. Sen kept his mouth shut, but he actually agreed. Ada was showing no signs of losing her violent streak, and her arguments with Suda were revealing a temperamental side to her that Sen hadn't seen before. Time had actually made him trust her less, not more.

"That was just dull," Ada said, trying to shut down an argument for once.

"What can I say? I don't trust you around sharp things," Suda said, expertly turning her comeback against her. Now it was on. Ada wasn't going to sit back and let him have the last word. They started at it again. Sen rolled the window down and stuck his head out, hoping that the air rushing by would drown out the sound of the argument. It worked for a while, but then the debate got more heated and their voices got louder.

"You can try and complain all you want, from where I was standing it was justified self defense," Ada said. "Sen and I agreed on that, right? Sen?"

"Leave me out of this," Sen said. He'd had it with their arguing.

"Yeah, looks like he really has your back," Suda said smugly. "Hanjo, what do you think?"

"Don't get him involved either," Sen shouted. Hanjo shook his head, showing he didn't want to be part of this argument. "I swear, I am so tired of this stupid argument!"

Now that he thought about it, he really was tired, in the literal sense. All this arguing would usually get his blood boiling, but right now he just wanted to sleep. With a quiet groan, he rested his eyes and hoped Suda and Ada would argue quietly enough for him to get some sleep. They disappointed, at first, but gradually their arguments grew quieter and quieter.

Sen opened his eyes. Quiet was not a quality he'd easily attribute to those two. He looked over the vehicle. Ada was slouching in her seat, eyes glazed over, while Suda was yawning in the back seat. Hanjo had already fallen completely asleep.

The holly trees outside rustled in the wind, inviting Sen to sleep. He wasn't driving, he thought, what would the harm in taking a nap be? Suda and Ada would keep themselves awake by arguing. Sen slammed his head forward again. He was not that tired, and something else was trying to convince him he was. He slammed his foot down, jolting Suda and Ada to alertness.

"Spirit stuff! Everyone stay awake!"

Suda shook his head, trying to chase off the supernatural sleepiness. It didn't work very well. He tried to shake Hanjo awake, but was unsuccessful. Sen tried to rouse his friend again. If they were dealing with anything unusual, he wanted Hanjo at his side. Hanjo had a knack for solving problems. Unfortunately, repeated attempts to rouse his fellow orphan proved unsuccessful. Whatever was causing this sleep was very powerful indeed.

"Pull over, Ada."

"No, I should keep going," She said, fighting back a yawn. "If I can get us far enough away-"

"If you fall asleep at the wheel we'll crash. Pull over so we can put a stop to this."

Ada nodded lazily and veered them towards the side of the road. Her parking job nearly landed them in a roadside ditch, but they were all alive, so it wasn't that bad. Sen got out of the avatarmobile, fighting off an alien lethargy every step of the way. He had to physically pull Suda and Ada out of the vehicle. They barely stood up, tottering limply on the side of the road.

"What now," Ada questioned quietly. Sen had no idea. He made sure to keep Ada and Suda awake, grilling them for ideas, but they were too tired to produce any suggestions. Sen was on his own. He acted on the first thought that came to mind.

He pointed into the cluster of holly trees by the roadside and told his friends they were going that way. He had a hunch that whatever was causing this sleepiness was in that direction. Nothing really stood out to him as they entered the woods. They all seemed like perfectly ordinary trees to him. Spirits usually glowed, or had weird colors, or something like that. He pressed his entourage forward, always shouting and prodding to keep them from falling asleep as they walked. The strange force causing the sleepiness seemed to be avoiding him, but Ada and Suda were still drifting off.

"Try talking to it," Ada advised. She really did want to help, even if she seemed ready to collapse at a moments notice. She had messed up too many times. She needed to do this one thing right, no matter how tired she was.

"Excuse me, sleep spirit," Sen shouted. "It's me, the Avatar. Please come talk to me."

"Please be quiet," A voice from the roots of the trees said. Sen bent over to look at the branches. A rather drowsy looking spirit was lingering among the roots of the holly tree. It looked like a very large grape with arms and legs. Small dot-like eyes lingered half open as it lazily regarded Sen.

"Are you doing this?"

"No," The spirit squeaked. It let out a tiny yawn. "I come here to nap. Natae's very good at making people nap."

"So Natae is the one making people sleep?"

"You are very pushy, Avatar," The little purple one said. "Yes, Natae is the sleepy spirit. Now shush shush shush."

The tiny grape spirit returned to its nap, ignoring Sen's presence. The Avatar pushed his companions forward, deeper into the holly forest, looking for Natae. After a few minutes of searching, Sen found a holly tree that stood taller than all the others nearby.

"This looks good, right? Spirit's like landmarks like this."

"Very good," Ada mumbled, not even looking at the tree. "Can I go to sleep now?"

"No," Sen said. Ada let out a low, tired groan. "The longer we stay awake, the more attention this Natae thing is going to have to focus on us. He should show up eventually."

"Very smart," A deep, slow voice said. Ada fell over, landing on a bed of dead leaves, and was quite unconscious. Sen barely managed to grab Suda's arm and pull him back up, slapping him on the back to jolt him awake.

"Throw rocks at 'im," Suda mumbled. He hung lazily on Sen's shoulder, barely awake at all. Sen was alone.

"Why making so much trouble," The slow voice said again. It seemed to linger in the air for a second when the speaker was done talking, as if the words themselves were too slow to keep up.

A figure came into focus, draped across a large branch of the holly tree. It looked like a sloth skin filled with water, draped amorphously over every branch, its arm bending in seven different places as it dangled along the path of least resistance. Only the creatures head seemed to respond to anything other than gravity, slowly drifting around to view whatever it found interesting.

"All I do is make nice place to nap," The creature, presumably Natae, continued. "Then Avatar come in with hitting and yelling and…"

Natae paused. Sen waited a moment before coughing for attention.

"Anger," Natae finally continued. "Why do you do this?"

"Me and my friends are going somewhere. We can't afford to sleep."

"Everyone need sleep," Natae said. "What makes Avatar so important that Avatar can't sleep?"

Sen didn't know how to answer. He looked at Suda and Ada, hoping they would wake up long enough to give him the advice he needed. They did no such thing. Hanjo was far behind, still fast asleep. Sen was on his own. He decided to go for the most blunt approach possible.

"We are all going to die," Sen interrupted. "We're being chased by the Energybender. He's said he's going to kill everyone who helps me."

Natae stared blankly for a very long, lingering moment.

"That is so important," The spirit admitted. One of his long, noodle-like arms began a ponderous journey to his chin. "I was wanting to teach lesson about patience and rest because you are fighting so much, but that seems silly now."

"I appreciate you trying to help, but right now I need to move more than I need a lesson," Sen said. "Can you let my friends go now, please?"

Natae blinked. Even blinking took him much longer than it should. The minute action at least seemed to break the hold of sleep on Suda and Ada. Ada began pulling herself out of the pile of leaves and dirt she'd fallen into, and Suda could finally stand upright on his own.

"Very sorry," Natae droned. "I will try to help however I can. But please do not argue any more. You are Avatar, Avatar. Avatar is meant for peace, not fighting."

"I know that," Sen said. "But sometimes there has to be fighting for peace? Is that right?"

"I do not know," Natae admitted. "I am spirit of only sleep."

Sen helped a very disoriented Ada to get her bearings while he thought about Natae. He was a rather curious spirit. Most of them seemed to display a very keen intelligence, but Natae seemed a little…stupid. He didn't think his actions through. Even though he'd wasted their time and let the Energybender catch up with them, it was hard for Sen to blame him for anything.

"Goodbye, Natae. Sorry we couldn't stay to learn a lesson. Maybe someday we'll come back."

"Please no shouting next time," Natae said. Then he faded from sight. Sen guided his friends back the way they came. That had been a strange ordeal from start to finish. Hanjo was waiting in the avatarmobile, confused.

"What just happened?"

"We had an adventure," Sen said. "You slept through it."

***

Two of his search parties had stopped reporting in three days ago. The Energybender had no time or patience for this. Every day the Avatar was out of his reach was a day he spent growing stronger, his spirit becoming more capable of challenging the Energybender's own. But here he was, up to his shoulders in holly branches, because he was a leader, and leaders were expected to make up for the failings of their men.

Finding the search parties had been easy enough; wakening them from their slumber had been slightly harder. There was spirit magic at work, and the Energybender had no desire to waste the incredible power of energybending to wake up a few slack-jawed footsoldiers. He pressed into the heart of the holly forest and found his quarry.

"Spirit of the tree," He commanded, staring down the largest tree in the forest. "Release my men."

There was no response. He placed his hand on the tree, feeling the spirit that flowed through it. A spirit lingered here, that was certain. He pressed his power into the flow of energy through the tree, creating a pulse of spiritual force that should draw the spirit out.

"Spirit of the tree," He shouted more forcefully. "I have mastered the art of the Lion Turtle's claws. I demand you answer me."

"Very rude," Natae said. He appeared amidst the branches of the tree, draped lazily as always. "Lesson should be learned. What does-"

Natae's lesson was brought to an abrupt halt as the Energybender's hand closed around the sloth spirit's limp throat. Natae tried to fade away, but the Energybender gripped his very essence, violently trapping him on the material plane.

"Release my men," The Energybender said.

"No…fighting," Natae groaned slowly.

"I have no time for you," The Energybender said dismissively. His power surged into Natae's body, tearing at the bonds that held the spirit together. The wind filled with the sound of screaming as if from a great distance. The howling rose as the Energybender struck out more and more violently at Natae's soul.

"Release my men," he commanded again. The howling reached a crescendo as he pushed Natae to the brink of death.

Natae let out a long, slow groan, and the Energybender could suddenly hear movement in the trees behind him. He released his ethereal grasp on the spirit, and Natae immediately faded from sight. The Energybender marched through the trees back to his vehicle, passing by his disoriented men on the way.

"We are on the hunt. Move."


	12. Four Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's problems with earthbending might be solved, just in time for their first major conflict with the Energybender's minions.

When they arrived in the city of Shen's Post, a pitstop on the road to Republic City, Ada dropped them off to make arrangements for lodging while she went to fill up on supplies and fuel. Earthbending lessons were on hold in the middle of the city, so Suda decided to talk about a different topic.

"So, Ada," He began. "What's her deal? You guys are both orphans from the same place. Where'd she come from?"

"She's kind of got a secret society thing going on," Sen explained. "Probably won't want me to go into detail about it without her permission."

"So I'll never know, then. Great."

"Come on, I keep saying she'll get over it eventually. You just need to kick some bad guy butt together and we'll all be friends," Hanjo said. Their only encounter so far had been a sloth spirit, so there had been no real bonding via violence.

"Nobody's kicking any butt unless we have to. Korra said to stay low, and that's what we're going to do."

Sen said that, but he had the feeling the universe wasn't going to cooperate. If they made it to Republic City without at least one major brawl he'd be very surprised. Especially with the Energybender being so close on their tail thanks to Suda's former comrades. Sometimes he held that against Suda, that his men were putting Sen and his friends, even Bolin, in danger, but Suda clearly wasn't involved. He'd even made a desperate attempt to warn them in time for them to get away, despite the fact that Ada had injured him.

"But, well, while we're talking about Ada," Suda began awkwardly. He looked at Sen. "I just want to know what the situation is, you know."

"I just told you," Sen said. He didn't know what Suda was trying to say. Suda crossed his arms and sighed.

"Well, what I want to know is, what's going on between you and Ada," Suda mumbled. "I mean, Sen, it's just you and the one girl. I'm the adult here, I've got to think about this stuff."

Suda had realized not long ago that he was older than everyone here by four years. He was loathe to act as the team dad, but he would probably be forced to. Orphans and teenage spies were not well-acquainted with how the real world worked, and Suda was all too aware of how the world worked. He would probably have to guide the kids through more than a few problems.

"Oh, man, no," Sen said. "She has a boyfriend back home. Dorky looking guy, but they seem to love each other."

Suda sighed in relief. Of all the problems he might have to face, teenage crushes was the one he most wanted to avoid. He knew his way around women, but teenagers in love was the last thing Suda needed to deal with.

"I'm not jealous or anything," Sen said. He could see the stress on Suda's face, and tried to put his mind at ease about any romantic entanglements. "The first time I met her, she made kind of a weird impression. Ada's nice, but I just don't...you get me, right? Not my kind of girl."

Suda nodded. Sen wasn't sure what his kind of girl was, but Ada wasn't it. He had thought about it more than once; after all, he'd almost never talked to anyone, much less girls, back at the orphanage, but no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see himself being attracted to Ada.

"I think Hanjo's the one you need to worry about," Sen said. "He's been asking about her boyfriend a lot. I think he's jealous."

"Eh, she's not my kind of girl either," Hanjo said jokingly. Suda started to laugh. Sen felt like there was a joke he wasn't getting.

"I should go get us a place to stay," Sen said, excusing himself from the awkward conversation. He found them a decent hotel to hide away at before returning to Suda and Hanjo, and together they travelled to the meeting place Ada had arranged with them earlier. She was already waiting for them there.

"I put in a call to Zaofu," Ada said. Code for she was talking to her boyfriend, but maybe she'd learned something useful anyway. "Su arrived safely and Bolin called in to say he was fine. The Energybender is on our tail, though."

Sen was glad to hear that Bolin and Su were alright. He'd had a feeling that Bolin could handle himself, but it was good to have any lingering fears put to rest. He didn't need anyone getting hurt because of him.

"And how is my favorite accountant doing," Hanjo asked sarcastically. Suda gave him an awkward glance.

"He misses me, but he's surviving," She said flatly, not amused by Hanjo's joking. Better not to encourage him by getting flustered. Sen, still under the impression that Hanjo was speaking out of jealousy, elbowed his friend in the ribs.

"We have a place to stay for the night," Sen said, pointing towards the hotel he had found for them. "Let's just get to it."

"It's barely dinnertime," Hanjo said. "We could look around, maybe find something useful."

"We already have the only thing we need for now," Sen said, pointing to Suda. "We should head for Republic City. We'll either find a firebender there or head for the Fire Nation."

"I thought our plan was to use the Spirit Portals to head for the poles," Hanjo said.

"That was the plan when we started out," Sen said. "Our situations changed. We have the Avatarmobile now, we're moving faster."

"Sen has a point," Ada said. "Using the Spirit Portals to reach the poles is premature, if you haven't learned Fire or Air yet."

"I think we should head for the Fire Nation right away, actually," Suda added. "We're still pretty close to the coast, so we can find a port without wasting time travelling to Republic City."

"We clearly have a lot of options," Hanjo said. "Let's head back to the hotel and talk them over, okay?"

The four of them nodded. It'd be better to talk about this before they headed anywhere else. There were multiple roads leading out of this city, all of them heading for different major destinations. They all headed back to the hotel together, thinking over their plans for future travel. The hotel Sen had chosen was off the main roads, tucked away in a bad part of town, so their rooms were cramped and run down. They managed to scrounge together four chairs that didn't fall apart when you sat on them and sat in a circle. Sen opened the discussion.

"If anywhere is going to be safe for me, it's Republic City. That city wouldn't exist if it weren't for Aang and Korra. The number of supporters I'll have there make it the obvious choice."

"The obvious choice for Energybender spies, as well," Ada countered. "You might have support there, but the Energybender has unknown numbers of forces on his side. We can't risk him catching your trail so soon."

Republic City was just like Zaofu; while they were overwhelmingly supportive of the Avatar, they were also threaded with enemy spies. There was just as much risk as benefit waiting for them in the United Republic.

"Korra's Spirit Portal is still a tempting target," Hanjo said. "Even if the Energybender catches us in Republic City, we'd be able to outmaneuver him in the Spirit World thanks to the Avatar, and when we reached the other Spirit Portals he'd have to split his forces between the North and South to search for us."

"It wouldn't get us any closer to the real target, though," Suda added. "Making Sen a fully realized Avatar is our top priority. Once he's at full strength, he can fight the Energybender and win. The sooner we get him to the Fire Nation, the better."

Sen had an urge to go to Republic City, probably due to it being so familiar to his past lives, but he could see Suda's point. It wouldn't matter where he was if the Energybender caught up to him before he was ready. Advancing his skills as an Avatar should be his first priority, and there'd be more firebending masters to be found in the Fire Nation than in Republic City.

"We still need to go to Republic City one day," Sen added. "But Suda makes a good point. The Fire Nation might be a better place to find a firebending master for me."

"I don't know how I feel about taking a boat ride," Ada said. "If the Energybender were to discover our ships destination somehow, he could have Fire Nation agents waiting for us at the docks. The boat would take weeks while a radio message could be sent in a day."

"Not to mention dealing with Gun on a boat," Hanjo added. Sen nodded. Dealing with Gun was easy on land, when he could just tunnel down and stay out of sight easily, but there wasn't anywhere to tunnel to on a boat.

"We can get our own boat," Suda said. "Bolin gave us enough money to buy a small country, much less a large boat. We'll have room enough for your badgermole and we can land wherever we want whenever we want."

"That's a decent idea," Sen admitted. "But I don't think we can take a ship to the Fire Nation all on our own. Maybe we can hire a private crew instead?"

"Avoiding public transportation is the key element," Ada said. "I have some knowledge of boats, if we need to have our own vehicle. We should head to the nearest port and view our options. There's no guarantee there'll be a ship for sale or a crew for hire."

"But we're all agreed on the boat, right? We're going to the Fire Nation?"

All four nodded. Hanjo had his misgivings about this plan, but he was going to go along with it, seeing as he was obviously in the minority. Ada pulled out her map and they plotted a course to the nearest major port city. They could make it in a days drive if they started early in the morning. For now they had a few hours to rest and prepare. The threat of the Energybender's pursuit would keep them from resting easily, but they could still rest.

Ada pulled out her swords and started digging into the mechanisms. The electric current was a very delicate device, and she hadn't had much time to maintain it lately. Suda saw her swords drawn, made a snide comment about it, and then invited Sen to come outside and do some earthbending practice. Hanjo started to come along, but Suda suggested he stay with Ada instead. Hanjo reluctantly sat down next to her as the two went outside.

"Sen needs to practice without comparing himself to you," Ada said. "A more personal environment might help him address his shortcomings and correct them."

"Oh, you and Suda suddenly understand each other now?"

"Suda's a reasonably clever individual," Ada explained. "I trust his judgment, to an extent."

"I thought you hated him because he was a bandit?"

"It doesn't bother me that much," Ada admitted. "The fact that he hasn't apologized for trying to rob us does rub me the wrong way, though."

Hanjo let out a groan so intense that Ada could feel her chair shake. Not that it took much to shake these awful chairs, but still.

"You two have the exact same problem with each other! Apologies aren't that important! Just suck it up and go say you're sorry for slashing him!"

"Tell him to come apologize to me," Ada retorted. She snapped the batteries in her sword back into place and tested the shock. Worked like it was brand new. She sheathed her swords happily.

"Come on, Ada," Hanjo said. "Me and Sen are sick of the arguing. Just go apologize and end it!"

She didn't want to frustrate Sen, or Hanjo for that matter, but she had her own principles.

"I do what I please," Ada said. "If I apologize, I'll do it when I want to."

Hanjo stomped his foot in frustration, causing a visible crack in the floorboards. He pulled his foot up quickly.

Outside, Suda and Sen were still focusing on Sen's earthbending. Suda had been in this town before, on a less noble mission, so he knew a good alleyway that made a decent escape route, and a decent hiding place for their earthbending practice. They went through a refresher on all the large scale tricks that Sen excelled at, but then they had to go over the smaller, more precise techniques again, and he ran into the same problems. Suda tried to take the Avatars mind off his failures with a little conversation. A topic from earlier deserved some attention.

"So, what's the deal with Hanjo anyway? Why'd you bring him along?"

"Because I did," Sen said. He shot a pebble at the target and groaned in frustration when he missed. "Didn't really think about it, and by the time I did, he was already my friend, so it's not like I could tell him to leave."

"I get being loyal to your friends, but in the long run, what does the guy do? Never heard of a Team Avatar with three of the same element before."

"I figure I'm trendsetting," Sen said. "Korra's team didn't have an airbender. Why can't I have extra earthbenders?"

"You've got a point," Suda admitted. "But, uh, have you noticed anything weird about him?"

"He's weird in a lot of ways," Sen said with a slight smile. "But he's my best friend."

Suda nodded and returned to training. It was clear that Sen only thought of Hanjo as a friend, the only question was what Hanjo was thinking. Suda would deal with that when the time came.

Sen let another stone fly at the target. It bounced off the very edge. Bolstered by the fact that he was getting closer, he tried again, and missed the mark entirely. Suda shook his head.

"I don't get, I just don't," Suda said. "Your technique is flawless, and if it was something spiritual, you wouldn't be so good at the bigger stuff."

"Well find out," Sen said accusingly. "You're supposed to be the master."

"Alright, alright, hold on," Suda said. It was time for a more basic practice. Suda grabbed a chunk of chalk that was hanging around the alleyway and used it to mark three concentric circles on the wall of the building, making a target about the size of his head. With a more definite target than a random tree in mind, Sen would probably be able to focus his mind better. He positioned Sen about twenty feet away and pointed at the target.

"Alright, now I want you to focus on the outer ring first. Ignore the other two."

"There's only two circles," Sen said.

"No, you got ahead of yourself," Suda explained. He pointed at each of the three circles in turn. "This is the one you need to look at. Not this one, or this one."

"There's only two," Sen objected. He walked forward to examine the target more closely, and then shook his head. He tapped each of the three circles with his fingers.

"Huh," Sen said. "That's weird. I guess I was wrong."

A massive grin spread across Suda's face as he realized exactly what was wrong with Sen's earthbending. He took Sen by the shoulder and pushed him out of the alleyway and into the street.

"I know what your problem is," Suda began. "Just follow me and everything will become clear."

"Or you could tell me where we're going beforehand," Sen objected, planting his feet in the dirt. "I'd kind of like that to happen for once."

Hanjo had led him all the way from Beaker Hall to Bolin's house without ever telling Sen where they were headed. Just for once, he would like to know where he was going in advance.

"Come on, just trust me," Suda said as they reached the street. One look told him that trusting himself was a bad idea.

A caravan of unmarked military transports pulled into town. Shrouded figures could be seen through the windows of the armored convoy. It wasn't hard to guess who they were. Sen had his friends had travelled too slowly. The Energybender had caught up with them.

"We're leaving now," Sen commanded. Suda led the way back to the hotel. Hanjo and Ada were halfway through packing the supplies when they arrived. They blitzed through the rest of the supplies and rushed downstairs as quickly as they could. This was all much too sudden. They'd been talking about stupid romance crap not an hour ago. If he'd known all of this was going to happen, Suda would have never wasted the time. He regretted most of the days decisions as he barreled down the stairs.

Having taken the lead already, Ada reached the bottom of the stairwell first, and her suddenly extended arm brought the rest of the parade to a screeching halt. There were already troops in the lobby, interrogating the clerk at the desk. Ada stopped the group to listen to what their enemies had to say. There was a chance they could avoid detection, if they had some intelligence.

"This city is officially under lockdown," The Energybender's minion declared. "People like you have nothing to fear, of course, unless you're sheltering the Avatar."

The cowed clerk listened to everything the soldier said. The troops were wearing full face masks, but other than that they looked more like monks than soldiers. Their robes were loose fitting, and their cut was similar to the style used by ancient airbending monks. The color scheme clearly denoted bending talents; red, blue, green and yellow for each element. Oddly, there didn't seem to be a color for nonbenders.

"Station a soldier at every door to check people going in and out. The rest of you, go join the roadblocks."

Ada dove out of cover. If they were putting up checkpoints, there'd be no hope of getting out of town stealthily. Their only hope was to make a blitz for the highway and hope they beat the Energybender's forces. The rest of the team followed her into action and took out the Energybender's troops as quickly as they could. The element of surprise made the fight one-sided, but that trick would only work once.

They tore out the door of the hotel, dodging a new volley of attacks as they ran. Sen only stopped to slam his foot on the ground once, summoning Gun. They'd need everything at their disposal to make it out in one piece.

As they started up the satomobile and raced it to the edge of town, Gun guarded their perimeter. Diving in and out of the earth like a dolphin breaching the water, Gun tunneled circles around the vehicle, coming out of the ground to bite and claw attackers or send up walls of earth to block pursuing vehicles. Suda cheered on the badgermole as Gun's frantic attacks took them safely to the edge of the city.

Looking ahead, Ada could see the road open and inviting ahead of them. There were a small number of Howler's forces ahead; two squads of four benders each, but they didn't have any kind of roadblock set up. It almost looked like they were going to make it, but Ada knew nothing was ever certain.

Sure enough, the metalbenders among Howler's forces tore apart their own vehicles, rearranging the components into a metal barricade that spanned the width of the street. Suda tried to raise a ramp out of the earth to get them over it, but the opposing earthbenders tore it right down.

Ada brought the vehicle to a screeching halt just short of the line of troops. Sen and Suda dove out of the back seat, combining efforts with Gun to raise up a massive wall behind them, while Ada and Hanjo rushed forward to take out the enemy metalbenders.

"Suda," Ada shouted over her shoulder. "When I signal, tear down this wall!"

Suda shouted back something unintelligible just to let Ada know he'd heard her. He could feel enemy earthbenders tearing at the other side of the wall. Two benders and a badgermole weren't a match for the Energybenders collection of troops. The wall would be coming down eventually.

Whether the wall was up or not soon turned out to be irrelevant. With a surge of rushing air, enemy airbenders sent themselves and other troops airborne, vaulting over the wall. Their landing was a bit awkward, giving Sen and Suda time to launch a very effective opening attack, but that meant dropping the wall. The rest of the soldiers joined in to attack. There were two dozen of them already, and there'd likely be reinforcements on the way.

The masked troops were few in number, but they were all talented benders using some surprisingly advanced techniques, and Suda didn't have much power on his side. His right hand was still nearly useless thanks to his wound. He did what he could, but the pain made it too hard to focus on earthbending. Sen was doing his best, sending massive boulders and rock walls sailing at the enemy, but his attacks were slow and ponderous, easy to dodge. This was exactly the time that the high speed, precise style of bending he'd been failing at would come in handy. Hopefully Suda's hunch would prove correct. He'd been interrupted earlier, before he could get what he needed to fix Sen's problems.

"Hold them for five seconds," Suda said. "Trust me."

Sen grunted in the affirmative, and Suda broke off from his partner. He'd seen a very promising general store off to the side of the street that should have just what he needed. Scrambling through the store, he found what he was looking for, grabbed a pair at random and dashed back to Sen's side before the troops overwhelmed him. With a brief warning to Sen, he slammed a pair of glasses onto the Avatar's face.

Sen stopped for a second, as everything in his world quite literally came into focus.

When the brief shock of suddenly seeing the world as it really was for the first time in his life was over, Sen launched a new salvo of attacks at the enemy. He could suddenly see them all in detail; the whole world had come into focus all at once, including his enemies. Tearing small stones out of the earth, he called his targets as he sent the earth flying. Suddenly it all made sense. Everything had come into focus. All the times he'd had trouble reading, or seeing things in the distance, or bending at small targets, they all suddenly made sense. It wasn't his fault at all; he'd needed glasses the whole time and never known!

Sen bent over and slammed the palms of his hand into the ground. Massive cracks tore open the concrete street and dove outwards at the energybenders forces. The first wave of troops was swallowed up by the collapsing rock, and the rest were forced backwards by the rapidly advancing chasm. Gun gave a surprisingly loud roar and churned the earth along with his master, sending the wave of earthen devastation roaring down the street.

Ada shouted for Suda. She and Hanjo had disabled the metalbenders in the energybenders group, since they had the courtesy to label themselves with green robes, but they still needed to get the roadblock out of the way, and only Suda could do that. Hanjo and Ada kept the remaining benders at bay while Suda went for the roadblock, leaving an ecstatic Sen to his massacre of the enemy forces. The crumbling stones ahead of him kept the bulk of the forces at bay, but reinforcements were starting to come from the side roads and rooftops, and more troops were approaching every minute. Suda didn't have much time. He started ripping apart the barricade as best as he could.

With the street ripped to shreds, the Energybender's troops were forced to make their approach through narrow side alleys. The chokepoints suited Sen just fine. He removed the platinum spheres from his belt pouch and used his newfound accuracy to pelt the enemies as soon as they came into sight. He could occasionally hear bones crack as he sent the metal coated stones flying into limbs and ribs. His defense wasn't perfect, but when combined with the rampage of an irate badgermole, very few soldiers made it onto the street.

Ada was having trouble dueling with the non-metalbenders among Howler's forces. Nonbenders and earthbenders, even metalbenders, had been plentiful sparring partners in Zaofu, but fire and waterbenders were rarer, and airbenders were almost unheard of. The new techniques and capabilities were throwing off her combat routine. Fire was less forceful, but it traveled much faster, testing her reflexes. Water was flexible, able to change directions multiple times in an attack, testing her agility. Air was the hardest of all, being nearly invisible from the wrong angle, pushing her reflexes to their limits. She was fully aware that one wrong step could mean the end of her life.

So she didn't make a wrong step. She stayed light on her feet, rolling to the side as fire roared past her, then diving forward to strike the firebender with a shocking slash to the ribs. Water twisted and turned, one, two, three times and Ada turned faster, closing in on the waterbender before she could change her course a fourth time. With blade still in hand, she watched for the slightest shift in the dust surrounding them. In the corner of her eye, she saw a pebble move, and she leapt forward. The air behind her surged outwards in a burst just in time to add momentum to her jump, propelling her even faster towards her opponent. She tried her best to remember that this was life or death, not an enjoyable excursion, but a smile found its way to her face eventually. She couldn't help herself; she lived for combat.

Hanjo was having a slightly less artistic time with his opponents. His technique was to use gradually larger rocks to hit them. The firebender got taken out by a medium sized rock, the waterbender got hit with a large rock, and now Hanjo was chucking really big rocks at the airbender. They yellow clad soldier leapt around the buildings, using airbending to propel himself round the rubble, evading progressively larger and larger stones, until Hanjo had used the biggest stone he could possibly move.

"I'm going to get you with the biggest rock of all," Hanjo said confidently. The airbender laughed. Hanjo sent another stone flying, and the airbender prepared to leap. Just before the bender made his final jump, Hanjo twisted the angle of the stone he was propelling himself off of, facing it towards the ground. With a rush of air, the airbender sent himself rocketing into the ground, colliding headfirst with the soil.

"It's the earth," Hanjo said to the unconscious airbender. "The earth is the biggest rock."

With the two squads near the barricade taken care of, Suda could finally focus his full attention on taking down the roadblock. With a loud scream of exertion, Suda stopped dismantling the barricade piece by piece and started ripping the metal in two, filling the air with a shrieking sound as the metal sheets tore asunder.

"Hanjo! The gas canister!"

Hanjo whipped the small, rock-covered container out of his belt and tossed it to Ada. He'd been waiting for a chance to use that toy ever since they'd taken it from the Zaofu armory; he only wished it were under better circumstances. Hanjo covered Ada with his earthbending while she loaded the canister. By the time she was done, Suda had nearly torn the barricade down. Ada told Hanjo to start the car and get it ready to drive, while she passed the gas canister to Sen.

"When Suda gives us the signal, start it, bend it in an arc behind us and get in the car."

Suda gave the signal almost as soon as she was done talking. She made a dive for the car while Sen started the gas device, then earthbent the rock surrounding the device to send it soaring through the enemy troops. It left a cloud of greenish-grey gas behind it, enveloping their opponents in the fog. The enemy airbenders cleared the cloud soon enough, but something about it seemed to linger. Energybender troops were clawing at their masks. Sen didn't spare their distress a thought. He dove into the satomobile and slammed the door shut as Hanjo sent them barreling forward, far away from the enemy troops.

Sen felt that had gone rather well, but it wasn't the time to celebrate quite yet. Ada was fiddling with the radio for some reason.

"Now is not the time for music," Hanjo desperately tried to joke. He needed something to take his mind off their mortal danger, and good old humor seemed like the way to go.

"I'm hoping the Energybender is using an unsecured frequency," Ada hastily explained. She focused in on some signal in the static.

"-Afraid there's no chance of vehicular pursuit," a strange voice said. "They tore the main road up before they left. We'll need time to move our vehicles into position. They'll have a significant lead by then."

"Move as quickly as possible," A chilling voice commanded. The radio's sound was unclear, but Sen was sure he'd remember it. It had to be the Energybender's voice. "Do you have any actual progress to report?"

"We have a visual of the Avatar, sir," the trooper said. He then proceeded to describe Sen in detail, right down to the fact that he was now wearing glasses.

"Then we have our target. Did you overhear his name?"

"No sir."

The Energybender paused. Sen was happy that his name was still somehow being kept secret. It made him feel safer, in a way. The Energybender knew his path and his face now, but did not know his name.

"I have been too lenient with failure of late. Show this city the price of defying me."

Sen had time for a horrified gasp before the first building began to fall. He twisted in his seat to watch from afar as Energybender troops tore apart foundations and burned buildings, dismantling an entire city before his eyes. Sen let out a low, mournful moan. His allies averted their eyes from the destruction. Ada shut the radio off.

Sen covered his face with his hands. He'd avoided this for so long. Zang had been kept safe, Bolin had been kept safe, but this town, Shen's Post, had barely even sheltered the Avatar for a day, and the punishment was absolute destruction. He could hear the sound of collapsing stone from here, and he felt like if he focused, if he listened close enough, he could hear the screams of innocent people as their homes were torn apart.

"Sen. Don't let him get to you."

Sen briefly removed himself from his mournful reverie to listen to Hanjo speak. Hanjo was staring intently, if somewhat blankly, forward, trying to keep grief from showing on his face. He winced slightly when he heard the loud crash of rubble in the distance.

"This isn't your fault. Don't ever think it is."

It was hard not to. It was hard knowing that every move he made brought danger to someone or something else. How could he not feel responsible for what was happening to Shen's Post at this very moment, when it was all caused by him running away, and he was still running? Sen wanted nothing more than to turn around and stop the destruction, but some part of him knew that wasn't the answer. Today the best thing he could do was keep running.


	13. Under Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pursued by the Energybender, Sen and his group grow exhausted. Suda hatches a plan to put more distance between them and their adversary, and it all relies on Gun.

They'd been driving nonstop since leaving Shen's Post. Taking it in shifts at first, between the three drivers, and then even teaching Sen how to drive just so they could keep it up longer. Two people would attempt to sleep in the rumbling backseat of the Avatarmobile while one drove, and the other helped the driver stay awake. It had worked well for a few days, but as time went on shifts got shorter and shorter. The strange sleeping schedule was wearing down their endurance gradually. They'd been going in shifts of eight hours before, now they were down to four. It wouldn't be long before none of them could keep their eyes open. Sen, in the passengers seat, was desperately brainstorming with Suda for ways around this.

"We've got to stop eventually," Sen moaned haggardly. "If we don't all get some real sleep we're going to pass out before we get anywhere."

"We're still three days out from the port," Suda replied. Their hasty retreat from Shen's Post had put them very off course. Their new destination, Tunuk Bay, was farther away than they would like.

"We could try stopping, actually making a camp, but they'd just use the time to catch up with us. We don't know how far behind us Howler is."

Whenever they'd driven through a city on their journey, Ada had turned on the radio, trying to overhear some news about the movement of Howler's troops, but there was no information. For all they knew the Energybender was just out of sight, ready to close in the moment they slowed down.

"We need to find some way to slow them down at the same time," Sen said. "Like, put a wall between us and them somehow."

Suda had himself an idea. He reached into one of the Avatarmobile's various compartments and pulled out the map of the area. He traced the line of the road they were travelling on with his finger. Finding what he was looking for, he slammed his hand down in satisfaction. Maybe he was just tired, but he was very proud of his idea.

"Hey, you two, get up," He shouted into the backseat. Hanjo was slightly rested, but Ada had just finished her shift driving an hour ago and she was not enthused about the idea of opening her eyes. She mumbled something rude to Suda and then twisted around in the seat, trying to get comfortable again.

"I have an idea, and then we can all sleep once you agree with me."

Ada remained quite obstinate. It was difficult enough to sleep in a moving satomobile without being interrupted. Hanjo rubbed his eyes and was ready to participate, Suda relied on Sen to demonstrate the map, since Suda was still responsible for driving.

"The road curves to go around these mountains here," he began, having Sen point to different parts of the map. "But the map says there's an old walking path here, where the mountain range is narrowest."

"We can't abandon the car, Suda," Hanjo said. "It's got all our stuff, we'd never make it to the Fire Nation if we leave all the supplies and money behind. We can't go back to foraging in the woods, we barely made it the first time."

"Not to mention foot travel would be a lot slower."

"We're not going to abandon the Avatarmobile," Suda said. "We're going to drive it through the mountain. Your badgermole buddy can make a tunnel for us."

There was a pregnant pause in conversation. In one way, it was the dumbest thing Hanjo had ever heard, and in other ways it made perfect sense.

"Let me see the map," Hanjo said. Sen handed it over and Hanjo examined the parts of the map he'd pointed out. He found something he didn't like.

"Suda, even at the narrowest part, those mountains are fifteen miles wide."

"Yeah, but look at the road around them. That's nearly a day of driving. We know Gun can tunnel about as fast as this thing can drive, so going fifteen miles would be a cakewalk."

Suda had a point. Gun had an uncanny speed to his tunneling. If he could do as well in front of the satomobile as behind it, they could make it through the mountains in less than an hour. There would be a few hours of off road driving to get off the road and back onto it after the tunnel, but all in all taking this route would save them around twelve hours of time. Not much, in the long run, but enough time for them all to get some real sleep and eat a decent meal, refreshing them for the next marathon drive.

"I'm sold," Hanjo said sleepily. "Sen, you're in charge, what do you say?"

"Sounds okay to me," Sen said. Hanjo had noticed that Sen usually just agreed with every idea he heard. He'd yet to see Sen make any real decisions of his own. Now was not the time to bring that up, though, so Hanjo turned to the girl trying desperately to sleep.

"Ada?"

The snoozing secret agent gave out a frustrated 'hmph' and twisted once again. Hanjo marked it down as a yes.

"Your plan is go, Suda," Hanjo said. "Now shut up and let me sleep again."

Suda obliged, and Hanjo quickly returned to his futile attempt to nap in the rumbling, awkward backseat. This had been so much easier when there'd only been three of them, and you could actually lie down in the back. Now there were two people in it at all times, so you had to awkwardly position yourself to avoid kicking your partner in the face. Hanjo wouldn't mind that in some cases, but Ada could probably kick pretty hard so he avoided it in this particular pairing.

They had a ways to go before reaching the narrow point in the mountains, so there was still some driving to be done. Suda kept himself awake by pestering Sen with questions.

"So, about this badgermole, anyway," Suda began. "Is he special or something? He's gotta be tunneling like sixty miles an hour on average."

"I don't know, honestly," Sen said. "Maybe they can all do that and they just don't want to. Gun keeps up with us, it's all I know."

"He must really like you guys," Suda said.

"He doesn't like Ada much, actually. I think he only likes Earthbenders."

"Well then maybe we should get Ada out of the group before he gets to be the size of a house. I wouldn't want to be on the bad side of something that big."

Sen did wonder what they were going to do with Gun once he got to be full sized. He'd been small enough to fit in a truck bed when they'd first met, now he was nearly the size of a satomobile. At the rate they were moving, he'd be full grown by the time Sen was learning waterbending, and badgermoles weren't known for living in arctic climates. Training with the Water Tribe might be a challenge.

Sen had the feeling it would work out somehow. Gun was their animal guide, after all. He had already surprised them more than a few times.

"I don't think he'd hurt anyone. Unless I told him to."

He had hurt all kinds of people in Shen's Post. Gun's ability to emerge from the ground and take enemies by surprise had downed more than a few of the Energybender's troops.

"Yeah, how does he do that, by the way? I mean, all you did was stomp your foot once, and then he did exactly what we needed."

"That's another thing I don't know," Sen said. Sen assumed it had to do with Gun's ability to read vibrations in the ground, but how did the badgermole intuitively know what Sen wanted done? It was another mystery for them. Sen didn't like mysteries.

"Sounds to me like you need to get to know the big guy better," Suda suggested. Sen agreed. Now that he thought about it, he'd rarely taken the time to actually bond with Gun. He was sort of taking the Animal Guide relationship for granted.

Suda passed the time with progressively more inane questions until his shift was over, at which point he declared that Sen was in charge, booted Hanjo out of the back seat, and promptly rolled over to attempt to sleep. Sen was glad to have Hanjo back at his side. Suda was nice, but they hadn't had much time establish a repartee. Talking with Hanjo was more natural.

"Do you ever wonder what's going on back at Beaker Hall? Like, what the heck happened to all those other kids once we left?"

"I'm hoping they all got on with their lives," Hanjo said. "That place was depressing."

"Maybe some of them will even meet their parents."

"Hah," Hanjo spat. He seemed offended by the idea. "That'll go well. 'Gee son, we abandoned you to a cruel, uncaring world the moment we got scared, but now that you're no longer a threat, lets be a family again!'"

"You sound like you resent your parents."

"What? No," Hanjo said, shaking his head. "My parents are dead, Sen. Didn't I tell you that?"

Sen shook his head. Hanjo was surprised. He thought he'd mentioned that earlier.

"Well, I am an actual orphan, unlike a lot of people at Beaker Hall. I remember reading my own paperwork in the office once. My mom and dad died when some earthbending thief collapsed a wall to make his getaway, accidentally knocked down part of the building."

"I'm sorry," Sen said. In a way it was good that Hanjo had actual closure on his past, but in other ways, Sen thought it had to be hard knowing your parents were gone.

"Don't be," Hanjo said. "All I ever knew about them is ink on paper. It's tough, sometimes, wondering what it would've been like, but if I had to choose between knowing my parents are dead or knowing they'd chosen to abandon me…Well, I think I'm doing alright."

Hanjo remembered the day he'd snuck into the headmaster's office to read his own file. It wasn't long after he'd found out he was an earthbender, when he was nine or ten. He'd been bullied by the other kids for being a bender, for being anything like the Avatar, and he'd been so hurt and upset he'd gone looking for someone to blame. Almost every other kid at Beaker Hall had been abandoned by frightened parents too terrified of the Energybender to love their own children. He thought he was the same, so when he went looking for his past he thought he was going to take some kind of childish, petty revenge on the parents who'd abandoned him. Imagine his surprise when he'd found out their fate. It had put a lot of things in perspective for him at a very young age.

"But, ah, what about you," Hanjo said, breaking out of his retrospective. "Ada said you didn't have any paperwork. No way to tell where you're from, who your parents are…did you ever think about it?"

"To be honest, no. I just sort of coasted along until, well, you know."

Hanjo could remember the quiet days at the Beaker Hall orphanage. He must have seen Sen hundreds of times in those crowded hallways and lunchrooms, but the future Avatar had never stood out, not even once. Hanjo often wondered how someone as amazing as the Avatar had been hiding away in such a meek shell.

"Well, what did you think about? You had to have some kind of hobby, or dreams, or something like that."

Sen did remember one dream of his, but it didn't seem like a big deal compared to what his actual life was turning out to be. He could say it anyway, though.

"I sort of wanted to be on a construction team," Sen admitted. "One of those earthbenders that puts buildings together."

"That has got to be the absolute lamest dream I've ever heard," Hanjo laughed. "It's a good thing you're the Avatar or you'd have turned out to be a total nerd."

Sen agreed that wanting to be a construction worker was a little silly. Most people thought of it as the worst use of bending talent. Sen just liked the idea of working with other people to put something together. He supposed in a metaphorical kind of way that's what you did as the Avatar, but he wasn't as interested in metaphors.

"Say what you will, that's what I thought my calling was," Sen said. "Don't mock my dreams, Hanjo."

"I am going to mock your dreams so much, Sen," Hanjo retorted. Then he did just that. Sen didn't even know you could make that many puns about construction.

Sen distracted himself from the endless stream of awful wordplay by double-checking the map. They were only a few miles away from the tunnel site now, so he shut Hanjo up and focused on the road. There would be a sign at the roadside showing where the new highway intersected with the old walking path from before satomobiles existed.

Hanjo spotted the path and veered onto it. The old road was serviceable for driving on, but without actual pavement the satomobile began to jerk and vibrate rapidly. Suda and Ada were violently awoken by the sudden change in stability. Suda at least was expecting this, but Ada was caught off guard and grabbed her sword by instinct. She was frazzled, confused, and frightened, and Suda decided to calm her down as soon as possible. His old wound was just starting to heal, he didn't need a new one.

"Stop, calm down, everything's according to plan," Suda said, scooting away from her blade. "We're taking an off road shortcut."

Ada took a deep breath and put her sword away. Suda relaxed. Once she'd rubbed her eyes enough to regain full mental faculties, Ada questioned what was going on. Sen explained the plan to tunnel under a mountain. Ada started rubbing her eyes again, because she clearly hadn't done it enough the first time. Sen was telling her that they were going to drive through a mountain, and that clearly wasn't possible. She asked him again what was going on, and he repeated himself. She looked around at her companions.

"This is what you come up with when I'm asleep," she groaned. "Follow the badgermole through a mountain."

"It worked for Sokka," Hanjo said. "You're the one with the Avatar history books. Avatar Aang, Book 2, Chapter 2, Cave of Two Lovers. It's all there."

"Our badgermole is even kind of trained already," Sen said. "So it should work even better for us!"

That actually made a little bit of sense. She'd studied Sokka's history in great detail during her swordsmanship training. The incident in the Cave of Two Lovers wasn't the most illustrious episode of his life, but it had all ended well. Ada was willing to go along with it, especially if she actually got to make a real bed. She kept her mouth shut for the rest of the bumpy ride.

After around two hours driving along the winding footpath, the satomobile hit a place where it could go no further. a steep incline took the path up a winding, narrow climb, far too thin and steep for the satomobile to negotiate. This would have to be their starting point for the tunnel.

The four occupants of the Avatarmobile climbed out, stretched their aching limbs, and then all ran off in different directions. After some long-neglected basic bodily functions were attended to, they reconvened at the site of the vehicle and began to set up camp. There was little conversation beyond what was needed to coordinate the effort. Every one of them wanted to pass out as soon as possible. One by one they collapsed onto poorly-made bedrolls.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Sen was the first to wake up. He had never felt quite so rested in his life. Even sleeping in a real bed in Zang after napping on the dirt for a month hadn't been quite as satisfying as this. He felt refreshed from head to toe.

The sun was low in the eastern sky, showing that the day was still new. That was good. Sen had been slightly worried that they might oversleep and cost themselves more time than they'd planned for. They were still on schedule for now, so Sen started putting a breakfast together for the rest of his travelling companions. They had burned through most of the actual food already, and were left with packaged rations and scraps, but he did the best he could.

The rest woke up one by one as the scent of food called to them. Morning conversation consisted of a few remarks on how good it felt to have a full night of sleep. Suda made a few remarks as Gun crawled sleepily out of the dirt. Apparently he had taken advantage of the rest stop as well. Sen stepped away from breakfast to check up on him.

The young badgermole seemed to be no worse for wear after nearly a week of non-stop tunneling. He had clearly not groomed himself in recent days, since his fur was matted with dirt and mud, but everything else seemed to be okay. He was still as healthy looking as ever, not malnourished or exhausted at all. Sen helped Gun bend the soil out of his striped fur, and within a few minutes he was right as rain.

"This is a big day for you, pal," Sen said. Gun showed absolutely no indication that he understood, but Sen kept talking anyway. "Think you'll be up to the challenge?"

Gun's blind eyes stared blankly forward. Sen knew he'd be more responsive when the time came. Gun hadn't disappointed them yet. He returned to some friends who were more talkative and discussed the plan for the day.

"So I figure we should have the earthbenders set up to smooth out Gun's tunnel, just to make things easy on the avatarmobile," Hanjo suggested. "Ada can drive, Gun will lead, and the three of us will take shifts keeping things smoothed out."

"That works for me," Ada said. "We'll have to take it fairly slow if you're that concerned about the tunnel's integrity."

"I don't think that'll be a problem. We'll start it slow and see how Gun does."

Gun's head turned when he heard his name. He'd learned to recognize it at some point, but he didn't seem to know many other words. Most of their communication was done by Sen stomping his foot.

"Even if we're only going fifteen miles an hour, we'll still clear the whole mountain range in an hour," Suda added. "I've got a hunch Gun can tunnel a lot faster than that."

Sen started to walk Gun through what they were doing. He slammed his heel against the mountain as the rest of the group packed up their supplies and moved the Avatarmobile into place. Gun sniffed at the mountain, somewhat confused. Obviously that wasn't going to cut it.

Sen thrust his hand forward, digging out a portion of the mountainside with his bending, and pushed it aside, creating a few feet of tunnel. He stomped his heel once again, and repeated the process a few times, digging a bit of tunnel and stomping his foot in turn. After Gun noticed the Avatarmobile following Sen into the tunnel, he got the picture. Gun took a spot alongside Sen and began tearing at the earth with his claws and his bending, opening up the tunnel much faster than Sen could.

Sen and Gun dug the tunnel out side by side for a while, just so Gun would get a good picture of his tasking. Working alongside the badgermole was interesting. Something about the way he moved was much different than any earthbending Sen had seen from Hanjo or Suda. The way Gun planted his feet and swept his front limbs seemed more intuitive, more connected to the earth. Subconsciously, Sen began to mimic Gun's movements.

After a time, Gun began to grasp his task, and he started tunneling ever faster. There was no way Sen could keep pace with Gun once the badgermole hit his stride, so he found his way back into the Avatarmobile and helped keep the makeshift road clear of holes and pitfalls. Gun's tunneling was fast, but far from perfect, leaving behind a greatly irregular trail.

Ada informed them that they were travelling about twenty-five miles an hour on average, which should get them through the mountains in less than an hour, provided everything went smoothly. The satomobile's headlights only illuminated so much of the tunnel, and it was hard to tell if Gun was digging in a straight line. The speck of daylight from their tunnel entrance had long since faded away.

"Hey, not that I don't think Gun's doing great," Suda shouted. "But could he go even faster? I mean, he can do that, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he's motivated," Sen shouted back. Gun's claws ripping through solid stone made quite a bit of noise, and it was hard to talk over it. "He's in front of us, not chasing us."

"What about some singing," Suda asked. "Badgermoles love singing. That might make him pick up the pace."

"Get to it then," Hanjo suggested. "You're a bandit, you must know some shanties or something."

"Shanties? You're thinking of pirates."

"Bandits are basically land-pirates," Hanjo said. "Do you know any or not?"

"No."

Hanjo asked Sen, who also couldn't sing, and then he looked expectantly at Ada. She shook her head.

"We're making good time. Don't worry about it."

"But can you sing or not," Hanjo asked.

"I cannot," Ada said. She demonstrated by chiming a few off-key notes of a popular love song. Gun actually slowed down while she 'sang', and they all shouted at her to stop. Gun picked up the pace again once the tone deaf serenade had stopped.

"Okay, we believe you," Hanjo said. His arms were getting tired, so he traded tunneling-clearing duty with Sen. Smoothing out all the stones required them to sweep their arms almost like they were rowing a boat, and it wore out your arms very quickly. Had anybody been around to watch them move along, they would have found the sight of four teenagers in a satomobile flailing their arms and chasing down a badgermole to be very comical.

The loud noise of Gun's tunneling made conversation very difficult, which left them all with plenty of time to contemplate the fact that they were sitting underneath several thousand tons of solid rock. It didn't help their fears that it seemed to get darker the longer they traveled. That was impossible, Ada knew, because the headlights were working very well, but it still seemed to be happening. It was just her fear making her see things. She had learned how to kill most of the monsters lurking in the darkness by now, but she had never quite shaken off the fear of the shadows. She reminded herself that she had two swords at her waist and pressed on through the darkness.

Over time Gun gradually got faster, for whatever reason, and Ada was all too happy to keep pace with him. The darkness inside the vehicle made it impossible to check any clocks to see how much time had passed.

"Have any of you been keeping track of time," Ada shouted to the earthbenders. Hopefully one of them had some inkling of how much time had passed.

"Long enough for my arm to get tired six times," Suda shouted. He was still only capable of bending with one arm, so he had to take much shorter shifts than Sen or Hanjo. All their shifts were getting much shorter, as well. It was like a much more rapid version of the sleep issue they'd faced earlier. At least it was decent earthbending practice for the two students.

Ada checked the speedometer again. They were up to forty miles an hour now, and Gun showed no signs of slowing. At this rate it wouldn't be more than twenty minutes before they got through the mountain.

Ada's mathematics, unfortunately, were affected by the fact that she couldn't keep track of time. In reality, their rate of speed would take them out of the mountain in a span of time further from twenty minutes and closer to twenty seconds.

In their calculations for tunnel digging, the entire group had neglected to consider that the ground on one side of the mountain was not necessarily level with the ground on the other side. Gun had tunneled in a perfectly straight line, as he was supposed to, and thanks to his diligent tunneling they were now exiting the mountainside at forty miles an hour, three-hundred feet above the ground.

There was a brief moment where they hung in midair, while forward momentum was still pushing them forward harder than gravity was pulling them down, and they had a brief second to contemplate their mistakes. Ada came to her senses the quickest.

"Do something!"

The sound of a panicked voice broke the spell holding them in the air, and they began to plummet downwards. None of the earthbenders were buckled in, and Suda and Hanjo were sent flying towards the back of the vehicle by the sudden, sharp drop. Sen got the worst of it. He had been leaning out the window to take his turn smoothing out the tunnel, and the sudden drop swept him the rest of the way out the vehicle, giving him barely enough time to grab the frame of the vehicle and keep himself from getting swept away. His glasses went flying off his face and vanished into the distance.

Gun didn't have the luxury of a handhold, and he was left to free fall, quite blind without the use of his seismic sense. He wiggled his paws fretfully, looking for a way to regain his footing and his sight, and found nothing. Sen put Gun's predicament on his short list of things to solve during their very brief plummet.

By his estimation they had a few seconds left before they hit the ground and went splat like bugs on a windshield. If the Avatar State hadn't kicked in by now, it probably wasn't going to, so he was going to have to use some conventional bending. He noticed a slight curve to the slope beneath them. If he could earthbend the soil just right, he might be able to make a ramp at the right angle to keep them from crashing. But to do that, he needed both his hands.

He let go of the Avatarmobile's windows, sending himself flying backwards. He heard a short scream from someone in the vehicle as they saw him drift away. He oriented himself in midair and swept his hands upwards. The mountainside beneath them rose up the catch the vehicle. Either Hanjo or Suda caught on to the idea and started working with Sen to create a proper ramp. With that in hand, it was time to save himself and Gun.

He pulled another rock out of the mountainside, putting it on a trajectory with himself. He had intended to stand on it, but being airborne made it hard to aim that specifically, and he ended up hitting himself with a large rock. He was still on the rock, though, so it was progress. With another twist of his arms, he sent the stone flying towards Gun. The badgermole was all too eager to dig his claws into the stone and hold on for dear life.

The collision with the mountainside was not easy, but they survived. Sen heard something go "pop" very loudly, but so far as he could tell all his limbs were still attached, so he could still bend. He did everything he could think of to soften the landing for their impromptu ride, but the impact was still jarring, and he was knocked off his feet. It ended up being Gun who saved them both. He grabbed Sen in his limbs, curled into a ball, and as they hit the ground, the badgermole rolled, and the ground rolled with them, surrounding them in a shielding ball of earth like an armadillo-beetle rolling into its shell. The sphere of earth protected them from most of the worst impacts with trees and terrain, but it wasn't perfect. At some point in the ride, Sen blacked out, and the rest of the experience was a blur to him.

The ride was going significantly better for the people in the avatarmobile. Suda and Hanjo had regained their composure and were managing to keep the earth in front of them as smooth as possible. They had to toss aside entire trees and boulders, which was no small feat, but the fear of death could make a person do incredible things. Ada was exempt from this principle, non-bender as she was, and she spent most of the ride holding on to her seat for dear life while screaming loudly.

With a screech and a hitch, the avatarmobile came to a halt after a nearly mile long plummet down the mountainside. Suda and Hanjo stepped out of the vehicle, and promptly fell to the ground in complete silence. Ada released her chair, leaving an imprint of her hand in the armrest behind her, and stepped out of the vehicle. She clenched her pounding chest and scanned the surroundings.

"Sen?"

Some distance, but not that far, away, Sen laid on his back in a mound of dirt. Gun was sniffing him intensely, either checking to make sure he was alive or looking for a treat he thought he deserved. He called back to let Ada know he was there. Ada responded.

"Are you dead?"

"No."

"Is Gun dead?"

"No."

There was a brief pause as Ada took stock of her existence.

"Am I dead?"

"No."

"Oh, that's good," Sen heard her voice call. Then he heard something go thump. With a groan, Sen grabbed Gun's head and pulled himself upwards. He leaned heavily on his Animal Guide as he hobbled back towards his friends.


	14. The Coast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally at the coast, Sen is close to escaping the Energybender. Ada and Suda work together to buy passage to the Fire Nation.

With an unspoken agreement to never speak of the tunneling incident again, Team Avatar pressed forwards towards the port. The tunnel, had, at least, given them the chance to refresh themselves, so the road forward was much easier on them all. Two days of driving was enough to get them to Tunuk Bay. Ada pulled to the side of the road just before they crossed the towns borders.

"We need to move forward carefully from here. Even if the bulk of the Energybender's forces are behind us, we have to assume word has spread about our group. They'll be looking for a vehicle and group matching our description."

With that said, she grabbed her ponytail, pulled out her sword, and hacked off most of her hair without a second thought. She tossed the shed strands of hair out the window and fixed her new hairdo. It was a crude, unprofessional cut, but it changed her appearance enough to serve as a disguise. Canto had never liked short hair, but Ada would not be seeing him any time soon anyway.

"Hanjo, could you dig around in the back and find me a black plastic case."

Hanjo found the case and handed it to her. She snapped open the case of makeup and gestured for Sen and Hanjo to come forward. Despite some mild protest from Sen, Ada started applying a layer of makeup to his face.

"Me and Suda are going to focus on transportation," She said as she worked. "We'll head for the underground elements, pretend to be poachers. That way we can arrange transportation for Gun, passing him off as an illegally captured animal. You two are going to go into town and get Sen some new glasses."

Sen had lost his pair while they'd been plummeting out of the mountainside, and he missed being able to see. He'd only been wearing the glasses for a few days, but being able to see the whole world clearly was important to him.

"I don't feel like my job is very important," Hanjo said.

"You're still getting a disguise, so just think of it as undercover work."

The enemy knew what they looked like now, so it was paramount for them to change their appearance when in a populated area like Tunuk Bay. Ada finished up with Sen, changing the lines of his face and eyebrows, making him look like a completely different person, then did the same to Hanjo, before finally turning to Suda. Surprisingly, Suda had no objections to putting on makeup.

"My one condition is that you give me a really cool scar," Suda said. He'd always wanted a facial scar, but was not fond of the pain that getting a scar entailed. This was his chance to have the gain without the pain.

Sen and Hanjo got to their mission while Ada was still preparing the makeup for Suda. The duo located a reputable looking drugstore and headed inside, aiming for the eyecare section. Tunuk Bay was not as big of a city as Shen's Post, so their selection was much more limited, but after much experimentation they found a pair of glasses that fixed Sen's nearsightedness. Sen looked around, happy to be seeing the world clearly again. Hanjo made sure to pick up an extra pair in case they had another incident. He tried them on out of curiosity.

"Huh, so this is how you see the world," He said. "No wonder you didn't do anything back at Beaker Hall. You couldn't see anything!"

Sen laughed sarcastically and slapped Hanjo in the ear. Hanjo removed the glasses and tucked them into the pocket of his shirt. He used a nearby mirror to check out the makeup Ada had given him. He was not satisfied.

"I don't like looking like someone other than me," Hanjo grumbled. He didn't recognize himself in the mirror. Something about that deeply upset him.

"Well, you already look like me," Sen joked. The two of them were uncannily similar in appearance. The only thing that really made them look different were Sen's glasses.

Hanjo led the way as they checked out and paid for the glasses. Hanjo indulged himself in a bag of peanuts and shared some with Sen as they walked back to the vehicle.

"What do you think it's going to be like in the Fire Nation," Hanjo mused as they walked. It was going to be strange, being outside of the earth nation. He'd never really thought of it as "home", not after all the abuse he'd gone through in the orphanage, but it was the only place he'd ever lived.

"Probably a lot like the good old UEK," Sen sighed. "Lot's of running around scared, mostly, but with more volcanoes."

"Come on Sen, lighten up. You know, I bet Howler has put so many of his forces spying on the United Earth Kingdom provinces, he has almost nothing in the Fire Nation. It'll probably be a lot safer there!"

"I'll believe it when I see it," Sen moped. Hanjo consoled him by offering him another peanut.

They passed the other team on their way back to the vehicle, and gave a polite nod to the complete strangers. Ada's haircut and the completed makeup job made them look like completely different people. Complete with some of the ill-fitting, rugged outfits that Ada had prepared for just such an occasion, the two looked like a regular pair of lowlifes. The disguised duo worked out their plan on the way to the seedier parts of town.

"You'll take charge during our tracking and negotiation," Ada said. "You're much better with the criminal element."

"Gee, thanks."

"That was meant to be a compliment," Ada said. "You managed to come to lead a group of bandits despite your age and your more intact morals. That shows intelligence and charisma."

That actually was a compliment. But it just dug up a lot of bad memories for Suda.

"Yeah, and look how well I led them. They sold me out, and the rest of you guys too."

"At the end of the day, bandits are selfish," Ada said. "They'll do whatever it takes to make a quick payday or keep themselves alive. The fact that they had to turn on you shows that you're a good person."

Ada and Suda's arguments had ended after the destruction of Shen's Post had made them re-evaluate their priorities, and they were both better off for it. Now that they were done letting one incident decide the tone of their relationship, they found they got along pretty well.

"Thanks, that means a lot," Suda said. "But I still wish I weren't being chased by the Energybender."

"So do I, Suda. So do I."

As they entered into the more ramshackle parts of town, Suda took charge of the situation, fitting right in to the criminal element. He nodded to all the friendly people, avoided eye contact with all the scary people, and generally managed to avoid troubling people who shouldn't be troubled. They found their way to the docks and looked for a ship that looked fit to transport a very lively and very large animal. They found some likely targets and put in the proper inquiries. They started with the first ship crew that was not holding swords.

"Hey, fellas," Suda began. Ada was surprised he was being so casual about it. "You on payroll already, or looking for work?"

"We're negotiating several offers," One of the sleazy crewmen said. "You're welcome to put your name in the ring."

"First, I have to ask. How do you feel about live cargo?"

"What is it and where's it headed?"

"A badgermole to the Fire Nation," Suda replied.

"Forget it, Badgermoles are way too big and ornery."

"No, this one's young, and very tame," Suda explained. "It was lucky we found it at all. Dead mother, natural causes of course, young enough that a friend of ours could bond with it, make it feel like family. A certain entrepreneur in the Fire Nation is paying big money for such a rare specimen."

The cutthroat crew looked at each other and nodded.

"We want to see the mole first," their leader said. "And we get fifty percent up front if we decide to take it on board."

"I'll give you seventy-five for good faith," Suda said. They had plenty of money, so this was a concession they could afford to make. "And to help with some other cargo. We've got a satomobile and two more passengers. That work for you?"

The negotiator nodded. Now it was time to talk price. Suda and the pirate negotiator sat around a crate and haggled the price of the journey up and down for the better part of an hour. Ada was surprised at how effectively Suda could operate. He spoke scumbag like a second language, never skipping a beat or falling for an underhanded negotiation trick.

The crew they were talking with seemed to be one of the more upright operations on this dock by a small margin. Neighboring ships and their crews seemed even more downtrodden and criminal. Cutthroats and lowlifes of all kinds were staring them down. Ada hoped they didn't intend to cause any trouble. Violence would only cause more delays.

Suda and the smuggler finished their negotiations and shook hands. Suda wasn't exactly getting a good price, but he'd been willing to part with the money. Bolin had given them more UEK currency than they had a use for and it would all be useless in the Fire Nation anyway. Better to throw it around now and buy themselves some better treatment. The smugglers seemed very pleased with themselves for getting such a good deal, so they'd be less likely to cross them or demand even more money later.

"Bring the badgermole up the coast in three hours, near the lighthouse. We'll look it over. Have your money ready."

"Can do," Suda said. "Will we be leaving immediately?"

"Not until tomorrow morning," The negotiator said. "Our boys need time to rest and resupply."

Suda looked to Ada. She nodded. They could probably afford one night. Probably.

"You have any other questions?"

"Not one," Suda said. "We'll see you in three hours."

The negotiator nodded and returned to his men. Suda lead Ada away from the docks and towards some disreputable eatery. Ada wanted to go right back to the Avatarmobile, but Suda shot that idea down.

"We just put down a lot of money. Someone is going to be following us," He said grimly. "We don't go anywhere that would attract attention."

Ada nodded and followed him into the bar. She drew some strange looks. Despite her makeup work, she was still very young-looking, a very suspicious trait in an outlaw. She drew unnecessary attention, but she was sure it wouldn't cause trouble in the long run. Suda was there to help her cover, and she could act the part well enough if she had to. Not to mention the fact that she still had both her swords on hand.

Sure enough, shortly after they entered the bar, a quartet of hooded figures entered behind them, scanning the establishment. Their outfits were mangy and unkempt, not like the hooded uniforms worn by Energybender troops, so they were obviously a different breed of slime. Ada kept them in the corner of her eye as they sat down and tried and failed to look like they weren't watching her.

Suda had ordered food shortly after they entered, and it arrived at that moment. Ada was initially loathe to try the meal, but it surprised her with its quality. Even criminals wanted a good meal now and then, she supposed.

"Don't stare at the hooded guys so much," Suda advised. Ada was surprised at his perception. "If they know you're onto them they'll never make a move. Better to confront them here and get them off our case."

Ada listened to his advice and took her eyes off the hooded ones. She ate her meal in peace, playing along with Suda's conversations, and waiting patiently for the mysterious pursuers to make their move. As soon as she was done eating, she heard the rustle of fabric behind her. The hair on her neck stood on end.

She felt the rush of air before she felt the blow. She slammed her head down on the table, letting the fist fly over her head. Suda grabbed the offending arm by the wrist and by the shoulder, pulling on it with all his might, launching the attacker over Ada's head, over the table, and through the air. Even given Suda's massive size, it was a surprising feat of strength.

Ada flipped over, kicking two of the other hooded figures away, giving her room to get out of her seat. Once she was on her feet, Ada wasted no time in striking at the knees of her opponents with a flurry of quick kicks. As the thieves recoiled in pain, she drew her blades and used them to electrocute two of the three attackers. With the two of them disabled, Ada took a more basic approach to the third thief, slamming the pommel of her blade across his jaw. He collapsed in a heap.

The entire restaurant was watching them now. Suda nodded, satisfied. That display would be more than enough to keep anyone else from trying to rob them. It just needed a little bit of extra intimidation to make it all work. Suda grabbed the would-be thief that he had thrown through the air and pulled him close.

"Don't do that again," Suda whispered threateningly. The thief nodded rapidly and beat a hasty retreat as soon as Suda released his collar. Suda wiped a layer of grime off his hands and turned back to Ada.

"Shouldn't be any more trouble today," Suda said with a smile. "Let's head back."

The duo headed back to the campsite. When they reunited with Sen and Hanjo, they told Sen about the crew they had found. Sen went to make Gun look presentable. He even tried to teach Gun some basic commands like "sit", but the badgermole had absolutely no patience for that. After a few frustrated attempts, Sen gave up and guided Gun to his audience with the pirates. The crew approved, and the plan was set. Tomorrow morning, spirits willing, they would be on course to safety in the Fire Nation.


	15. Hanjo's Last Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything falls apart when the Energybender catches up to Sen sooner than expected.

Sen and the rest of them were having an easy time dealing with the fact that they'd be leaving the United Earth Kingdom today. Sen, Hanjo, and Suda were leaving behind a lifetime of bad memories; they hardly even cared that they would be leaving their homeland for a long time. Ada had it a little harder. She had family in Zaofu, and Canto as well. She stared forlornly in the direction of Zaofu. The sun was rising from that direction, which should have been beautiful, but she couldn't really appreciate it.

The other three were dealing with a last checkup on their inventory before they left. They'd need to be well-equipped in the Fire Nation.

"Alright, Sen, you got your fancy rocks," Suda asked.

"Got them here," Sen said, patting a pouch on his belt. "Hanjo, you got my spare glasses?"

"In my pocket, where I left them."

"You know we could do this a lot faster if you were helping, Ada."

"Let her be," Hanjo said. "Though you could tell us about that secret package of yours now."

"It's fine," Ada said. She was staring into distance for entirely different reasons now.

Something came into view in the morning sky. A black spot, moving too slowly to be a bird. Ada stood up in sudden panic. It was a zeppelin. She called for the attention of her allies and pointed out the approaching zeppelin, spreading the hectic panic to them as well. There were very few reasons a zeppelin would be approaching Tunuk Bay. Perhaps they were jumping to conclusions, but all four of them had only one thought in their minds; Energybender.

They had hoped for more time. They had spent nearly a day and a half in Tunuk Bay, waiting for the smugglers to get ready. It was too much. Zeppelins were slow-moving, but the Energybender's forces were travelling by armored car, which would likely arrive in the city much sooner. The townspeople had yet to realize the destruction that was coming their way. Sen looked hopelessly at the innocent people going about their lives.

"Shouldn't we warn them? If the Energybender finds out-"

"With any luck we'll be gone long before the troops get here," Ada assured him. They hadn't seen much luck lately; she hoped that for once it would be on their side.

They found their way to the dock, to the pirate crew they had hired, and asked to leave as soon as possible. The captain assured them that they would be moving as soon as the crew was gathered together, which could take hours. Ada pressed him, and the captain brushed her off. He didn't see the urgency.

Sen felt a rumble in the ground, and heard screaming. He whipped his head around and saw smoke rising in the distance. His heart started to pound.

"Probably just some drunken brawling," The pirate captain said derisively.

There was the sound of further violence, and even more screaming. This wasn't any pirate brawl. This was a concerted attack. Pirates and smugglers took up arms and headed for the scene of the conflict. Sen watched them run towards the confrontation.

"They're going to fight."

"They're going to lose," Hanjo said. "The Energybender wiped out the White Lotus with just a handful of soldiers. These guys are just pirates."

"The four of us did fine," Sen said. "What if we stayed? We could help them fight him off. We could even win! If I could just go into the Avatar State, I could –"

"We're not taking that risk," Suda said. "I promised to protect you, and I am not going to let you die just to help a couple pirates."

"Is your promise to a mover star more important than people's lives?"

Hanjo slapped Sen on the back of the head. He took his friend by the shoulder and tried to make him see reason.

"We are not going to fight this battle," Hanjo said, pointing towards the rapidly approaching zeppelin. "If the Energybender weren't here, I'd be all for running a defense, but all Howler has to do is wave his hands and suddenly all of our bending is gone. I know you don't want to repeat what happened to Shen's Post, but we cannot win this fight, pirates or no pirates."

Sen looked at the ground. Hanjo assumed he had made him understand.

In the distance, he could hear the sound of stone clashing with stone, and screaming. There was a screech of breaking metal as a vehicle came to a violent halt.

"The footsoldiers are here," Suda said grimly. "They're getting closer."

Ada groaned in frustration. The captain assured her that his men would all be here soon, but they were cutting it too close. The Energybender's forces would advance on them before they could depart. They couldn't risk the boat being damaged.

"Some of these people are probably veterans of the Seventh Kingdom uprising," She mumbled to herself. "They might put up a good enough fight to buy us some time."

"Can we risk it?"

Hanjo looked around at them all. Nobody had any clear idea of what to do. Hanjo was just slightly better at thinking on his feet.

"The way I see it, the Energybender will be aboard the zeppelin. As we long as we leave before it gets here...It'll be okay for us to fight."

Sen nodded firmly and flexed his arms. He was ready to finally make some kind of stand against his enemies.

"Sen," Ada said intensely. "Promise me you'll be back before the zeppelin gets too close."

"We'll leave when the Energybender gets closer, I promise," Sen said.

"I get it," Hanjo said. "You two know the pirates better. Me and Sen will handle it on our own."

Sen and Hanjo ran for the scene of the battle, leaving Suda and Ada to gather the smuggler crew for their hasty departure. The two arrived at the scene of the battle, ready to strike. The pirate forces had met Howler's first wave in a gallant charge that had been torn to pieces in seconds. Smugglers and cutthroats weren't a match for Howler's troops. They were outnumbered and outgunned already, and most of the pirate line had fallen apart.

With a wave of his hands and a heavy push, Sen sent a massive boulder sweeping through the front lines of Howler's forces. It didn't do much damage, but it forced the enemy back, giving the pirates time to regroup.

The pirates didn't question any form of help, and Hanjo and Sen seamlessly integrated themselves into the front line. They joined efforts with the other earthbenders to provide a defensive line while the other benders went on the offensive. Sen and Hanjo kept their portion of the line safe, but the other earthbenders were more amateurish, and pirates began to get picked off one by one. It didn't help that the Energybender troops had more maneuverability thanks to their airbenders. Sen had no idea how Howler had recruited so many airbenders to his cause. The new Air Nation was very careful in not losing track of their people.

Sen heard screaming and the sounds of violence from a different part of town. All the pirates had gathered here, but the civilians had gone somewhere else. If the Energybender's forces were branching out, then innocent people were in danger.

"Hanjo! There's people in trouble!"

"Go deal with it then! I'll keep things safe here."

"When the zeppelin gets too close, I'm going back to the boat, alright?"

"I heard you! The Avatar's gotta help people, right?"

Sen dashed off to the defense of the innocent, as Avatars were wont to do, leaving Hanjo to handle the more violent scenario at hand. With Sen gone their defensive line had to struggle even harder to keep the pirates safe. The defense shrunk further and further, until only those immediately surrounding Hanjo were left, barely enough to fend off the Energybender's forces for a few minutes.

Sen ran through the alleyways towards the sound of violence. His pounding footsteps called Gun from the depths, and the two of them headed towards the disturbance. Turning around one last corner, he found a horde of fleeing civilians and ran the opposite direction. The sight of the young badgermole frightened the crowd even further and caused them to part, so Sen had no problem running against the crowd.

Reaching the end of the flowing river of civilians, Sen saw the source of the trouble. The usual squadron of four energybender troops had broken off from the main group to harass civilians. They were targeting children around Sen's age mostly.

Airbenders were typically the hardest to deal with, so Sen aimed for that one first. He stomped his foot to raise a boulder from the ground, then kicked it towards the airbenders head. Caught off guard, the soldier had no time to defend himself, and the attack took him out of the fight. That left three, and Sen had used up one of his two opportunities to surprise them. The second opportunity was Gun. With a fierce growl, Gun dove out of the ground and pulled the enemy firebender back down with him, leaving little but his head and shoulders above the surface of the soil.

Sen attacked the earthbender before he had a chance to free his companion, striking towards his feet to throw him off balance. Gun tunneled beneath the waterbender, shaking the ground beneath him and preventing him from attacking. With a temporary opening, Sen drew his metal-plated stones and sent them spinning through the air, launching towards the earthbenders head. The waterbender raised a wall of ice, but the heavy metal crashed right through the ice and collided with the earthbenders face with a satisfying thud. The waterbender retaliated with a long tendril of water, striking Sen in the chest and knocking him to the ground.

Sensing that his master had been injured, Gun emerged from the ground and grabbed the leg of the soldier with his mouth. With a heavy shake of his head and a scream from the waterbender, Gun tossed his foe into the air, causing him to collide heavily with a wall and slumping to the ground unconscious. Sen breathlessly pulled himself off the ground, congratulated Gun on a job well done and checked the sky. The zeppelin was getting dangerously close. He decided it was time to head for the docks.

Back among the rapidly shrinking pirate force, Hanjo was coming to the same conclusion. It wouldn't be more than half an hour before Howler arrived. The pirates that were left were already talking about making a full retreat, so it wouldn't be hard to leave the group behind and rejoin Sen at the docks. One more vehicle of the Energybender's troops arrived, and Hanjo decided it would be his last. A few rocks tossed and he'd be home free.

The door opened, and Hanjo immediately regretted his decision. The ones in this jeep weren't dressed like the generic footsoldiers. The first to emerge wore dark blue, and seemed to be wearing a necklace of bird skulls. The second had a massive length of metal chain coiled around his arms and waist. Clearly these were some kind of elite troops. Hanjo turned his back to beat an immediate and hasty retreat.

He made it a few steps and the world behind him exploded. He couldn't tell if it was fire or air causing the sudden shockwave, but he was torn off his feet and launched into the wall of a building. He slid to the ground. Sen's spare glasses fell out of his pocket and clattered to the ground.

He stayed on the ground for a second, trying to clear his head. Whatever had exploded had left his ears ringing with a high-pitched note. He pulled himself to his feet and tried to orient himself towards the docks. The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop. In fact, it just kept getting louder.

Hanjo grabbed the glasses, always thinking of Sen, and stood upright. He looked back at the battlefield. The pirate line had completely collapsed. Only a few people were left standing. There was something wrong with them. Their bodies were shaking.

The ringing in his ears reached a crescendo, and he realized it wasn't a ringing. It was howling.

The last of the pirates collapsed, and their falling bodies revealed the stoic face of the Energybender. He slowly turned his head to Hanjo. The grey eyes of the enemy bored into Hanjo as soon as they saw him.

Everything had gone wrong. Howler wasn't in the zeppelin at all. He was here, now, before Sen was ready, and the Avatar was in his reach. Hanjo had even encouraged him to stay in town, and even to go off on his own. Everything had gone wrong.

They'd had a good run, at least. He and Sen had made it pretty far. Hanjo had managed to make things work for quite a while, despite everything. In those early days, before Ada and Suda, Hanjo's talent for lying had gotten them all the way to Zaofu. It hadn't been very useful up until now though. Now, Hanjo could tell one more lie.

Hanjo grabbed the glasses that had fallen on the ground and put them on. Hanjo rose, stepped forward, and shambled to the middle of the street. The Energybender caught sight of him and followed his progress with cold grey eyes.

"Avatar," he hissed. With the glasses on his face, Hanjo looked enough like Sen to fool anyone unfamiliar with him. Hopefully it would be enough.

Hanjo didn't waste time with conversation. Sen would never leave him behind willingly. He'd argue and he'd scream with Ada and Suda, but eventually he would have to get on that boat, whether the other two convinced him or forced him. The only question was how long Hanjo could keep the Energybender occupied.

Sen found Suda and Ada at the docks, trying to convince the captain not to set off without Sen and Hanjo. The captain was happy to see Sen arrive, and immediately began preparing his ship to depart, despite the objections of Ada and Suda. Ada had tuned the ship's radio to the Energybender's radio frequency, and the crackling commands of the enemy troops only added to the level of noise.

"We aren't leaving without Hanjo," Ada said. The captain acted like he couldn't hear them.

"I already have your money," He said. "I leave with or without you, you have five minutes!"

Sen looked over his shoulder. Hanjo had to be coming. They'd arranged everything in advance, Hanjo was too smart not to be here.

"The Commander is on the field," the voice on the radio crackled. "Requesting backup. Energybender is requesting backup."

Sen turned towards the radio. It was shocking enough that Howler was on the field, before the zeppelin had landed, but what could he have encountered that he needed backup?

"Commander has engaged the Avatar," the crackling voice said. "Repeat; command has engaged the Avatar. All forces to central battleground."

The radio fell silent as all energybender forces converged on a single location. Sen didn't understand. He was the Avatar, he was right here, and the Energybender wasn't.

Hanjo wasn't.

Suda caught Sen just before he bolted, wrapping his arms around his chest and holding his arms in place. Sen screamed and flailed and pushed against Suda with all his might, but Suda was older and stronger, enough to keep Sen in place.

"We are not leaving Hanjo," Sen screamed. He managed to pull an arm free and began pounding on Suda, slamming his elbow into the wound on Suda's shoulder. Suda clenched his jaw and bore the pain. Ada grabbed Sen by the wrist and tried to calm him down.

"We don't have a choice!"

"You said we weren't going to leave without him! You said it yourself!"

There were tears in Sen's eyes now. His face was flushed bright red with anger, at Suda, at Ada, and at the world.

"I know," Ada said apologetically. She didn't like the idea of leaving Hanjo to the Energybender either, but they had no choice. "I'm sorry, Sen."

Sen screamed, and the earth around them tore itself to shreds. Pieces of the dock broke off and sank into the sea. Suda held him tighter in his arms, trying to hold his arms and legs in place to keep him from bending, but it didn't work. The tremor spread outwards, and a building next door collapsed. The pirate crew started to talk about leaving them all behind. They had to act.

"I'm sorry," Ada repeated one more time. She felt she could say it a thousand times and it wouldn't be enough. "Suda!"

With an angry, bellow Suda charged up the docking ramp with Sen in tow. As soon as he was aboard, Suda ripped a fragment of metal from the boats railing, wrapped it around Sen's right wrist, and fused the armband with the wall of the ship's cabin. Ada led Gun up the ramp and into the ships hold. Sen screamed at the retreating coastline as the pirate crew all too eagerly set off towards the Fire Nation.

Hanjo was surrounded on all sides, completely enclosed by the enemy, but they weren't attacking. They were biding their time for some reason. The Energybender was staring him down, motionless and wordless. What were they waiting for?

Suddenly the Energybender shivered like a bug had crawled up his spine. The shadows crawled across the street as light shifted unnaturally. When his shivering fit had stopped, the Energybender stepped forward. Apparently it was finally time to move.

"You've been troublesome, Avatar," Howler began. "But your age is over. Surrender, and this change can happen peacefully."

"Tell me what you want," Hanjo said. "What's your plan?"

"For you there is only death," The Energybender said. "A regrettable circumstance. I have no desire to kill a child."

"You've been trying to get me killed since I was four," Hanjo shouted back. He had to play up the act, convince Howler he really was the Avatar. His appearance alone could only get him so far. It was tempting to admit that he wasn't the Avatar, to see if Howler would let him run away from all of this. To let him live. But he knew he couldn't. Sen needed him.

The Energybender didn't waste any more time on explanations. He attacked with a rush of air. So he could airbend too. It was a shame Hanjo would never get to tell Sen.

Sen had never made Hanjo feel like anything but part of the team. Sen had been the one who dragged him along on the journey when he was just a beat-up teenager with a few ideas. Sen had made him into something, someone, who really deserved to be at the Avatar's side. When all this had begun he'd been a liar and a thief. Now here he was, giving his life for the greater good. Sen would be proud.

Hanjo shook the ground beneath Howler's feet, trying to put him off balance. Sen had always put Hanjo forward as the man with the plan, the one in charge, the one who knew what he was doing. Hanjo might have given up a long time ago if not for Sen's trust. He'd been making things up as they went along, keeping secrets from Sen because he didn't actually know what he was doing, but never once had Sen done anything but trust him.

The Energybender never lost his stride, attacking Hanjo with another cyclone. He was knocked off his feet.

Hanjo picked himself up out of the dirt, trying to ignore the pain of the impact. This was going to be it, then. He had hoped, somehow, that he was going to prove a match for the Energybender, or that some cavalry would come charging over the nearest hill, but there was nothing. Just him. So he was going to do everything he could.

He pressed his hands into the dirt beneath him, sending shockwaves through the ground. The street cracked and crumbled. Sewer pipes beneath the street cracked open and stone collapsed into the empty space. The shockwaves spread, and glass windows on nearby building started to shatter. Hanjo slammed his fists against the ground again, and brick walls began to collapse. He raised his hands for one more strike.

A cyclone caught him from beneath and tore him away from the ground. The Energybender twisted his hands, maintaining the spiral of air, holding Hanjo in the air.

"You've done less than I expected," The Energybender admitted. He had always respected and feared the Avatars power, but this was a disgrace. "Do I not deserve the power of Raava? Show me what you can do!"

The Energybender thrust his hands forward, sending Hanjo flying into a wall. The cracked wall of the building collapsed under the impact, and Hanjo was sent tumbling down along with a hundred pounds of crumbling bricks.

"Three generations of my family died to prepare me for you!"

The Energybender caught Hanjo in another gust of wind and dragged him across the crumbling street. Jagged stones tore at his back, slicing through his skin.

"Is this all you are?"

He lifted Hanjo up again and slammed him down. Hanjo let out a low groan. He seemed to have struck a nerve.

"I guess your family died for nothing," Hanjo said weakly.

With a frustrated cry, the Energybender's winds tore Hanjo from the ground and slammed him into the wall headfirst. He picked up the supposed Avatar's limp body and observed his broken features. His fingers tightened around a neck that barely drew breath. He held the grip for a moment before relenting. He was tempted to use his Energybending on the spot, to test himself against the Avatar's spirit, but Raava was far too powerful for him to face alone.

"Not here, Raava," He whispered to the unconscious body.

Dragging Hanjo behind him, The Energybender returned to his zeppelin and departed. It would take more than he had to kill a spirit as powerful as Raava. The crew set a course for the Spirit World portal.

***

The first hour had been the worst. Sen hadn't stopped screaming. He cursed at them and threatened them and begged them to turn around until his voice had given out. Then he'd pulled at the metal bond holding him in place, clawing at it until his wrist and fingers bled. Only when he saw the Energybender's airship finally vanish over the horizon did he finally fall silent and motionless. When Suda had freed him of the metal restraint, Sen had wordlessly proceeded into the cargo hold and sat by Gun's side. He had hardly left since.

Ada had tried to check on him once, but found herself unable to face Sen. She had stayed in her quarters, crying when she felt like it, which was often, and rarely daring to talk to anyone but Suda. As Ada regained her composure in the later days, she began to ask the pirates questions about their destination, but she still spent most of her time secluded away.

Suda had the best of it, though that was not saying much. He still felt guilty for leaving Hanjo behind, and he'd shed his share of tears for the kids' fate, but he had known Hanjo for much less time, and he was more experienced with losing people he cared about. He got over his grief much more quickly thanks to that maturity. Ada often came to Suda to be consoled when she was at her worst, but Sen still said nothing.

Suda took it on himself to look in on Sen. He cautiously approached the morose Avatar. Gun was curled up on the cargo hold floor, and Sen was leaning against the badgermoles furry shoulder. Sen didn't react when Suda approached. Suda sat down by his side anyway. Gun shifted slightly, but didn't object. Gun could sense the pain they both felt.

"Your wrist alright?"

Suda didn't know where to start, so he started at the easiest problem. Sen had struggled against his restraint and sliced his wrist in several places. The wound had not begun to heal properly.

"That's going to get infected, Sen. Let me put a bandage on it."

Sen let out a low moan that barely managed to turn into a quiet, mournful chuckle.

"You're worried about my wrist," Sen moaned, with just a trace of sarcasm. Suda sighed.

"Sen, I got no idea what to say or do about all this. But I know how to wrap up your wrist."

Sen paused for a minute, then he held out his arm. Suda took a torn piece of cloth and wrapped the wound tightly.

They made port a day later. The pirates had been suspicious about the damage to their cargo hold, but since nothing had been too badly burned they were willing to drop the issue. They were still very happy to see Sen and company off the ship. They went ashore far from the main ports, on a small jetty of rock. Sen helped them unpack.

He'd been better in the last small piece of the journey. It was obvious that the loss of Hanjo still weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he was up and moving around, eating regularly, and having somewhat normal conversations with Suda and the crew. He still had a long way to go, as demonstrated by the fact he was avoiding Ada, but the worst of the grief was behind him.

A serpentine spirit flitted through the sky like a ribbon on the wind, vanishing over the horizon of the Fire Nation's black hills. Despite the remote location of their dock, a road stretched into the volcanic hills, leading towards civilization. Hopefully it would lead them forward towards a firebending master.

Their pirate crew waved a dismissive goodbye and abandoned them to whatever the Fire Nation had in store.

**End of Book One**


	16. Book 2 Chapter 1: Furnace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's wayward journey through the Fire Nation takes a drastic turn when an encounter with a bandit reveals the Avatar may face a danger from within.

Ada and Suda stared down their friend. It was so rare for him to actually sleep nowadays. Waking him now might not be the best thing to do.

Sen was sprawled haphazardly in the back seat of the satomobile, fast asleep. He had, as usual, exhausted himself completely before even trying to sleep, so the awkward position didn't bother him much. Suda had gotten used to seeing him like this. Ada didn't check up on him as much. She didn't like seeing Sen this way, or at all, in fact.

"He hasn't been eating much either," Suda said. "We have to pick one or the other."

"Your choice," Ada said. Then she was quiet.

Suda had to take matters into his own hands once again. He shouted Sen's name. That was enough to rouse the young man from sleep. He sluggishly righted himself and looked around. He never quite seemed to know where he was anymore. Every time he opened his eyes it was like a newborn looking at the world.

They were in a town called Isesaki now, a pit-stop on their aimless journey through the Fire Nation. They had yet to decide on a destination or a goal. At the back of their heads, there was still the thought of a firebending master, but they barely pursued that. Their agenda, at the moment, simply seemed to consist of moving forward.

If there was any upside to what had happened at Tunuk Bay, it was that they no longer had to travel at such a hectic pace. They could sleep when they wanted to, stop as long as they wanted, and do what they felt like when they were stopped. They did end up stopping frequently. The empty seat in the satomobile haunted them all. Hanjo's loss had left a gap in the group that would likely never be filled.

Sen and Ada had barely spoken since Sen's blazing outburst on the ship. Suda couldn't tell if they were scared of each other, hated each other, or were just too guilty to speak. He hoped they would work through those problems eventually, but until that time, he was the voice of the group, making all the decisions.

Sen occupied most of his time nowadays with Gun, using the animal guide to distract himself from his inner turmoil. Sleeping had become very difficult for the nightmare-plagued Sen, and so he stayed awake well into the night, practicing earthbending until he was too exhausted to dream and passed out. Oddly enough, he actually seemed to have learned something from the late night practice with the badgermole. His earthbending was more refined, a little stronger, and Suda had the oddest feeling that Sen was starting to see things that he shouldn't be able to. Maybe some of Gun's seismic sense was rubbing off on the Avatar.

Sen stepped out of the satomobile and started looking at the ground. Gun would not come, though, not in the middle of a town. Looking up, the Avatar seemed surprised to see himself in a town. He looked around at the people. It was a small town, and they were not used to visitors, so Sen attracted attention.

Ada had no Animal Guide there to help her with her emotional turmoil, so she had retreated on herself. She had become very quiet and soft-spoken. She only spoke on very rare occasions when it was absolutely necessary, and then only to Suda. Suda had pulled out their map of the Fire Nation. He hadn't quite given up on finding them a destination, something concrete to aspire to. They could only drift aimlessly for so long.

"Ada, you know stuff, help me out," Suda begged. She walked over to examine the map. The first thing she did was flip it the right way around, and then she gave him a hand exploring it.

"You know where we are?"

"Well, yeah, actually," Suda said. He had asked some of the locals earlier. They were on an island called Shu Jing, in a town named Isesaki. Ada seemed pleasantly surprised by their position. She had a slight smile on her face, the first smile Suda had seen in a while.

"Shu Jing. That's fortunate."

"Shu Jing, yeah," Suda said. "That's where Bolin fought the Ten Thousand Red Swordsmen!"

Ada was about to correct him when he continued on his tangent.

"Varrick chose it as the filming location because of its connection with the White Lotus, since Bolin vs. Ten Thousand Blades was one of the movers the Avatar guest starred in. It's where Master Piandao taught Sokka, so it was really important to the swordsman culture too. Didn't it get attacked by the Energybender, though?"

Ada was somewhat impressed by Suda's knowledge, even if it was rooted in his childish obsession with Bolin. Everything he had said was true, including the unfortunate attack. When Howler had wiped out the White Lotus, he had simultaneously attacked several locations important to their history as well. The Jasmine Dragon tea shop, Korra's training ground at the South Pole, and Piandao's castle had all been attacked. Though the master of the castle at the time, Pendrak Ong, had defended his home bravely, he had ultimately died in battle with Energybender forces. The ancient castle had been abandoned for several years.

Recently, though, that situation had changed. A new master, known as Sorikami, had laid her claim to the castle. She had emerged from relative obscurity years ago, after the Seventh Kingdom Uprising, and had rapidly become known for her prowess with a blade in the intervening years. Some people said she was a secret apprentice of Pendrak Ong, others that she was a veteran of the Uprising campaign. She was particularly hard to befriend, but those few friends were some of the most powerful people in the Fire Nation. She might be a very valuable ally for Sen.

Ada explained all this to Suda, and he agreed with her assessment. Master Sorikami was not a firebender herself, but she would doubtlessly know at least one very powerful firebender willing to train Sen in the art. Suda informed Sen of the situation, and they all agreed that Master Sorikami should be their first stop.

The small town they had stopped in was not far from Piandao's castle, so it would be a short drive if they could avoid trouble. Unfortunately, trouble was something that had a way of finding them. There had been no problems as of yet, but Suda had no doubt they were on the way.

Unsavory rumors had been spreading from Tunuk Bay that the Avatar was dead. Many people didn't believe it, but the few that did had been causing a lot of trouble. There had already been riots in several major cities, and crime was up in general. People believed that with the Avatar gone, there was no real justice left in the world anyway. It would be a ludicrous notion even if the Avatar was dead; Sen was not the only peacekeeper on the planet.

The town of Isesaki was in a precarious position. Apparently there was a notorious clan of raiders in the hills nearby, and all the citizens were just waiting for them to come down from the hills and start tearing things apart. Suda had heard of this, and suggested to the other two that they stay to help. Ada quietly complied with Suda's suggestion, as had become very common. Sen didn't really react at all. He simply leaned against the wall and started watching the forest.

They were called Ronan's Rampagers, apparently. Suda hated bandits with alliterative names. It was tacky. When he'd run a gang, they had never needed a fancy name. It was just "Suda's gang", and that was enough to scare the pants off their rivals.

"When do you think they'll be coming," Sen asked. Though Suda wasn't proud of it, he still knew a great deal about how bandits operated.

"If they were smart they'd wait until two or three in the morning, when everyone was too exhausted to put up a decent fight. But these guys have alliteration in their name, so they'll probably hit right at nightfall."

Sen allowed himself to relax until it was closer to sunset. He carefully examined his right wrist. When Suda had strapped him to the wall of the ship with a band of metal, Sen had struggled against it, trying to free himself and return to Hanjo. The escape attempt had slashed several deep cuts into his wrist, leaving him with a circle of rusty scabs around his wrist. It wasn't a pleasant sight. Sen ran his fingers around the circular scabs.

The sun vanished behind a mountain peak, casting a dark shadow over the town. Suda called for attention. If the Rampagers were as theatrical as he thought they were, they would be attacking now. His hunch proved true.

Hollering an incoherent battle cry, a raggedly-equipped bandit dove out of the treeline, barreling towards the town. Sen pushed a wall of earth at the bandits feet, sending him toppling to the ground headfirst. The Rampagers apparently had two dozen men, a waterbender, and Ronan himself. They had one down already, which was as good a start as one might hope for.

The first bandit's comrades followed suit, charging in a coordinated group. Now aware that they faced an earthbender, they watched the ground carefully, and Sen and Suda's efforts only managed to stop four of the encroaching attackers. They could do so much more, but they couldn't afford to destroy these buildings or streets. Restraining himself, Sen tried to do the best he could with a few simple earthbending techniques.

The Rampagers reached the edge of Isesaki, and Ada and the townspeople sprung into action. There were a few firebenders among the populace more than able to go toe-to-toe with Ronan's men, but the waterbender was something they weren't used to. She attacked with tendrils of water and ice spikes, something these backwater firebenders had never trained to fight against. Ada dove in with sparking blades and distracted her while the firebenders fought each other.

Electricity and water were a dangerous mix, so Ronan's waterbender found herself limited in her moves. Ada still had limited experience fighting waterbenders, but she was at least trained, unlike her opponent. A well trained nonbender could beat an amateur bender any day, but Ada wasn't exactly feeling well-trained. Her swords felt heavy in her hands, and her reactions were too slow.

Suda's metalbending made for an effective tool against the Rampagers. The bandits had equipped themselves with small scraps of metal armor, and their weapons were unrefined iron, one of the easiest metals to bend. Suda supposed it wasn't as much of a problem in a region where metalbenders were rare, but he was going to make it a problem. He trapped bandits in their own clothing and warped their weapons until they were useless. He took an especially sadistic pleasure in waiting until bandits were about to stab him, then bending their blades to the side at the last second. The look on their faces was priceless, every time.

Sen seemed to be fighting almost absent-mindedly, as if he were looking for something else in the battle. His attacks were slow, but effective. His glasses scanned the faces of the bandits, looking for someone who seemed like a leader. He wanted to demolish the Rampagers entirely, and that meant taking out their leader.

His target revealed himself eventually. He had not participated in the initial charge, instead waiting until all the defending forces had been drawn out. Bolting out of the woods on an eel hound, Ronan made his way into Isesaki's town square, far from the defenders, hoping to pillage the town behind their backs. Sen wasn't going to let that happen. Eel hounds were faster over open land, but didn't do as well over city streets. Sen barreled through the melee between Ronan's Rampager and his allies and headed for the treacherous bandit ringleader.

Ronan saw he was being pursued and dismounted his hound. Sen pulled up a wall of earth to defend himself from the initial firebending salvo, then sent the same wall flying towards Ronan. The rogue firebender dodged the attack and took shelter behind a wall. He peeked out of cover, hoping to get sight of Sen. He wasn't there.

The earth beneath the bandit rumbled, and he rolled to the side just in time. Sen emerged from the ground beneath his feet, just barely missing Ronan as he dodged to the side. Sen had been studying a few of Gun's tricks. He could tunnel pretty well now, and it made a very effective ambush tactic. The rudimentary seismic sense he had learned from Gun let him know exactly where to come out of the ground.

The badgermole himself was staying out of this brawl. Gun had been getting much larger in the past few weeks, calling him into the town streets would not end well. On top of that, showing Gun off would only run the risk of revealing Sen as the Avatar, as it had before. He was useful in a fight, but Gun would be staying out of this one.

With Sen now only a few feet away, the battle between Ronan and the Avatar turned into one of rapid strikes and faster dodges as Ronan launched dozens of shirt bursts of fire. Sen blocked them all with a cover of stones and then returned his own salvo of earth, launching rapid stones at Ronan. Most of them made impact, knocking Ronan to the ground.

Sen moved to capture the bandit leader and end this, but Ronan was surprisingly quick. He sprung to his feet and retaliated with a quick burst of fire. Sen threw up a stone wall, but the surging fire wrapped around the walls and closed in on Sen. Sen held up his arms to shield his face, and the scorching fire singed his hands.

Reacting viciously to the sudden pain, Sen slammed his foot against the stone wall and slammed it into Ronan, then into the ground. Ronan was briefly crushed beneath the massive weight. Sen pushed it to the side before it did any lasting damage and moved to grab Ronan and put an end to this. Sen took hold of Ronan's hand and prepared to take him into custody. Ronan screamed as if he were in agony, and Sen immediately released his grip. Ronan stood up and backed away from Sen.

Confused, Sen backed away as well. Ronan was clutching at his wrist, staring in agony at a palm that was scorched red. Sen looked at the hand he'd used to grab Ronan. He seemed fine, so what was happening to Ronan? He moved to investigate, and Ronan attacked him. Still crippled by pain, Ronan's attack was ineffective, and Sen decided to experiment. He put his palm on Ronan's face. The bandit recoiled as if he'd been stabbed with a knife.

Distracted as he was by pain, Ronan was easy to knock to the ground and trap in a prison of stone. Sen looked at his hands. He didn't feel any heat from himself. It was a mystery, but he could still hear the sounds of battle in the distance, so he had to return to his friends before pondering the mystery any further.

The battle was going well from what he could tell. Ronan's forces were down to less than a dozen men, including the waterbender, and dropping. Suda was being particularly effective with his metalbending. The waterbender was only wearing a cloth garment, though, so the same tricks wouldn't work on her. Sen decided to focus his efforts on that one.

Ada, despite her overall sluggishness, had been managing to keep the waterbender from supporting her allies and keeping her attention off the unprepared villagers. Sen's arrival changed that. His attacks were overbearing, giving Ada no room to maneuver. He was trying to hammer the waterbender into submission instead of using any kind of finesse. Something was making him very impatient to get this done with.

Ada tried to keep up her attacks, but it quickly became apparent that Sen was completely out of sorts. She was surprised; he'd seemed very professional earlier in the initial defense. Something had changed.

Sen's impatient approach eventually bore fruit, and a large stone made a satisfying thud as it collided with the waterbender's stomach. Winded by the impact, the bandit waterbender clutched her stomach and curled up on the ground. She remained prone by the ground at Sen's feet.

With all of their heavy hitters gone, the remnants of the Rampagers quickly retreated into the woods. The townspeople cheered and congratulated one another, along with their very helpful guests. All the noncombatants; women, children, and the elderly, began to emerge from the buildings and join the party. The mayor of Isesaki, an incredibly old looking woman, hobbled up to Sen and his friends. She spared a cruel glare at the bandit waterbender before turning a kindly gaze to Sen.

"Thank you so much for your help, young man. It's so nice to know you can still count on the kindness of strangers."

The mayor tried to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Sen took a step back, offering a lazy excuse for his sudden movement. He gathered Ada and Suda and talked privately.

"I thought that went very well," Suda said. "There was one villager who got kind of burned, but he'll be fine. Good work over all."

"It was," Sen admitted. He was glad to finally protect something, but his duel with Ronan had left some questions. He held out his bare arm and explained what had happened in his battle with the bandit. Ada touched his arm experimentally, and pulled her hand back sharply.

Suda and Sen looked at each other. Suda shook his head.

"I don't know what the heck is going on with you, Sen," Suda said. "But I know this kind of thing can't be healthy."

"I don't feel any different," Sen said, looking down at his body. "It's just other people who get burned."

Sen had never even noticed the rise in temperature. He had not made physical contact with people much in recent weeks. He assumed it was somehow connected to his untapped firebending. Only a firebending master would be able to tell him for sure, though.

"We should go to Sorikami," Sen suggested. "She's our closest lead on a firebending master for me. Hopefully a master will know what's going on."

"Makes sense to me," Suda said. "We should head out right away. No point letting you burn any longer than we have to."

Ada maintained her silence as they bid a polite but swift goodbye to the town they had helped save and sped off towards Shu Jing village. Sen's condition gave them a new cause to travel as quickly as possible. They were always on the run from something, it seemed.

***

The events at Tunuk Bay had been disappointing, to say the least.

The boy had not been the Avatar. The Energybender had wasted valuable time and resources on Tunuk Bay, while the real Avatar only got further away. The agent that had informed the Energybender that this "Hanjo" child was the Avatar had met his punishment already. It had not been a merciful fate, nor a slow one.

The pressing issue remained the Avatar himself, though. The Energybender had acquired more concrete information on Sen's plans, including the fact that he was headed for the Fire Nation, but there was still a long, dangerous hunt to be had. He had been hoping to catch the Avatar in the early stages of his training, while he was still inexperienced, and so he had focused most of his efforts and troops on the Earth Kingdom. There were some token forces in the Fire Nation, but nothing significant enough to carry out a nationwide search.

The Energybender looked over the coast of the Fire Nation from aboard his airship. He would soon ground this vehicle and abandon it completely. His overt attacks in the Earth Kingdom had made the airship too conspicuous. His forces and his personal power were not significant enough to withstand a full military assault, if the Fire Nation army felt so inclined, and Fire Lord Goto had always been a proponent of crushing Howler's forces. For now, the Energybender would be as restricted as the Avatar he hunted, forced to hide in the shadows and move in secret.

"The Imperfects are already on the move," his new commanding officer said. Rapidly promoted after the severe punishment of his predecessor, Dei Sensheng would hopefully prove to be less of a failure. The Energybender was not confident in his odds. Dei's only option for the hunt, given their limited resources in the Fire Nation, was a squadron nicknamed the Imperfects; four agents with significant power but little intelligence or cleverness to back up that strength. The Energybender was not confident in their odds of success.

"They'll be coordinated by the Harrier."

The Energybender relaxed. The odds had changed.


	17. Book 2 Ch2: The Swordswoman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar travels to Shu Jing, former home of Master Piandao, seeking guidance.

Shu Jing had seen better days. Once renowned for its natural beauty as much for its human culture, the elements of nature had overtaken the structures of men in recent years. In the wake of the Energybender's attack on Piandao's castle, many residents of Shu Jing had abandoned the village out of fear, leaving their homes to be entangled by the jungle overgrowth.

The absence of humanity, of course, had led to it becoming a popular destination for spirits in the Fire Nation. Though the streets were almost entirely empty of human life, spirits flitted through the cracks of abandoned roofs and crawled among the roots of the overgrown trees, giving Shu Jing a new, stranger kind of life. Sen and company stepped gingerly through a mossy street crawling with dozens of small, insect-like spirits on their way to the castle. The insect spirits seemed to swarm around his feet, becoming more and more active as he passed them by. All the other spirits reacted in a similar manner, becoming more vibrant and energetic as Sen passed by. He wondered if that was a good thing.

The castle stood in a stark contrast to the rest of the overgrown island. The hedges and trees that surrounded it were perfectly manicured, and the building itself was completely intact, as if untouched by age or battle. The only imperfection in the structure was a battered and burned gate, deliberately left unrepaired; a small act of defiance against those who had attempted to destroy the castle and its resident. The splintered emblem of the White Lotus could still be seen on the tarnished gate.

"So do we knock," Suda said.

Ada knocked on the gate, to no answer. She tried again and met with no response once more. She waited by the door for an answer. Sorikami was known for being a bit of a recluse, so she was patient. Suda's patience ran out after just a few minutes. He pushed the scarred gate open and marched into the courtyard, despite Ada's protests. Sen waited at the gate with her, feeling rather confused.

Suda looked around the courtyard of Piandao's castle. It hadn't looked anything like this in the movers. There was supposed to be a throne somewhere that the master of the castle would sit on. He figured that Varrick had taken some artistic liberties and looked around for where the master actually was. He was still hoping for the throne, though.

He found a person he assumed was Master Sorikami. She wore a long black robe, edged with yellow trim. Her face was weathered and lined, as much by stress as age, with her black hair drawn up in a tight bun. She did not seem to notice Suda at first. Her eyes were locked solidly on a carefully trimmed hedge. A single branch had grown out of place, and a bird had landed on the extended limb. She put her hand on the hilt of her long sword.

With a movement of her wrist so fast Suda couldn't even see it, Sorikami drew her blade and swung it at the overgrown branch, removing it from the bush. With a twist and thrust of her blade, she moved her sword and positioned it beneath the falling branch. The bird's feet caught the edge of the blade, and it nestled there as it had on the branch, unaware that it had ever even moved.

"So were you just waiting for a bird to perch there before you clipped the branch, or was that a coincidence?"

The sound of Suda's voice frightened the bird and sent it flying away. Sorikami turned away from the bush and gave Suda a long, lingering glare. Suda shrugged. It was an honest question.

"I presume you have a very good reason for violating my privacy and disturbing my exercise," Sorikami stated. There was a hint of anger in her voice, and her sword hand still hung ready.

"I'm with the Avatar," Suda said. "We think he's dying."

"That is a very good reason," Sorikami said, sheathing her sword. She followed Suda to the gate of the castle and met with the Avatar. She bowed respectfully to Sen as he introduced himself, and then asked him about the problems he was facing. Sen gave her an abridged version of recent events, and then explained the heat in his body. Sorikami placed her hand on Sen's bare skin, and surprisingly, let her touch linger. She examined her fingertips.

"I have seen this before," She declared. "You are in no immediate danger. At least not from this. This is a fairly normal occurrence in young firebenders, especially in those who have lived through tragedy as you have."

She invited Sen and his companions inside and prepared tea for them, although Sen only got a glass of cold water with ice. He supposed that made sense. As Sen held the glass in his hands, he noticed the ice was melting much faster than it should. He drank it quickly. The ice water felt cold as a blizzard in his throat.

"What you are undergoing is something the Fire Nation has come to call Sozin Syndrome. The body naturally generates extra heat when experiencing extreme emotion, and when combined with an untrained firebenders ability to amplify heat unconsciously, this can cause the body to rise to incredible temperatures."

"How long does it take to go away?"

"As long as you make it," Sorikami stated. "This is not a disease one can cure with medicine or waterbender healing. It is a sickness of the mind, and until you set yourself right, you will never be free of it."

Sen heard his heart start to pound. His friends looked at him with intense concern. Sorikami had said the heat would not likely hurt him, but Sen had no desire to live with this forever. He hoped that Sorikami could say something to help him.

"This will also affect your ability to firebend," Sorikami said, only making Sen worry more. "You could embrace the heat, and firebend as the soldiers of the Hundred-Year war did, but embracing your rage in such a fashion would prevent you from learning the philosophies of other bending arts, and halt your development as an Avatar."

"I'm really glad we came here," Suda said with sarcastic anger. "This is really helping."

"I am only making the Avatar aware of what he has to lose," Sorikami said harshly. "There is a Master who can help you."

There was something strange about the way she said "master". Sen got the feeling that he was not going to be heading to any traditional dojo.

"He is called Hayao," She said, her voice seeming to echo as she spoke the name. "He has been meditating for many long years, and occasionally shares his wisdom with young firebenders such as you."

"How well-known is he," Sen asked. He still needed to maintain a semblance of stealth, and he couldn't go see some major figurehead of the spiritual world. "How many people would notice if he travelled with me?"

Sorikami seemed annoyed by the notion that Hayao would go anywhere with Sen. She quickly explained why.

"Master Hayao has not moved from his meditation chamber in over sixty years," She said. "If you believe he will accompany you, you are mistaken. His location, however, is remote and known to very few, so if you fear for your privacy, you will have no concerns under his care."

Sen didn't know how he felt about staying in one place for training. Mastering earthbending had been relatively easy for him, as it was his native element, but firebending could take him many months. The Energybender was off his trail, though, and if Hayao was as secret as Sorikami claimed, he would probably be safe.

"What do you think, Suda," He asked.

"It sounds alright to me," Suda responded. "Secret, wise, mysterious, good combo for a master."

There was a silent pause as Sen considered it. Suda noticed Sen was forgetting something, and took action himself.

"Ada, you got an opinion?"

"No," she said quietly. Sorikami took notice of her despondent tone.

"I think Hayao feels right," Sen said. "We should find him. Can you tell us where he is?"

"It would be better if I showed you," Sorikami said. "His chamber is far from roads and cities, known to very few. I shall accompany you there."

Sen figured it wouldn't hurt to have one of the most powerful warriors in the world on their side for a while. It would certainly make any chance encounters with bandits or monsters go much faster. Sorikami, for her part, was interested in Ada. She wore swords on her belt, and the way her eyes flitted about the castle courtyard and inner chamber said that the young girl recognized Piandao's artistry, yet she had been silent and withdrawn during her entire visit. A girl like her should have been exploring the castle, studying the history of it. Something was not right. Unfortunately, Sorikami had little time to spare at the moment.

"We should probably leave quickly," The elder swordswoman noted. "The agitated state of the Avatar may have had some negative effects."

She proceeded back towards the gate and examined the vine-covered alleys of Shu Jing. She rolled her eyes.

Exactly as the master had predicted, the Avatar's internal strife had resonated among the local spirit population. The ethereal creatures were crawling amongst shadows and darting furiously through the air as they tried to release their pent up energy. If the Avatar stayed much longer it would only get worse. The young men and woman followed her to the gate and observed the situation in the city.

"We should depart immediately," Sorikami said. The three young ones agreed. They proceeded down the hill. The spirits started to become more active as Sen got closer. Sorikami was familiar with the spirits of the city, but they did not exactly like her, and she would not be able to stop them if they got aggressive.

"I'd like to borrow one of your blades, if I may," Sorikami said to Ada. The younger swordswoman handed over one of her two swords. Sorikami examined it.

"I usually disapprove of handicaps such as these," Sorikami said, examining the electrical devices along the back of the blade. "But the energy is useful in conflict with a spirit."

She swept her arm a few times, testing the heft of the blade. Sorikami's specialty was the Jian long sword, but the shorter blade of the Dao was not unknown to her. She found herself approving of the blade's workmanship, despite the handicap of the electrical devices.

"This is very well done. Whoever made this knew exactly what, and who, it was made for. How did you come to know a master smith?"

"They were a gift from my master, Ko Rin," Ada said, speaking a full sentence for the first time in Sorikami's company. Sorikami seemed to recognize the name. The master examined the blades more closely. Upon further examination, she recognized the work.

"These were made by Master Yakkul," She noted. Yakkul was a fellow master of the sword, a Southern Water Tribal who had carried on the tradition from his forefathers. He specialized in the Dao, and he was more open-minded to alterations of the sword like the electrical mechanisms.

"It is difficult to acquire even one such blade, much less a matching set. Custom-made, with special modifications, even made of an unbendable metal alloy. Ko Rin must think very highly of you to acquire such blades as a gift."

Ada nodded, saying nothing, but Sorikami saw her back get a little straighter as she walked. That was good, but likely a temporary change. Her soul was wracked by grief similar to Sen's, and though she did not have the problem of Sozin Syndrome, the sadness affected her in other ways. Sorikami would have to do much to break her out of that.

The problems of the future gave way to the problems of the day as they reached the edge of the overgrown city. There was a hissing noise from the shadows as the Avatar stepped foot into the territory the spirits had claimed as their own.

"Is this going to be trouble," Suda said nervously. Something that had more eyes than legs, and it had a lot of legs, was staring at him.

"Very likely," Sorikami said. Simply telling the Avatar to calm down wasn't going to do much at this point. Their only hope was to make it to the Avatar's vehicle before the spirits got much worse.

"Where exactly did you park," Sorikami asked.

Sen pointed down the street that would take them on the longest possible walk through the abandoned town. Sorikami was somehow not surprised.

She led them on a hurried walk down the streets. The vine-covered walls and empty windows were becoming alight with angry spirits. The creatures filled the streets with a subtle, multicolored glow as they congregated. Sen's eyes darted around the twisted faces of the spirits. Somehow he got the feeling that this wouldn't be solved as easily as his confrontation with the sleep spirit Natae.

As was expected, they actually came in sight of the way out before problems found them. Just a few yards from the satomobile, a large spirit coiled into the street around them. It moved like water, but as it came closer it was apparent that the entire spirit was a mass of silver scales that moved as one unit. There was no face to the creature, but it had a voice all the same.

"Why do you come here, Avatar," the mass of scales asked. "Why is there rage inside Raava?"

The spirits that clung to the walls and vines around them began chanting, or perhaps it was more like chirping, repeating the word "Raava" again and again. Sen looked at the scale spirit and tried to explain himself.

"I have my problems," Sen said awkwardly. "I'm trying to get them fixed, I promise. I'm sorry if I've hurt you."

"How does the Avatar know pain," The silver scales mocked. "All the power Raava gives you, how can you be weak? How have you failed?"

Sen looked at Sorikami. The master looked back at him expectantly. Apparently she expected him to solve this on his own. Sen hesitated before offering an explanation.

"I wasn't ready," Sen tried to explain. "I got caught in a fight I wasn't ready for. I haven't been learning very long."

"So you lose one fight and you turn on yourself," The scales said. Other spirits crept into the streets, dark things with tendrils that clung to the shadows and eyes that crawled along their skin like worms crawling along the flesh. "You are a disgrace."

"It's not like that," Sen objected. "I didn't just lose the fight…I lost my best friend."

The silvery spirit seemed to back away. The encroaching shadows also paused. Sen thought that was good. Maybe they were listening to him. Sorikami came to the opposite conclusion. All she saw was an enemy preparing to strike.

In a movement so fast Sen barely aw it, Sorikami swept her borrowed blade through the mass if solver scales, scattering them into a cloud of metallic disks. The metal blade itself had no effect on the spirit, but the electrical charge caused enough damage to disrupt the spirits physical form. The silver spirit vanished into the air.

Suda groaned. He had shared Sen's impression that things were going well, but Sorikami had trashed it all. Suda tore some metal from the walls of a nearby ruin as the dark spirits closed in. Normal metal wouldn't affect spirits, but anything being manipulated by a bender could hurt them. Suda didn't fully understand how that worked. Something do with chi, as he recalled it.

Ada had her eyes on Sorikami, watching her example, but the old master's battle came to a dead halt when she saw Suda metalbend. Her eyes widened briefly with fear, but she quickly shook her head and returned her attention to the immediate enemy. Ada quietly wondered what she had just seen, before the encroaching spirits demanded her attention as well.

The glowing spirits that still clung to the walls began to lose their luminescence and crawled towards the ground, rapidly shifting to strange and twisted reflections of themselves. The mass of dark spirits grew bigger as the circle closed around them. The spirits surrounded them and crawled forward like predators on the hunt.

There was only one real predator here, though, and he was named Gun. Having grown in recent weeks, Gun's emergence was no longer from a neat little hole in the ground. Shattering an entire abandoned building as he burst out of the ground, Gun thrust his heavy claws forward and bared his fangs at the dark spirits that would dare threaten his master. Sensing the power and anger of the animal attacking them, the spirits vanished and dissipated into the shadows they had crawled out of.

Huffing and puffing, Gun's fur still stood on end as he lumbered forward to check on Sen. The badgermole was reasonably clever, but he was quite a bit confused by recent events. Gun didn't understand why he couldn't feel Hanjo's presence anymore, and that only made him more protective of Sen. Gun's seismic senses let him see Sen's heartbeat, and he didn't like what he saw.

Sen tried to be appreciative of Gun's rescue, but in a way the damage had been done. Even the spirits were against him now. Maybe they had a point.

Sorikami saw the melancholy look on Sen's face and tried to move their journey forward. Gun returned to the depths of the earth as Sorikami led them to the hidden monastery of Master Hayao.


	18. Book 2 Ch3: Hayao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen is introduced to an ancient and mysterious Firebending master named Hayao.

The volcanic peak stretched high into the sky. Lava could be seen pouring out of the black stone and creeping slowly into the ocean. As the hot stone and the cold ocean water collided, they generated a massive amount of steam that coalesced into a permanent fog bank that surrounded the base of the volcanic island. As the sun rose behind it, it created a very picturesque yet highly intimidating scene.

"So Hayao lives in that," Sen said incredulously.

"There are only so many ancient castles to go around," Suda said. He had been trying to make jokes a little more around the younger ones. A few light-hearted comments could go a long way to lift their spirits, and Suda was the only one in any kind of joking mood. Sen and Ada were still depressed, and Sorikami was too uptight to crack a smile.

They were in the town of Gai Zhu now, a large city located on the large Tahu Island of the Fire nation, some distance from Hayao's secluded rest. It was only due to the mountains massive size that they could see it from so far away. They still had quite a distance to travel, especially since the volcanic nature of the region meant the sea was filled with massive ridges and hidden shoals that made it impossible to sail a real boat through the water. They had acquired a small fishing vessel that could avoid the rocks, but it would be slow going. Walking and swimming the distance was also possible, thanks to the abundance of rocky islands, but it would take nearly a full day, so they would go by boat.

Sen and Suda could make their path easier with earthbending, but it would still be a long way to go, and they would have to leave much behind. Sen was having a hard time dealing with one thing in particular. Ada had taken steps to make sure their supplies and satomobile were well-kept, but there was another remainder that had to be taken care of; Gun.

The badgermole was in a panic now. Sen had successfully communicated to his animal guide that he was going somewhere that Gun couldn't follow, and was now having difficulty letting the badgermole know that he promised to be back. Gun dove in and out of the earth randomly, trying to find a way to tunnel to the island that Sen was heading towards, but the depth of the sea floor and the underground lava chambers of the volcanically active region prevented him from tunneling. The massive beast let out a confused whine quite uncharacteristic for a predator of its size.

Sen tried to calm Gun down, but it was difficult. Badgermoles communicated with a seismic sense; they could feel the hearts of the people around them, and Sen's heart was anything but calm. Gun could sense the distress of his master, and he did not want to part with Sen. Ever since his mother had died fighting the gopherlion, Gun had viewed the earthbenders around him as his family. He had already lost sight of Hanjo, and his animalistic nature made it impossible for him to understand why. Now he could feel that Suda and Sen were planning to leave him as well.

"Come on, Gun," Sen said. "This is hard for me too. You've just got to understand. I'm going to be back, I promise."

Ada was retrieving a few more supplies for their departure. Hayao's isolation made it difficult for he and his students to acquire food and other supplies, so Sorikami was having Ada gather extra supplies as a sort of donation. Sen was using all the extra time to try to get his badgermole to behave. Any progress was made in inches, not miles. Gun was a bit of a stubborn beast.

When Ada finished the preparations for the trip, Gun actually refused to let Sen go. Pressing his striped head against Sen's torso, the badgermole forcibly pushed Sen back onto the beach. Stomping his foot on the ground, Sen pointed emphatically at the ground of the coast. Gun sat down sadly, whining again. Sen looked away from his animal guide and headed for the boat. It was a small fishing boat that Sorikami had acquired from a local fisherman, barely large enough to fit the four of them. There wasn't much to say for it but the fact that it had a working motor and no leaks, but it would get them to the coastal mountain in a matter of hours rather than the day a rowboat might take.

Sen averted his eyes from the shore as their vehicle puttered away from the coastline. Suda kept an eye on Gun as they departed. The badgermole occasionally vanished into the ground only to return moments later, having tried and failed to find a way to tunnel after Sen. It was a heartbreaking sight, but it eventually faded from view. Suda turned his eyes forward to look at their destination.

The closer the volcano got, the scarier it seemed. The rivers of lava that poured down the side became more noticeable. This wasn't some minor eruption, either. According to Sorikami the area had been in a state of constant volcanic activity since Aang's lifetime. The volcano had simply started spewing lava one day and not stopped for nearly two-hundred years. Why anyone would live here, Suda couldn't understand.

A spiny ridge of glassy volcanic stone protruded from the water in front of them. Suda tapped Sen on the shoulder to get his attention, and they teamed up to take it apart. The boat was unsteady and small, which made their footwork difficult, but the two of them managed to carve a hole in the ridge of igneous rock with their bending. That would save them a bit of travel time. There would be more stones ahead, as they got closer to the volcano, so Suda kept his eyes open. Sorikami navigated the boat around the smaller obstacles, but the earthbenders had to step in for most of the bigger ones.

As the mountain got closer, the air around them grew thick with a salty fog. The lava boiled the ocean waves, sending water vapor into the air that coalesced into a permanent gray haze. Sorikami slowed the boat down as visibility dropped. Sen's glasses began to fog in the humidity, and he removed them. They helped him see things that were far away, but he couldn't see more than a few feet away anyway.

"I'm finding it hard to believe anyone survives out here," Sen said.

"Then your enemies won't look for you here, will they?"

Sorikami had a point. Anyone who was hunting them right now would probably not think to look at the base of a lethal volcano.

"Master Hayao's reasons for living here a mystery to me as well," Sorikami continued. "But he is wise, and has helped many find peace. I do not question his judgment."

"Did he ever help you," Suda asked. Sorikami did not answer the question. Suda didn't bother to pursue the line of questioning; he didn't really care about Sorikami all that much, and Sorikami didn't care for him. Besides his lack of interest, they had a more pressing concern. It seemed they had arrived.

Hayao's mountain was immediately distinct from the outcroppings of rock that surrounded it by its sheer height. It hadn't looked quite that massive from a distance. It was a steeply sloped mountain, with a low peak and a wide base. The caldera of an ancient eruption could be seen atop the peak, the scar of a massive volcanic event. Beneath the blasted peak, small caverns and craters marked the sites where lava flowed from the interior magma chamber.

Sorikami took the boat to ground on the rocky beach and had Suda lift it out of the water, so it would not be washed away by the waves. With the boat secured, the four of them gathered the supplies they had brought, following Sorikami across the volcanic island beach.

Ada spotted a robed figure meditating on the mountainside, but Sorikami did not acknowledge them, nor did they acknowledge the new arrivals. Ada assumed it was another person studying under Hayao.

The entrance to a cavern came into view. The stone around was smooth and heavily layered; the cavern had once been the site of a volcanic ejection, but that had been centuries ago, and the stone left behind had been heavily weathered by wind and water. Another meditating figure rested just outside, half-hidden in the fog. Sen could barely see them between the fog and the fact that he had removed his glasses, but for some reason his eyes lingered all the same. He kept an eye on the mysterious figure until Sorikami led them to the cavern chamber and the outside world vanished.

The cave was not decorated in any way, marked only by the corpses of plants long-wilted and a few fresher offerings left by pilgrims to Hayao's meditative rest. There were a few natural chambers to the cave, but it seemed untouched by architect or any kind of human contact. A few of the interior chambers showed signs of human habitation; meager bedrolls, a small number of personal items, stockpiles of food and medical supplies. Sorikami instructed them to drop off the excess supplies here; they would be used by Sen and the other residents over time. With their burdens gone, Sorikami led the way to the interior chamber. A makeshift curtain hung over an opening in the cavern wall, the only sign of human influence in the layout of the cave.

"The three of you will go in on your own," Sorikami said, gesturing to the curtain. "Sen will do the introductions; the other two of you will speak only if Hayao asks you a question."

Sen didn't like the idea of proceeding without Sorikami, but he knew he wouldn't get very far if he tried to argue it. He had hoped Sorikami's familiarity with the Master would help them.

"You can't come with us?"

Sorikami averted her eyes for a brief moment, almost as if she was ashamed, but they quickly darted back into their judgmental stare.

"Master Hayao has no need to speak to me. Only you. Go."

The room beyond the veil was just as sparse as the rest, a natural cave in every respect. Near the center of the room was a small pool of crystalline water, situated next to a circle of candles that looked like they had burned for quite some time. Near the center of the ring there were only puddles of burnt out wax, but as the ring stretched outwards you found taller and taller remnants of candles, until the outer ring where you found nearly complete candles, still lit with a small, flickering flame. In a small gap in the very center of the ancient candles, a figure rested.

Hayao sat motionlessly, cloaked in a robe that might once have been bright red, but was now stained the color of blood by age. A hood was drawn over his head, obscuring most of his face, and what was not covered by the head was covered by an ancient mask. It was pitted by age and bore what seemed to be battle-scars, but the mask was still recognizable; it was the white skull-mask worn by Fire Nation troops during the Hundred-Year war. The hollow eyes of the mask stared out at Sen and his friends, unblinking and unmoving. Hayao had not moved at all since they had entered, nor had he spoken. Sen was not quite talented enough in the seismic sense to feel heartbeats, but he could still get a general sense of people; it surprised him, therefore, that he felt absolutely nothing from Master Hayao.

"Master Hayao-"

"I am no Master," the robed figure proclaimed. His voice was deep and powerful, yet unthreatening, like the sound of a storm in the distance.

"Others claim this title of me, though I do not accept it," The rolling baritone voice continued. "But I have my measure of wisdom to share, if you come seeking it. What brings you to me?"

"They said it was called Sozin Syndrome," Sen said. He didn't really know how to explain his predicament, so he stuck to repeating things he'd heard from others.

"I despise the name, but I know of what you speak," Hayao replied. "It is not a disease to be confused or upset, young firebender."

"I just want to be able to sleep again," Sen said quietly.

He was depressed and exhausted. Every time he tried to sleep his mind drifted towards Hanjo's memory. Most of those memories were pleasant, but the shadow of his friend's untimely fate hung over every thought. They twisted into nightmares that kept Sen awake at night.

"I will give you what help I can," Hayao said. "First, allow me to read the heat within you. It will grant me a clearer picture of your ordeal."

Sen nodded. He didn't quite understand what "reading heat" entailed, but if it helped him solve his problems faster, he was all for it. For a brief moment he felt like an icy hand was on his chest, but the sensation passed as soon as it had come. It took barely a second, and Hayao had not once moved from his resting position.

"So the Avatar comes to me again," Hayao said. Sen was shocked to hear him say it. Had he really figured it out just by reading Sen's body heat?

"Your predecessor and I crossed paths once, when she guided a young boy to my care," Hayao said. He sounded like it was a fond memory. "I learned much from her. It would be my privilege to guide you in turn."

The Avatar held an intensity within that no mortal could match. The light of Raava flowed through Sen's entire body, an unmistakable mark of his power, even hidden as it was amidst the heat of confusion and guilt. Hayao had seen it only once before, but it was a feeling you never forgot.

"Tell me of your journey. Leave nothing out. I wish to understand what causes you such pain."

Sen began retelling their journey, from the first day at the orphanage up to the moment they had come to Hayao's cavern. Hayao remained still as he listened to the long and winding story of Sen and Hanjo's journey together, meeting Ada and Suda, and their eventual separation. When Sen wrapped up his story, Hayao spoke.

"I am sorry for the loss of your friend," He began. "It is a wound not easily healed, but I will do all I can."

Hayao stopped for a moment to contemplate his course. He saw two paths before him. The sure path was to guide the Avatar through his grief personally, to take every detail into his own hands. This would achieve the Avatar's intended goal quickly, and bring him a speedy relief from the guilt he felt over Hanjo's loss, but it was not only that which troubled him. Hayao could feel a conflict in Sen's heart that ran deeper than Hanjo's sacrifice. The path to heal that wound would be longer and more arduous, and involve a great deal of pain for Sen, as well as his partner on the journey.

Nothing worth doing was ever done easily. Hayao set his course.

"You will be trained in firebending by another of my pupils, Miyani. Do not tell her of your true identity; in all other ways you may deal with her as you see fit." Hayao commanded. "Your friends cannot stay with you. They must return to the mainland, and you will not be permitted to see them."

Sen and his friends were taken aback by the harsh command. Sen stepped forward to protest.

"But they're my friends! They're all I've got," Sen objected weakly. He wanted Suda and Ada to stay with him, but he felt he wouldn't get his way.

"This is what I command," Hayao said, sounding unusually harsh. "Accept my methods or find another master."

Hayao saw the surrender in Sen's eyes. The Avatar looked forlornly at his friends, and they saw it as well. Suda tried to argue it with Sen, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. Hayao was the higher authority. Perhaps some other time Sen might have at least tried to argue it, but depression and exhaustion did not create stubbornness.

"Take your leave for a moment," Hayao ordered Sen. "I would have a few words with your companions. I can persuade them of my methods as well."

Sen obeyed, dragging his feet sadly as he left Hayao's chamber and vanished to the other side of the curtain. Suda was glaring angrily at the masked master; Ada seemed to be on the verge of tears. Clearly this was not a popular decision. It was exactly as Hayao intended.

"I understand your frustrations," Hayao declared. "But I do this for a reason. Sen will find it difficult to be apart from you. It is my hope that he will take action to reunite with you against my orders."

Suda's anger faded, and Ada's confusion started to override her sadness.

"You're giving him an order you expect him to break?"

"Of course. Think back on your journeys. When has Sen made demands, when has he taken charge of a situation, except when he was forced to?"

Ada thought about all the things they'd done together. For their entire journey, Sen had been allowing Hanjo or Ada to decide all their destinations and goals. The only time he had ever taken any initiative was in their encounter with Natae, when almost everyone else had been unconscious. They had hardly even noticed before. Sen had never taken charge of his own life.

"I see you understand now," Hayao observed. "His grief over Hanjo is a significant problem, and I promise you I will help him overcome it, but it is not the only challenge Sen must overcome. The real lesson Sen must learn is one of agency. Sen was raised to believe that the Avatar was a threat, something to be feared. He has not yet overcome this idea. He is afraid to take the initiative and accept his destiny."

"You think he isn't ready? He's come all this way, done so many things-"

"What he has done is irrelevant," Hayao said. "Why he has done them is what matters. His motivation has always been the expectations and desires of others, not his own will."

Ada grit her teeth. Hayao did have a point. Sen's behavior had rarely felt unique or determined. He had simply been following the path he assumed Avatar's were meant to follow.

"I understand that this will be difficult for him and for you. I ask for your patience and trust. If you are unwilling to give it, you may pursue training elsewhere. I will not stop you from leaving."

As much as Ada hated the idea of leaving Sen alone, Hayao had a point. Sen couldn't spend his whole life following other people around. Eventually he would have to take the lead. Hayao's plan was fairly well thought out. With his only friends acting as the bait, Sen was sure to take some initiative.

The fact that Hayao's plan was so carefully made brought a question to Ada's mind.

"What about Miyani," She asked suspiciously. "What's her part in this?"

She didn't believe that Hayao was passing off training the Avatar for no reason. Whoever Miyani was, she played some part in Hayao's plan for Sen. Ada wanted to know what. She waited for a few moments, but got no response. She assumed Hayao wasn't going to tell them, and turned to Suda. One look at him told Ada they were both thinking the same thing. Neither of them liked it, but it was the only plan they had at the moment. They'd been drifting aimlessly for too long. They agreed to Hayao's plan. Hopefully they wouldn't regret it as much as they regretted the last compromise they had made.

"You may say your goodbyes to Sen. I hope he will see you soon."

Ada and Suda grudgingly left the room behind, leaving Hayao to his meditation. Sen was waiting patiently alongside Master Sorikami, and he jumped to his feet when he saw them. They had no good news.

"Sorry pal, looks like you're going to have to do this one on your own." Suda put his hands on Sen's shoulders. "But you can do this easy. You're a natural bender. Just keep your glasses on and you'll do fine."

"You know, I never thanked you for that," Sen said. He took his glasses out of his pocket and put them back on. "I'd still be running around blind if you hadn't figured out I needed these."

"Ah, you would've figured it out eventually."

"Well, thanks all the same. Look after Gun for me, would you? He only likes earthbenders, so it's up to you."

Suda gave a sharp, affirmative salute, the same he'd given to Bolin when he'd first promised to look after Sen. Sen knew he could trust Suda to take care of Gun. He had a bad past but a good heart. The next person was not so easy to deal with. Sen turned to Ada.

There had been nothing but friction between the two of them since leaving Hanjo behind. They had been stepping around each other, never really talking, for weeks. Sen couldn't let that continue. For a long time he had been scared of Ada, of the way she behaved in battle, and to tell the truth he still was. Despite that, she had proven that she cared about Sen, and Sen felt he needed to return that trust.

"Ada, we've been a little bit…I don't even know," Sen mumbled. "But I don't want it to keep happening. You are my friend."

Sen had run out of ideas. Apologizing was a lot harder than he thought. He tried to think of the right things to say, and the right words to say them. Suda got impatient.

"Oh, just leave already, goodbyes are a pain in the butt," Suda said. "You're both in a bad place right now. You'll get over it. Don't try to force yourself to talk when you aren't ready for it."

Sen and Ada looked at each other. Suda was right. They shouldn't get hung up on the conflicts between them. They nodded wordlessly, and that was enough. They would talk again when they had both done a little growing up. Sorikami led Sen's friends away from the cavern, leaving Sen completely alone.


	19. Book 2 Ch4: The Shrouded Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Removed from his friends and allies, Sen explores Hayao's misty island and is introduced to his new firebending trainer, the stoic Miyani.

Sen took a minute to think about the situation he was in. All his allies were gone now, though thankfully Ada and Suda were only a few hours away, unlike Hanjo. He didn't even have Gun. The only person in miles who knew Sen was the Avatar was Hayao, a man who seemed to never move.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He couldn't foresee too many problems finding him here; it would be nice to take a break from all the stress of being the Avatar. No more running, no more violence, no more worrying about innocent people around him. Just Sen and some time to get his thoughts together. Also Miyani, whoever that was.

He didn't feel like looking right now. There was a table in the cavern, in the same room as the food, and Sen sat there. He didn't eat anything, not yet. He figured that the other residents of the island would come here eventually, so this was where he stayed. It was very quiet for a while.

Sen couldn't stand it. There was no sound, no movement. There was a little rumble in the ground below as magma forced its way upwards from the center of the earth, but it wasn't enough. Whenever it was quiet like this, he started thinking about Hanjo. The circular scar on Sen's wrist started to ache, and he decided to head out. His only hope of distracting himself, for now, was Miyani.

Sen headed down the coast a bit and searched for the first figure he remembered. He had seen a blurred silhouette on his way in, and they were as good a place to start as any. He found the spot where he had first seen the figure and found them again, tracking down their presence with the subtle vibrations of the earth until his eyes could lead him the rest of the way. They were just a gray blur in the distance, but they were there. Sen carefully proceeded up the mountainside. He couldn't make out any details about his target until he was practically right next to them, but when he finally got close he realized that she was very distinctive.

Her clothes were as unassuming as you might expect from a monk, a white shirt and black trousers, but she did have a bit of personal flair. Her hands, shoulder, and head were all bound in cloth wrappings, almost like bandages.

The bandaged woman was still kneeling, her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the world as well as Sen. He figured there was a good chance she was Miyani.

"Excuse me, is your name Miyani?"

The woman did not get off her knees, but she opened her eyes. She stared blankly at Sen.

"Yes it is," She said quietly. "Why do you ask?"

"Master Hayao said you would teach me to firebend," Sen said. He explained all of Hayao's desires, including the fact that he was not supposed to leave the island. Miyani paused for a moment. If she was confused, her face didn't show it. In fact, her face didn't show much of anything. Her amber eyes regarded Sen, and the whole world, with an air of casual detachment. She was probably one of those monastic types that had stopped caring about the physical world a long time ago.

"Then I will teach you. Would you like to start now?"

Sen was looking for something, anything, to distract himself from the quiet, so he said yes. Miyani bid him to kneel on the ground next to her. The volcanic stone was harsh beneath his knees, and he didn't dare use earthbending to smooth it out lest Miyani notice. He finally found a comfortable spot on the rough stone and rested there.

"Breath is the most fundamental form of firebending. It is the base element of the way firebenders draw on the heat around them generate fire."

Miyani demonstrated by taking a deep breath. Sen felt the air around him get noticeably colder, and when Miyani released her breath, the heat in the air returned. He could feel the changes in her body through the vibration of the ground; something about her changed significantly as she breathed. Her body became quieter, almost. She gave him instructions on how to replicate that feat, and Sen mimicked her instructions exactly. Unlike Miyani, Sen did not change the ambient temperature.

"Your only concern right now is mastering the technique," Miyani said. "Don't be discouraged if you do not succeed on your first attempt."

"I don't know about this," Sen said. "I have this problem, it's-"

"Sozin Syndrome, I know," Miyani said blankly. Sen was caught off guard by that. She turned her expressionless face to look at him. "Master Hayao has an interest in the disease."

Sen looked at her skeptically. She had just defied Hayao no less than three times. Hayao didn't like to be called "master", he didn't like the name "Sozin Syndrome", and he didn't think it was a disease. Miyani seemed to be on an entirely different page from her master.

"Breath control is a universal tool. Whatever troubles you, this exercise is a fundamental step in fixing it. We will proceed when you have practiced it."

She turned away and repeated her deep breath. Sen followed her example. The two of them sat side by side and took deep breaths of the foggy air. The smell of salt and volcanism filled Sen's nose. He imagined that there were better places to breathe, but maybe that was part of the challenge. If he could master breathing here, he could master breathing anywhere.

He thought that to himself and immediately wondered what he was thinking. He could already breathe anywhere. His lungs weren't suddenly facing a massive challenge just because there was some salt in the air. Breathing was just breathing.

With that thought in his head, he repeated the cycle again. He inhaled deeply, drawing in the heat around him, and then he exhaled heavily. A thin mist emerged from his mouth, and he suddenly felt slightly colder.

"Very good," Miyani said. "Do not worry about the feeling of cold. Your body is re-adjusting itself to its normal temperature."

Miyani placed her fingertips on Sen's skin and did not immediately draw them back from pain. Though he was still burning up inside, he felt a bit of hope. Only a little bit. It couldn't be that easy.

"Will it come back?"

"Yes. The heat will always rise within you as long as your conflict remains unresolved, but you can clear it away on demand now."

Miyani turned on her knees to face Sen directly. Sen matched her, shifting until they were kneeling face to face. His body was getting used to its correct temperature very quickly. He hadn't even been aware of the heat in his body, but he definitely felt much better now that it was gone.

"Now, tell me what troubles you."

It was hard for Sen to put it into words. It was hard first of all because everything was so fresh in his mind. Hanjo had been his first and best friend, and Sen had left him to die alone. Part of him had yet to get over that, and he doubted he ever really would.

Putting that feeling into words was even harder than it should have been because of the secrecy he was being forced into. It took Sen a while to come up with a version of his story that didn't reveal him as the Avatar. Miyani took his silence for confusion, though, so he had plenty of time to think about it. She waited patiently for his answer. Sen nervously rubbed his wounded wrist. The scabs had cleared up, but there was now a pink scar encircling the base of his hand. Rubbing the agitated scar helped him focus his mind and come up with a story.

The story he eventually told was heavily neutered, but it was mostly accurate. Miyani nodded as he recounted the events that had led to Hanjo's loss. In Sen's version they were merely residents of Tunuk Bay, forced to flee during the Energybender's attack, leaving Hanjo behind. It wasn't a perfect cover story, but hopefully it would work for Miyani.

"I'm sorry for your loss," She said. Her voice was so monotone that Sen didn't really believe her. "It is a hard thing to lose a friend."

She got off her knees and stood up. Sen followed suit. As they both stood, Sen realized just how tall Miyani was. If Sen were to step forward right now the top of his head would just barely scrape Miyani's chin. She was likely even taller than Suda; he wasn't around right now to compare, but something about her felt larger, even though she was thin and lanky, unlike the bulky Suda.

"No one can really help you recover from a loss like that, but I will do what I can to help," She said. "Physical discipline can help focus the mind as well. Follow my example."

Sen mimicked her actions as she demonstrated a series of slow, steady stances. Sen knew that when sped up, this would be an effective firebending technique, so he paid close attention. He was here to deal with his emotions, but he had to learn firebending at the same time.

"Remember to breath as you move," She instructed. "Build on the basics."

Sen followed her advice. She had never told him when to breathe in or out, but somehow their breathing ended up synchronized anyway. Something about the stances gave him an intuitive sense of when to exhale or inhale. Sen and Miyani continued the synchronized practice for a time. Surprisingly, Miyani was the first to break the silence.

"If it's not too much trouble," She said cautiously. "Could you tell me more about the Energybender?"

"What do you mean?"

"I simply don't know much about him," Miyani explained. "I've been here with Hayao for most of my life. Sometimes I travel to Gai Zhu for supplies and I hear rumors from the woman who makes the donations, but I know very little about the movement of the world."

This was another question that Sen had to think about before he answered. Even he didn't know that much about the Energybender. Ada might know more, but she was hours away.

"I can't tell you much," Sen said. "All I know is he's a terrible person. He destroys without reason or remorse, all to hunt the Avatar."

Miyani's face broke out of its flat expression for the first time, briefly showing signs of confusion and concern. She quickly snapped back into her normal expressionless self.

"Does anyone know why he hunts the Avatar?"

"No," Sen spat. He felt heat rising in him again, and he took a deep breath, using Miyani's instructions to extinguish the fire within. The mysteries surrounding the Energybender and his vendetta against the Avatar still confused Sen to no end. He couldn't fight an enemy he knew next to nothing about.

"What do you think about it all," Sen asked her. "What's your take on the Avatar, and the Energybender."

"It doesn't concern me," Miyani said blankly. "I understand what the battle means to people like you, but I'm removed from those conflicts."

"I bet a lot of dead people at Tunuk Bay thought the same thing," Sen said bitterly. Miyani didn't respond. As they continued their mirror exercises, their breathing fell out of synch.

Miyani eventually moved them to a different exercise. She guided Sen down the coastline, towards one of the rumbling gouts of lava. Sen kept his distance from the liquid stone. He had seen lava before, when Bolin had lavabent, but it hadn't been quite so violent then. Miyani put the font of molten rock behind her, and turned to Sen.

"Tell me about Hanjo," She commanded.

"What? I already told you what happened," Sen objected. He had no desire to repeat himself. Just thinking about Hanjo hurt him. Saying the words aloud put a painful lump in his throat.

"You only told me the end of his story. Now tell me the rest."

Sen might have been a little more forthcoming if Miyani looked like she even cared, but she didn't. Her face was expressionless. Her bandaged hands rested idly by her side as she stood, nearly as motionless as Hayao.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand," Miyani said. "We'll wait until you're ready."

Sen wondered if he ever would be. Miyani crossed her legs and sat down.

"I understand your stress, Sen, but you can let all of that go now. This island is quiet and peaceful."

Sen's eyes flitted to the gushing river of lava behind Miyani. He could feel hundreds of other lava chambers rumbling beneath the island. This place was hardly peaceful. There was a layer of rock concealing it, but the whole place was a barely contained inferno. Sen dreaded what might happen if that layer of rock ever fell apart.

It wasn't his concern, at any rate. Hayao and Miyani both thought it was safe here, so it probably was. The island, volcanic as it was, was a secluded shelter, a perfect place to hide from the troubles of the world for a while. Sen crossed his legs and took a deep breath. So long as he was here, he could keep everything together.


	20. Book 2 Ch5: Harrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A unique and deadly hunter begins trailing the Avatar.

The mayor of Isesaki had been waiting for the military to arrive for quite some time. Her town had no real prison; there was no way they could keep Ronan and his bandits trapped for long. Hopefully the military vehicle pulling into their streets had come to take the dangerous bandits away.

The people who stepped out were some kind of military, but certainly not Fire Nation. Their uniforms were plain, almost like monks robes, except for a few strange decorations. One of them, a sleazy looking man in yellow robes, had a string of beads wrapped around his forearm. The other was taller, more clean handsome, wearing deep blue robes and a chain that seemed to be strung with the skulls of birds. He had a very intense look in his eyes, like a storm cloud just about to burst forth with thunder.

The sleazy man spotted the mayor and slithered over to the waiting old woman. He cracked a grin that was probably supposed to seem friendly, but failed quite spectacularly.

"Hey Ma'am, we heard you had a few kids pass through here recently. Little girl playing with swords, two earthbenders, does that ring a bell?"

"Yes. Very helpful young people." The Mayor took a few steps away from the sleazy man. "They left about two weeks ago."

"Oh, yes, that's great," The man said. "Tell us more, please, we're on a bit of a deadline here."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Oh well, you see," The sleazy man began. He looked far too amused. "We're going to have to kill all of you, so-"

A flying object interrupted the threatening man by striking him forcefully in the throat. The sleazy man fell to the ground and gasped for air. The blue robed one approached the mayor. He had, apparently, been the one to throw whatever it was that had hit the sleazy man.

"Ignore him," he commanded. "Please tell us more about what these children did."

The mayor backed away and pressed herself against a wall. The people of Isesaki were starting to gather and observe the spectacle. The man with the bird skulls around his neck looked furiously at his choking companion.

"Now look what you did," He said disdainfully. The other man choked out an insult, and said nothing else.

"Cooperate now and I can guarantee your safety," The Harrier said to the townspeople. "Any resistance will have to be punished."

A few people ran from the prospect of violence. A few stayed behind, the ones who seemed more capable in a fight. The Harrier ignored their attempts to provoke him. He didn't want to have to hurt anyone today. If they had to fight everyone the Avatar tried to help they'd end up burning the whole world.

"All I want to know is where they went," The Harrier continued. "Just tell me that and I'll leave peacefully."

One of the local firebenders didn't get the message. The Harrier dodged his amateurish attack and rolled his eyes. If there had to be a fight, he would make it a quick one. He took a deep breath and pointed his right hand at the attacker.

He rapidly ran the outstretched fingers of his left hand against his right arm as if he were striking a match against his arm. As the motion completed, a bolt of blue lightning surged from the fingertips of his right hand, instantly striking the attacking firebender in the chest. Electric sparks incinerated the attacker's shirt and blackened the skin of his chest. The impact blasted the firebender to the ground, and he laid there motionless as all his allies panicked and retreated.

Harrier had not earned his rank in the Energybender's forces from intelligence alone. His ability to rapidly generate lightning gave him a lethal first strike in any battle. There were few with the reflexes and skill to dodge lightning created with such speed.

The Harrier turned back to the mayor. His companion began to pull himself off the floor, just in time to continue the interrogation. The Harrier pointed his arm at the Mayor, and she began to tremble visibly.

"You're lucky you've got that superpower or I'd knock your block off, ya jerk," The other man said.

"Be quiet, Duga," Harrier commanded. "You've done enough today. Now, you. Tell us where the children went."

"I don't know," The old woman wailed. She began to weep, and the Harrier lowered his arms. He pulled Duga away from the weeping old woman and past the motionless body of the firebender he had struck.

"And now I had to do all that for nothing," Harrier chastised. He forcibly pushed Duga back into the armored transport. Just like there was a reason he was called the Harrier, there was a reason Duga and his friends were called The Imperfects. Harrier had earned his name by being able to generate lightning fast enough to strike down falcons in mid-air; Duga and the Imperfects had gotten theirs by being imbeciles. Harrier was glad he only had to deal with one of the four Imperfects directly; the other three had spread out across the Fire Nation to search for the Avatar.

"Stay in the vehicle and watch the radio," He commanded. Duga grudgingly obliged. "I'm going to interrogate the bandits. Maybe they know something the villagers don't."

The Harrier headed for the makeshift prison. There had not been enough room in the local jail to store all the bandits that the Avatar had helped capture, so Ronan and the waterbender were being kept in locked rooms in town hall. The town was effectively deserted know. The Harrier could feel the eyes of innocent people staring at him from hidden places, but no one caused any trouble. He was glad; he had no desire to hurt more people than necessary to achieve his goals.

He had to spend quite some time looking for the holding cells. Their intelligence on this town had been rather limited. They had gotten too used to operating in the United Earth Kingdom; their intelligence networks in the Fire Nation were deeply lacking. Little inconveniences like this might cost them the Avatar.

The lock on the door gave way to a strong kick. If Ronan wasn't chained to the wall, he would have escaped long ago. The bandit seemed quite surprised to see anyone visiting him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Someone who can kill you if you don't answer my questions," Harrier declared forcefully. Ronan cowered under the Harrier's imposing gaze. Unlike innocent civilians, the Harrier had no reservations about using his talents on criminals. He'd be glad to give Ronan a taste of lightning if he made it necessary.

"Ask whatever you like," Ronan said. He faked a friendly smile through his sheer terror.

"The children who defeated you," Harrier asked. "Tell me everything you know about them."

Ronan spilled the story of his embarrassing defeat at the hands of a sixteen year old earthbender. He didn't know anything about their destinations, or reasons for being there in the first place, but he did have one interesting tidbit; the earthbender who had fought him had been burning up inside. The Harrier recognized the symptoms.

"Sozin Syndrome," He mumbled to himself. "Makes sense. We did just take his best friend away."

"Sozin Syndrome? Nah only firebenders get that, this kid was an earthbender."

A look of shock and surprise spread across the bandits face. The Harrier shook his head. Now they had loose ends. Many people thought the Avatar was dead; if word spread that that wasn't the case, a lot of their secrecy could be compromised.

"Was that kid the Avatar? But that would mean you're with-"

The Harrier placed the fingertips of his right hand on Ronan's forehead and struck his left hand across his arm. A small spark turned the room a shade of bright blue before fading rapidly. At least Harrier wouldn't regret that one tomorrow. He would come to regret it much, much later. Despite Ronan's unassuming position, he actually held a crucial piece of information that would later prove very important to the Harrier.

For procedure's sake, Harrier headed to the next room. The waterbender seemed to be waiting for him. She had a very resigned look in her eyes.

"Promise not to kill me and I can tell you something he didn't," She said flatly.

"You have a deal," Harrier said. The elderly waterbender let out a small sigh of relief.

"They left me lying around while they talked about their plans," She said. "Said something about going to see 'Sorikami". Hopefully that means more to you than it does to me."

It did. Sorikami had been one of their targets for observation when they were first moving into the Fire Nation. She had a connection to the Avatar that could not be ignored. Unfortunately, the city around her was unpopulated, so it had been impossible to station an agent there to observe her without the swordswomen noticing. She was intensely paranoid and reclusive, actively chasing away anyone who tried to get close to her. The Harrier often wondered what a woman of Sorikami's talents was so afraid of.

"That's very helpful," The Harrier assured her. He turned to leave.

"Don't suppose an old lady could bother you for a favor," She said. She rattled the chains on her hands.

"I don't make a habit of freeing convicted criminals."

"Yeah, like you're so upstanding," She coughed. The Harrier glared at her. "No offense. Just leave me here to die, if that's what you want."

"Your crimes won't get you that kind of sentence," The Harrier said. She was a common bandit, the worst sentence she'd face was hard labor.

"It isn't these stupid villagers I'm worried about," The waterbender said. "I got one of those Water Tribe vigilantes after me. The kind that only give one sentence. I don't get out of here soon, he'll catch up."

The Harrier had heard of them, a group calling themselves the Coast Watch or some nonsense. He didn't know much about the Water Tribes, though. They would be one of the last places the Avatar would possibly visit, so very little attention had been paid to them. The Energybender was only interested in them because it was easier to enter the Spirit World through the Northern and Southern portals than through Korra's Portal.

The Harrier left the waterbender behind. Whatever fate befell her was her own fault, not his. He returned to his vehicle, finding that Duga had managed not to screw anything up, much to his surprise, and they continued on their hunt for the Avatar. He spread the word that Sorikami was their next target as they headed for the master's castle.


	21. Book 2 Ch6: Leaders and Followers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ada trains under the harsh instruction of Sorikami. Harrier and the Imperfects continue their search for the Avatar.

Keeping Gun in check had occupied most of Suda's time for the past week. The badgermole heard his commands but simply didn't care; Gun was still waiting for Sen to come back to him. The sight of Suda trying to tame an emotional badgermole was amusing for Ada, but Sorikami seemed to be keeping Suda at arm's length for reasons Ada didn't quite understand. Sorikami had never been comfortable around Suda, not since the first day they'd met.

Sorikami had been treating Ada about the same as usual. The sword master was helping Ada distract herself from her emotions by doing sword drills and other training exercises. Ada was glad to have something to take her mind off of things, especially when the distraction was as enriching as learning from a master like Sorikami. She'd always dreamed of learning from a real master; the instructors in Zaofu were talented, but nothing special, and her independent study could only take her so far.

She was surprised at how she'd fallen out of practice in recent weeks. Her body seemed sluggish and unresponsive compared to what it had once been. The crude haircut she had given herself at Tunuk Bay was hardly helping either; it was no longer long enough to pull back in a braid, and the short strands kept sweeping into her face. Sorikami noticed every time she had to flick the errant strands aside. Ada didn't know how she was being graded, but that would probably count against her.

Ada went through the final steps of the Jie Lan form, carefully measuring her steps and the sweep of her arm. Her muscle memory wasn't quite up to par, but her mind was still a steel trap. It didn't come as naturally as before, but she could still retrace every step and every movement of the form. It wasn't easy, but it was still perfect.

"You're slipping," Sorikami said, instantly demolishing Ada's self-esteem. "Your form is exceptional, but it's too relaxed."

Sorikami stood up and guided Ada's hand and feet into place, tapping them lightly until she felt satisfied with Ada's pose.

"You're relying too much on what feels natural. The proper way to do this is to follow the stances exactly. Every step, every movement, must be perfect. You cannot make exceptions simply because it is comfortable or convenient."

Sorikami knew exactly what had happened to Ada, but if she spelled it out for the girl it would only hurt her progress. Ada had lost her passion. Where once she had loved combat, taken pleasure out of violence, there was now emptiness. She had been shown the real face of conflict; it was a horrible, ugly beast that devoured the people you loved. She could no longer enjoy fighting having lost someone so close to her to violence. Sorikami understood the feeling. This was the proper way to use a sword, though. One had to completely divorce oneself from the emotion of combat. Those who enjoyed combat, found any kind of art in it, would eventually walk down a dark path.

Sorikami needed to teach her discipline, not emotion, to make Ada into a new warrior. She would need to relearn much, maybe even everything, but Sorikami knew that she was more than capable of destroying any trace of the old Ada.

"I know that," Ada admitted. "I just need time to remind myself how to do all of this. I need to practice."

"You need to reconnect with yourself," Suda advised. Sorikami's eyes briefly lit up with surprise. She wasn't used to people being able to sneak up on her. Suda had a way of doing it regularly.

"I've got an idea about that," Suda said. Sorikami excused herself, muttering something under her breath. Ada watched her go, wondering why she was avoiding Suda so deliberately.

"How long has it been since you called home? Talked to your mom and dad, your boyfriend, all of them?"

Ada had been toying with idea for a long time, but had never gotten around to it. She couldn't think of anything to say. She knew in the back of her head that all her friends and family back in Zaofu would be happy just to hear her voice, but the thought of having to explain the things she'd done recently turned her off the idea. She had abandoned an entire city to be destroyed, and then one of her friends. She didn't know how she could tell the people who'd trusted her that she had failed so spectacularly.

"I'm not sure what I would say," She mumbled.

"Anything would work," Suda said. "There are a lot of people out there saying the Avatar's dead, Ada. They knew you were travelling with him, what are they going to think?"

Suda had a point. Ada had been much too concerned with her own feelings about reconnecting with her loved ones. She hadn't thought about what they were going through. She mumbled something about finding a phone and wandered into the city.

Gai Zhu was as typical a Fire Nation town as you might find; modern architecture and technology rapidly coming to dominate more archaic structures and methods. The Fire Nation had come to embrace technology much more strongly than other nations over the past century. The mysterious technology roadblock that affected all others affected them as well, but they were quicker to adapt to the innovations that already existed. Satomobiles, Televarricks and telephones were all much more commonly found in small towns like Gai Zhu. It was fairly easy for Ada to find a telephone that could get her to Ko Rin. Canto and her parents would not have a transcontinental phone line, so he would have to give messages through her master.

The phone rang a few times, and she began to wonder if Ko Rin would even answer. The thought set her heart pounding even harder until the moment Ko Rin picked up the line and offered a greeting.

"Hello, would you like to cut your electric bill?"

It felt stupid to say the line, but it was one of the safety measures Ko Rin had established for her. If he said "Not interested" it would mean their conversation was not private.

"Ada," Ko Rin said, sounding genuinely surprised. "Are you alright?"

The elderly Spymaster had not heard a word of Ada's progress since she had gone rogue at Zaofu. Ko Rin was surprised to hear from her at all.

"I'm fine, Master Ko Rin," Ada said. It was surprisingly comforting to hear his voice again.

"We've all been worried about you," Ko Rin said. He had once been planning to chastise her about abandoning her post, but he decided to skip that in light of recent events. "We heard rumors that the Avatar had been attacked, and then our operations began to be compromised."

"What do you mean," Ada said. Her fingers tensed around the phone receiver. "Is everyone alright?"

"We are all fine," Ko Rin assured her. "We've had to move our base of operations several times since the attack at Tunuk Bay. We were worried that they might have captured you and interrogated you."

Her heart skipped a beat. The Energybender knew about her allies, knew about Canto. In one way it was concerning because her friends and loved ones were at risk, but there was a bittersweet edge to it. Someone had to give the Energybender that information. Hanjo. She had always suspected that the Energybender would keep him alive long enough to be interrogated. Part of her hoped that he was still locked up somewhere, waiting to be rescued, but part of her also wondered if the Energybender was capable of such mercy. There was no way to know Hanjo's fate just yet.

"No, it wasn't me," Ada explained. "Hanjo- you remember the Avatar's companion- he stayed behind at Tunuk Bay to let us escape."

"I see," Ko Rin said. "Pass along my condolences to the Avatar."

"I will," Ada said. They were still prevented from seeing Sen by their promise to Hayao, but they would have to see him eventually. She did have one other concern at the moment.

"Could I talk to Canto," She asked. "Or my parents?"

She had said a short goodbye to Canto, and that made it a little easier to be apart from him, but she had never had a chance to say goodbye to her own parents. She still regretted that. Canto would have said goodbye for her, but it was something she should have said herself.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, at the moment. I will be sure to pass along word of your safety, though. They have all been very worried."

She was not surprised to hear that, but it still hurt. If Ko Rin's operation had been compromised, the security of Zaofu was at risk. That was more important than Ada's emotions. She sighed and asked one more question.

"When will I be able to talk to them again?"

"I'm sorry, Ada, but for now I have to ask you to keep your distance," Ko Rin said. "The security breach mostly concerns your role in our operation. Our enemies will be looking for any sign of you. It is better if you not contact Zaofu except in an emergency."

"Are you sure?"

"Your Spymaster commands it," Ko Rin said. Ada blinked involuntarily. Something in her eye, maybe. She sighed heavily. Ada had known as soon as she'd heard of the breach that this would be coming, but she had been hoping against hope that it wouldn't be the case.

"I understand. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Ada. Stay safe, stay strong."

The phone line went dead, and Ada was left alone. This was not what she had wanted. When she had left Zaofu, when she had left Canto and her parents, she had not imagined responsibility would be this hard. She known that protecting the Avatar would be no easy task, but she had never imagined being cut off from her home and her loved ones completely.

She meandered back to the outskirts of Gai Zhu with her head hung low and her shoulders drooped. Suda had been trying to make idle conversation with an obstinate Sorikami, but he put his attempts on hold when he saw Ada return. His excitement quickly turned to awkward regret when he saw the forlorn look on Ada's face.

"What happened?"

"I can't call home again," Ada moped. Sorikami stared accusingly at Suda. Ada noticed that.

"Jeesh." Suda rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's complex," Ada said. "It's not your fault."

Sorikami thought to herself that it was entirely Suda's fault. Still, this was a positive advancement, to Sorikami's mind, for Ada's training. Losing contact with her friends and family would only aid Ada in letting go of her old self.

"I mean, it was my idea to have you call home. If I'd known it was going to end up like that-"

"It was a good idea, Suda," Ada interrupted. Calling home hadn't helped much at all, but mustering the motivation to do so had been a step forward. "Thank you for trying to help."

Sorikami watched warily as Ada reassured her friend. Suda eventually felt better and returned to his caretaking of Gun. As soon as he was gone, Ada shot a glare at Sorikami. The swordswoman melted under the gaze of her pupil.

"I suppose you've noticed, then. Your awareness certainly has not suffered."

"You might as well be wearing it around your neck," Ada accused. "What's your issue with Suda?"

"You can have your answer when you earn it," Sorikami said. Ada contained a groan. Sorikami had used this trick a lot. She would withhold information, or the next step in training, until Ada performed to Sorikami's standards.

"So let me try," Ada said.

Sorikami scoffed at the idea that Ada could even hope to meet her standards. Nonetheless, the attempt would provide some opportunities for education. Sorikami decided to indulge her apprentice. The two took up a combat stance.

Ada hesitated slightly before making the first move. As she had expected, Sorikami quickly deflected the blow and retaliated. Ada couldn't block in time, and the flat of Sorikami's blade slammed against her arm. She had yet to be cut by Sorikami, but somehow the dull blows of the metal hurt more.

Ada took a step backwards, putting a little more room between herself and Sorikami. She started maneuvering her feet carefully, altering her position depending on the angle of her attack. Sorikami halted the duel.

"Stand still," She hissed. "Keep your feet on the ground where they belong."

Sorikami advised Ada on the appropriate stance, and the duel resumed. Ada tried to stay in a steady stance, but it made things more difficult. She had learned how to fight on her feet, staying in motion to gain the advantage. Sorikami was forcing her to fight against her nature.

"You must focus on developing a strict, regimented routine," Sorikami advised. It was easy for her to talk, since Ada was fighting at such a disadvantage. "Everything else is tertiary. Your advantage of age, the terrain, the high ground; these things can change from battle to battle. But if you remain constant, unchanging, you will enter every battle with the same advantage."

Ada took another step back and stopped attacking for a moment.

"But when I was learning with-"

Sorikami ignored Ada's attempt at a pause in the fighting and smacked her protégés forearm with the dull side of her sword, hard. Ada recoiled in pain.

"You are learning with me now," Sorikami said. "And you will listen to what I say. Understand?"

"Yes, master," Ada sighed.

"You've failed today. Keep listening to me and maybe one day you'll earn your explanations."

Ada glared silently at the ground.

"Ada," Sorikami said harshly.

"Yes, master," Ada mumbled. Sorikami left without another word, leaving Ada alone on the beach, buried in her failure.

***

"This looks like a dead end to me, boss," Duga grunted. Everything he said was a grunt, like he didn't know how to actually talk. The airbender had been annoying before, and he'd only gotten worse when reunited with the rest of the Imperfects.

The other three of them, Paz, Huel, and the worst of the bunch, an overly dramatic waterbender who insisted on being called "The Eel", were searching the remainder of Sorikami's castle. The Harrier was desperately hoping that Sorikami actually was here, and that she would kill one or more of the Imperfects. At the moment, it seemed like a pipe dream. The structure was clearly abandoned, much like the last time the Harrier had been here.

He had participated in the murder of Pendrak Ong more than a decade ago. Back then he had just been a footsoldier, a nameless servant of the current Energybender's older brother. He'd developed his technique for rapidly creating lightning, and his reputation, in the years since. Now he was the one ordering grunts to their deaths.

"We ain't got jack, boss," Paz shouted from a nearby doorway. She was the only girl (The Harrier was loathe to call her a woman) among the Imperfects, and she relished in their misplaced affection for her, bouncing around the oafish men at her whims. Harrier was willing to admit she was attractive, but her attitude made her about as appealing as spoiled milk.

"Hey, can we keep this place? There's a lot of silk around here, and you know how I like it."

"We leave no sign we were here," The Harrier commanded. "Put everything back where you found it."

He had heard the sound of cracking stone earlier, likely Huel tearing the place apart, that made him doubt they would really be able to cover their tracks. The Energybender, the most powerful person alive, had given them a standing order to be discrete, and yet Huel was literally tearing apart walls in his search. "The Eel" would probably spray paint his nickname on something as well. Apparently it was his trademark. The Harrier had destroyed no less than three cans of paint, and yet The Eel always found another one just in time to ruin Harrier's day.

The Eel returned from his search of the large courtyard at the back of Piandao's castle. He walked with a slow, awkward gait he liked to call his "slither", but it looked less like a slithering eel and more like a drunken idiot with a large log up his backside.

"Nothing out there either, Harrier."

That had been expected. The Harrier had assigned the Imperfects to the locations where he didn't expect to find anything, just so they wouldn't screw up the actual important search. The Harrier had put himself in charge of searching the library.

Harrier had thought he'd struck a goldmine for a moment, finding hundreds of books, maps, and manuscripts, but his opinion had quickly changed when he'd examined the contents. Every single one of these thousands of documents was about metalbenders. Biographies of famous metalbenders like Kuvira, analytical essays on what metalbenders were capable of, and, most commonly, combat manuscripts on how to counter metalbending.

This told them absolutely nothing about the Avatar, but it was an interesting fact about Sorikami. For some reason, she was absolutely terrified of metalbenders. That would be something to keep in mind if they ever crossed paths.

Huel slammed his way through a door, knocking the hinges loose, with Paz clinging to his shoulders. Huel was the current target of her "affections", so they were effectively inseparable. She would eventually move on to The Eel, as she had just recently partnered up with Duga, and after him the cycle would start over again. The Harrier had seen it happen far too many times during the search.

"There is nothing in the castle," Huel declared. He talked much too loudly and emphatically, taking a brief pause before shouting each word. It suited his bull-headed personality, and it made Harrier want to punch him in the teeth.

"See, dead end, just like I told you," Duga grunted. The Harrier slapped him in the face. Had it been anyone else, the other Imperfects would have jumped to his defense, but they were all terrified of Harrier's lightning. Also his throwing arm. The Harrier had an uncanny talent for throwing objects, usually at whoever annoyed him.

"Idiot. Sorikami left her castle for the first time in years. Where would she go and why?"

"S'not like there's anyone we can ask," Paz whistled. "All the people got scared off a long time ago."

"Just stay here," The Harrier commanded. "Don't touch anything else."

The Harrier turned his back on the Imperfects and headed into town. He had seen something suspicious earlier that bore investigating. The abandoned city of Shu Jing was quiet and hollow. For the first time in days, The Harrier felt something like peace. Despite the serenity, he had a mission to attend to.

The building he stopped in front of had clearly not collapsed of natural causes. Something had torn it down, deliberately, scattering the debris in unnatural patterns. Massive claw marks scored the ground. A badgermole had been here. Other than that, there were no signs of any naturally living thing. Harrier focused his attention on the more unnatural lives of the world.

Meanwhile, with nothing better to do, the Imperfects sat together to play one of their games. They had been split up for several weeks now; their reunion called for a celebration. The Eel produced a bottle from some hidden pocket of his robes and Duga produced his playing cards. He loved to show off his airbending by dealing the cards with bursts of air.

"This guy's getting on my nerves, I tell you what," Paz whined. Huel consoled her, and the affection immediately changed her mood. She was very easy to please.

"Thinks he can tell us what to do all day and all night," The Eel said. "Who does he think he is, our boss?"

"Our boss is exactly what he is," Huel shouted. He had a brick for a head, but he was loyal. Even if he often wasn't sure what he was loyal to.

"Our boss is the Energybender," The Eel grumbled. "That jerk's just a go-between. He's a wimp anyway. Telling us not to hurt the little guys, as if they matter."

"Hey, back it up," Duga said. "The Harrier is our boss, The Eel. Yeah, he's kind of a jerk, but he's in charge."

They played a round of cards in silence. None of them were exactly sure what game they were playing, but they played anyway.

"Anyway, I think we just got used to being lazy," Duga said. He picked up two cards. Huel shouted "King me". "More than a decade that Avatar was doing nothing, and we just sat around the Fire Nation getting fat."

"Speak for yourself," Paz said, lifting up her shirt to display her narrow waist. The Eel whistled, and Huel punched him in the jaw.

"The point is, we all got a little used to doing nothing," Duga continued. "Except for that Seventh Kingdom business, we ain't done much."

Other than the Energybender, the Seventh Kingdom uprising was the major event of this generation. After Howler had destroyed the White Lotus, a group of rebels had used the confusion to begin a military campaign to conquer Whale Tail island and territory in the United Earth Kingdom and establish a new, independent nation. It had not been successful.

Had they kept their military focus to just the Earth Nation, the Seventh Kingdom might have succeeded, but they had made the mistake of venturing into Southern Water Tribe territory. Once it became an international affair, they attracted the attention of the United Republic, and then the attention of General Rahm. Rahm had personally slaughtered most of their leadership, then vanished after the Seventh Kingdom surrendered. Some said that he was still hunting the last remnants of the Seventh kingdom.

"My point is," Duga continued. "We all got a little lazy, so now that we can't be lazy anymore, it's hard on us. We should just deal with it and follow the Boss's lead."

Reluctantly, the other three members of the Imperfects agreed. They would follow the Harrier, for now.

The Harrier himself sat in the streets of Shu Jing and centered his soul. He could feel spiritual energy here that had deliberately faded. Spirits had been here, but had left for some reason. He banished the hateful thoughts of the Imperfects from his mind and brought himself to a state of inner serenity. Sensing his calm, a single timid spirit crawled forth from the tangled vines.

"Why are you here," the spirit said. It was a repugnant creature, more like a puddle of mud than a living thing, but Harrier had need of it.

"I'm looking for someone I lost," The Harrier began. "I'd be very happy to see them again. Can you help me?"

"I see only a few people," The spirit squeaked. "But if one of them is lost, I can help!"

"Thank you very much, little spirit," The Harrier said patronizingly. The spirit didn't notice his condescending tone. "Tell me, were any of the people you saw the Avatar?"

"Yes," the mud spirit said cheerily. "He was very broken, though, and he made all my friends broken too. I didn't like that."

Now that was interesting. The Harrier knew that losing his friend would be hard on the Avatar, but if his grief was powerful enough to affect the local spirits, then he was having a worse time than anyone had suspected.

"What was so broken about him?"

"He was very hot. Like a furnace, but a person. So very, very hot inside him."

The Harrier had heard enough. That confirmed the information he'd gotten from the late Ronan and the waterbender bandit. Now that the lead was confirmed, he could pass on the information to the rest of the Energybender's forces. The entire army would know to look for Master Sorikami, and anyone who might be treating the Avatar. Harrier considered that a job well done, and returned, quite reluctantly, to the Imperfects.


	22. Book 2 Ch7: The Fire Lord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fire Lord comes to visit Hayao's island, and teaches the Avatar a dangerous lesson.

Camping on the beach had stopped being fun several days ago. For the first few weeks Suda had been just fine setting up a makeshift bed on the rocky coastline and waiting it out, but his patience had run a little thin. Sen could take several months to learn firebending; it was time Suda got himself a real bed.

Finding space in Gai Zhu was not exactly an easy task, though. There were several hotels, but none of them were willing to keep a tenant for several months. Moving between hotels every few weeks would be difficult as well as suspicious, so Suda was looking for rooms for rent. The Fire Nation money that Ada had gotten from her boss a long time ago could keep them supplied for a little less than a year if they spent it very frugally; it was only a matter of finding a place that fit under the "frugal" category.

After several hours of searching, he had found a decent place. It was a small rental house on the outskirts of town, which was a good thing considering the secrecy Ada insisted they maintain. It was a little small and run-down, but Suda wasn't planning on living there for very long. As soon as Sen was done with firebending they'd head out and never look back.

He made up his mind. All Suda needed to do now was get in touch with the landlord. He got back on the main road and headed back into the center of town. He drew a little more attention than he liked. It was hard for anyone over six feet tall to pull a low profile, and Suda was well above six feet. His appearance didn't help either; unlike Sen and Ada, who looked generic enough to fit into the Fire Nation citizens, Suda was quite distinctly an Earth citizen.

Being so tall did have one advantage, at least; he could see right over the top of most peoples heads. Even in the midst of a bustling town square, he could see an unmarked military vehicle park off the side street. He tried to act like he was doing something non-suspicious and observed the situation. The people who got out of the vehicle weren't wearing Energybender uniforms of any kind, rather dressing in professional business attire, but they were still acting fairly suspicious.

Suda watched two men get out of the vehicle and observe the city streets. They were not even bothering to hide what they were doing. People seemed to walk right around them as if it were an ordinary occurrence. One of the men scanned right over Suda and continued his appraisal of the city. Suda let out a sigh of relief and quietly snuck away to get back to Sorikami and Ada.

"You saw the earthbender, right Luan," the agent said to his partner.

"Naturally, Zouf."

"Looks like he might be worth tailing, right Luan?"

"Of course, Zouf."

Agents Luan and Zouf set out chasing Suda down. It was surprisingly hard. Suda had very little idea how to not look like a criminal, but he was really good at getting away from people chasing him. Luan and Zouf were professionals, though, and even the best bandit was not a match for their tracking skills. They followed Suda from a distance, all the way to the beach.

Suda hurdled a fence that separated the road from their beachside camp and sprinted over to Sorikami. She and Ada were practicing some sword technique he didn't recognize or care about, but they paused when they saw his panic. Suda pointed back at town and began to explain the situation without bothering to catch his breath.

"We got weird guys in suits," Suda gasped. "Doing suspicious stuff."

The weird guys in suits stepped around a corner and held up their hands in an attack pose. Their moves were oddly synchronized. Sorikami and Ada readied their blades. Their practices had tired them out a little bit, but they were still quite ready for a fight.

"Freeze, all of you-"

The speaker paused and stared Sorikami down for a moment. He fell out of his offensive stance.

"Hey, that's Master Sorikami, isn't it, Luan?"

"Looks like her, Zouf."

Sorikami lowered her blade, though she did not sheathe it just yet. Just because they recognized her did not mean they were friends.

Agent Zouf reached into an interior pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a silver badge with the symbol of the Fire Nation royal family on it. Sorikami put her blades away and the two young ones behind her relaxed. The two agents bowed to the master swordswoman.

"Master Sorikami, is this boy in your care?"

Suda thought about protesting; he was an adult, after all. He decided that it wasn't worth it to antagonize these two any further. Sorikami glanced at the metalbender hesitantly.

"I suppose," Sorikami said reluctantly. Now was not the time to share her distrust of the bandit metalbender. "What is your business with him?"

"We were evaluating this city for security reasons, and your friend was looking a little suspicious. We needed to investigate, just part of the job."

"Understandable," Sorikami said.

"Yeah, sorry about the confusion," Suda said. "It's just that last time suspicious guys rolled into town in a military vehicle, they killed one of my friends. Excuse me for being a little wary."

Luan and Zouf exchanged an awkward glance. They were eager to change the subject.

"So, I'm thinking the Comet Kid will want to see Master Sorikami, don't you think Luan?"

"I guess, Zouf."

Sorikami was puzzled by who would be looking for her and why. Agent Zouf reached to his belt and pulled out a radio. Before using it, he pointed to Ada and Suda.

"These two have got to go," Zouf said. Sorikami planted her feet.

"They are under my care," She protested. "They will stay until such time as I choose to dismiss them."

Zouf shrugged and walked away from the scene to talk on his radio in private. Luan stayed to stare them down. Suda asked what exactly was going on and who the "Comet Kid" was. Sorikami quickly shushed him. She could answer both questions, but chose to delay. If the time for answers came, she would explain everything, but right now it demanded she wait. Agent Zouf returned, having put away his radio.

"Comet Kid says he'll put up with whoever Sorikami keeps around. You sure these two can be trusted, Master Sorikami?"

Sorikami spared a quick glance to Suda. Ada caught the way she still looked at him. She had yet to receive an answer to that question.

"They can be," Sorikami finally said. "More than you know. I believe they will have something to offer today."

Zouf shrugged. He waited silently for whatever it was he was waiting for. Suda really didn't like much of this situation. His trust in the old swordswoman was wearing a bit thin. He wanted some answers. An armored vehicle, just like the one Zouf and Luan had arrived in, pulled up to the beach. Suda hoped it would have some answers. The satomobile's door opened, and an old man in plain robes stepped out, along with four more agents dressed identically to Zouf and Luan. Sorikami bowed when she saw the old man, and after a brief moment of shock, Ada did the same. Suda figured it would be a good idea to bow.

"Sorikami," The old man said. His voice was harsh and cruel, and he had a face to match. It did not seem to be age that damaged his complexion so; rather it was anger that gave his face so many lines. "I'm surprised to see you out of your castle, much less in the company of children."

"These are strange times, Fire Lord Goto."

Suda nearly hopped out of his shoes. Ada was maintaining a very rigid, formal posture, and Suda tried his best to mimic her. The Fire Lord rolled his eyes.

"At ease, children."

Ada relaxed, but only a little bit. She had never met anyone so important before, and all of Ko Rin's lessons on etiquette had faded from her mind. She did the best she could to remember, and Suda tried to mimic her. The Fire Lord saw the blatant display of formal showmanship and sneered. He turned his attention back to Sorikami.

"Are you on a visit to Master Hayao as well?"

"In a manner of speaking," Sorikami said. She recognized Goto's mocking tone. He knew that Hayao had never spoken to her. "What brings you to him today?"

Sorikami had deliberately avoided answering his question, and Goto didn't much like that. He kept his temper in check and glanced at the children flanking the Master. Something was at work here, he could already tell.

"I have been consulting with the wisest of the Fire Nation, in these troubling times," Goto explained. "There are those who believe the Avatar is dead. The situation is changing, and I must decide our course. I would consult with Hayao. Might as well meet with you too, since you're here."

Goto was not a wise man, but he was smart enough to know it about himself. When such intricate problems faced him, he sought the counsel of those much wiser than himself. Hayao was among the wisest, but also the hardest to reach, which annoyed Goto to no end. Sorikami was significantly less wise, paranoid old bat that she was, but since she was here, Goto might as well ask.

"I believe the children have more to offer than I do," Sorikami said. She stepped back and gestured for Ada to take the front. The young girl bowed nervously to the Fire Lord. She was shaking slightly despite all attempts to stop herself. Fire Lord Goto had a reputation for being judgmental.

The current Fire Lord was not quite as popular as his predecessors. It seemed as though the streak of goodwill from Fire Lord Zuko's heritage had finally run out. Goto was abrasive, short-tempered, and violent. Thanks to him, the Fire Nation had been the first country other than the Earth Kingdom to join the Seventh Kingdom war, and it had been on his recommendation that the brutal General Rahm had been promoted to leadership of the Coalition forces. Still, he was not necessarily a bad leader. Under his leadership, the Fire Nation had acquired the best educational system of any nation, and it's economy had been skyrocketing. Goto was, thus, tolerated, but not particularly liked. Ada nervously began speaking to him.

"Fire Lord, sir, I can put your mind at ease now, if I could just-"

She paused and looked to Suda and Sorikami. She did not get time to gauge their reactions before Fire Lord Goto yelled at her.

"Spit it out!"

"The Avatar is alive, Fire Lord!"

Goto raised his eyebrows. They had little points on them, right where they arched. Ada looked at him and noticed just about every part of him had points. Even parts of him that were supposed to be round, like his eyes, seemed oddly angular. He rubbed a hand across his pointed beard.

"Oh, I get it now," Goto said, amused. "You're the new round of teenage prodigies the Avatar is collecting. That makes you, what, the love interest? Have you gotten it done yet or are you playing the long game?"

Ada's face turned a brand new shade of crimson. Goto laughed at her embarrassment.

"She has a boyfriend, actually, a boyfriend who is not the Avatar," Suda interjected. "And I'm twenty, so…not actually a teenager, you know."

Goto stopped laughing and looked at Ada. The red faded from her face.

"Eh, I can respect that," Goto admitted. "Though on a different note, you're much too short. Now, short-stuff, tell me what the Avatar is like."

Ada almost launched into an explanation of Sen's history, but Goto quickly shut her up by holding up his hand for her to stop.

"Wait, no, never mind, I'll just ask them myself," Goto said. "No point wasting the time. He's at Hayao's island, right? Not hard to guess. Zouf! Bring the boat around."

Goto quite deliberately ignored Ada and Suda, speaking only to Sorikami as he waited for his vessel to come around. As soon as it did, he hopped aboard and sailed off without so much as a goodbye. Sorikami seemed to be glad that he was gone.

"He was kind of a jerk," Suda observed. Ada smacked him for disrespecting a world leader, but Sorikami nodded subtly.

"Despite his character failings, he is an ally," Sorikami said. "His family has long been tied to the Avatar."

"Not always for the best," Suda added. Ada smacked him again. Zouf and Luan watched the repeated acts of violence.

"You heard the kid call our boss a jerk, didn't you Luan?"

"Yes I did, Zouf."

"But you don't think we should tell the boss, because you also think he's a jerk, right Luan?"

"Yes I do, Zouf."

"Thought so."

***

Sen's training had been going fairly poorly so far, at least to his consideration. Miyani had limited the training regimen to focus on meditation, stances, and philosophy. It had been comfortable in the first few days, it had helped him deal with his emotions, but as days turned into weeks it was starting to get more and more tedious. Sen wasn't quite frustrated enough to press the issue yet, but he hoped they would be moving on to actual firebending soon.

He wondered if he had really dealt with the problems he was facing. He had learned to avoid using the name 'Sozin Syndrome' due to Hayao's distaste for the term, but the affliction still plagued him to an extent. No matter what he did, he still had nightmares, and though he wasn't quite as hot anymore, his skin was still warm to the touch. Maybe Miyani knew something about his condition that he didn't. Maybe their slow pace was his fault, not hers.

He wondered if it was his refusal to talk about Hanjo that was causing him so much trouble. Miyani kept asking him about Hanjo, and Sen always refused. Miyani was apathetic; she didn't really care about Hanjo, she just thought knowing would help her do her job. It might have been much easier to talk to her if she actually cared, but she didn't.

They were sitting back to back now, atop a small stone pillar overlooking the ocean. Miyani had done this much more often lately, hunting down quiet places overlooking the ocean, and not interacting with Sen while they trained. Sen wondered if she was this passive by nature, or if he had done something to make her act this way.

He heard footsteps on the beach and resisted the urge to investigate. Miyani had urged him to ignore all distractions and focus on the self. It became harder to ignore the distraction when it demanded your attention.

"Hey, dynamic duo," The stranger commanded. "Your Fire Lord needs you."

Sen could feel Miyani rise behind him, so he followed suit. Turning his attention to the new arrival, he saw the heavily lined face of a bitter-looking old man standing in the fog. Miyani gave the Fire Lord a very stiff bow. Goto nodded back. They seemed to recognize each other, though they didn't seem to like one another.

"Miyani, you should go," the Fire Lord snorted. He turned to Sen. "You stay."

Miyani left, and Sen watched her go as the crotchety old Fire Lord clambered his way onto the rocky pillar. He grunted from the exertion and gave a deep sigh as he settled down.

"Nice to meet you, Avatar. I'm Fire Lord Goto."

Sen sat down. He had no reason to distrust the Fire Lord. It would be nice to talk to someone who really had the power to change the world. Maybe he could get something done for once.

"Hayao told me all about you. Sorry about your buddy Hanjo."

Goto's voice was naturally harsh, but even his ragged words could be tinged with sympathy. Sen did not reply. Goto continued. Hayao had told him of the Avatar's plight, and what the masked one was doing to help the Avatar overcome it. As usual, Hayao was taking things in a gentle, passive manner. Goto had no patience for that. The world needed saving, and the Avatar was going to save it. The Fire Lord had some plans to give him a little push.

"I think I know a little of what you're going through. You want to act one way, the world forces you to do something else. Why, if it were up to me, we would've all joined hands and burned the Energybender to the ground a long time ago. But as soon as I propose it to the military, everybody says 'oh no, it'll be the Hundred Year War all over again.' Feh. The Fire Nation was neutered by all that nonsense. I can't apply a little pressure without everyone calling me the next Ozai."

Goto realized his lecture was getting a little self-centered and got himself back on topic.

"Anyway, the lesson here is how to deal with opposing forces. To find the balance that exists in the middle. You've got to understand why the world makes you do things you don't want to do, and how you can do things the world doesn't want you to do."

Goto stood up and flexed his arms. He was hardly out of shape, but it paid to stretch before exerting yourself.

"What do you know about firebending, Avatar?"

"Not much," Sen admitted. "We've been dealing with 'inner peace' first."

"Well, I can still work with that," Goto said. "Let me show you what you're working towards."

Goto had long since come to terms with the burdens he had to bear. He swept his left hand in a broad circle, focusing on the burdens he was forced to bear as a result of Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai. He matched the motion with his right hand, tracing a circle in the air as he focused on the privileges of his station, all the good he had brought into the world because of his birthright as Fire Lord.

The opposing traits given to him by his birth clashed in the middle, creating a sharp burst of energy. He focused the energy, directing it outwards to his fingertips.

A massive crack of thunder and a roaring burst of power heralded the release of the conflicting energies. The lightning stormed from his fingertips, arcing through the foggy air. The bolt of screaming electricity collided with the ocean, boiling the water and sending sparks crackling through the waves.

The display of power was over as soon as it began, and Fire Lord Goto drew his hands back. Sen was suitably impressed by the show of force. Goto smiled smugly.

"Very impressive, right?"

Many people said Goto was supernaturally gifted as a firebender due to the fact that he'd been born on the day Sozin's Comet passed overhead. Personally, he thought that theory was idiotic. He was a good firebender because he had worked hard at it. The first few times he'd tried lightning generation he had failed spectacularly. He was very familiar with the cost of failure when it came to lightning.

"That was great, sir," Sen said sheepishly. When even the Avatar was cowed by a display of power, you knew you were good. Goto continued his lecture in a self-assured tone.

"That is what comes when you have the strength to find the balance," Goto said. "Why don't you try?"

Sen had a sneaking suspicion that it was not a good idea. He shook his head, but Goto insisted.

"You're the Avatar, kid," Goto said. "Nothing is beyond your potential. Bloodbending, lavabending, lightning- you name it, the Avatar can do it."

"I just don't know if I'm ready for it."

"You'll never know unless you try. Aren't you getting sick of waiting around?"

Sen nodded, but he still wasn't sure of this idea. Jumping right into lightning without even learning firebending first seemed like a bad idea. Goto continued to insist, and he had learned to be very persuasive.

"Look at where you are, what you've been through. If anyone ever needed to find the balance between good and bad, it's you. Make it happen."

The Fire Lord had a point. Sen could only get so far by repressing his negative emotions, at some point he had to harness them, use them to his advantage. Sen stood up and accepted Goto's teaching. The Fire Lord demonstrated the motions for lightning generation and informed Sen of the methodology. Goto was very quick to tell Sen he was ready.

"Now, give it a try."

Sen took a deep breath and went through the motions. His left hand circled, drawing with it all the guilt and anger he felt, and his right hand mirrored it, dragging behind with all the joy he'd experienced. The two met in the middle.

He felt a spark of pain in his stomach and had just a brief moment to panic before blinding agony turned the whole world black. The last thing he remembered was a loud sound in his ears, though he never could remember if it was a side effect of the pain or the sound of his own screaming.

***

Miyani was glad to have a little time to herself. Training Sen was an interesting diversion, and an enlightening experience, but having to deal with another person so often was a significant distraction. She tried to use the short reprieve to return to her own meditation, but found she could not. She did not know why Master Hayao had placed Sen in her care, and try as she might she could not understand a possible reason for it. What was different about Sen that demanded her meager wisdom? The arrival of the Fire Lord was yet another layer of curiosity. Why would the Fire Lord himself be so interested in Sen?

Miyani's attempts to center herself were further distracted by the sound of slow, plodding footsteps and heavy breathing. She ignored the sounds and turned her thoughts inwards.

"Hey, beanstalk, I'm here to give your student back."

Miyani opened her eyes and looked up at the figure standing in front of her. Her impressions of the Fire Lord's nickname for her were immediately cast aside by the sight of an unconscious Sen slung over his shoulders. The Fire Lord tactlessly dumped Sen onto the ground in front of Miyani and stretched his aching shoulders.

"What happened to him?"

"Oh, well don't sound so concerned," Fire Lord Goto said sarcastically. Miyani's tone was as blank as ever. "He only electrocuted himself."

"Why did he do that," Miyani asked. She placed her hand on Sen's forehead. The bandages around her hand made it hard to feel his temperature or his heartbeat.

"Because I told him to," Goto said cheerily. He turned around and began to vanish into the fog, heading back towards his boat. He had no desire to spend time around Miyani. Miyani had the same sentiment in regards to Goto, but she still had questions about Sen.

"Why did you tell him that?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Goto replied. He was now just a silhouette in the fog. "There's other ways to get answers."

The Fire Lord took another step away and vanished completely in the bank of mist that surrounded the island. Miyani tried to lift Sen off the ground, and was just barely able to do it. Despite her height, she wasn't strong, and she barely held Sen up on the short march to Hayao's chamber. Exhausted and confused, Miyani asked the Master for his help.

There was no response.

"He could be hurt," Miyani said. "Should I take him into the city? Can I do something myself?"

There was no response. Hayao sat motionless amidst his circle of candles, observing the world through the hollow eyes of his mask. He paid no mind to either of his students. Miyani didn't bother asking twice. Hayao did this often. He spoke for his own reasons, and stayed silent when he wanted to. Miyani would have to do this alone. The candles surrounding Hayao flickered slightly as Miyani carried Sen away again.


	23. The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running out of patience at last, Sen defies Hayao's orders and pays a visit to his friends in the city of Gai Zhu.

Miyani told him that the electrocution was nothing to worry about. It had been a weak thing, not likely to do any long-term damage, and Sen would recover perfectly in time. Never once did she show any emotion, any sign that she really cared.

Sen was getting so very tired of dealing with Miyani, Hayao, and the quiet of this godforsaken island. There were several other people on Hayao's island, but nobody would speak to him. Miyani and Hayao only spoke when they wanted to teach him something. The longer he stayed here, the lonelier he felt. It was starting to drive him mad.

He had been here for several weeks now, stalling out completely under Miyani's tedious training. In less time than he had spent learning nothing at all about firebending, he had met all of his friends, learned Earthbending, and had several adventures. Now he was spending his days sitting on rocks and breathing a lot. Occasionally Miyani had him run through some stances. He was doing so now, repeating the same motions he'd repeated over and over again.

Miyani was observing him now, not demonstrating. Sen had memorized these stances weeks ago, he no longer needed her example. Her observations were just as frustrating as her lessons; her face was so expressionless Sen could never tell when he was doing well or doing poorly. The blank amber eyes just stared him down without any kind of emotion.

"What would you think of me doing some study on my own?"

"What exactly do you mean, Sen?"

"I mean, I want to go off on my own for a little while. Head to the other side of the island for a few days and meditate on my own. I feel like it would help me a lot."

"Wisdom can be found in introspection. If that's what you want, feel free to do so."

Miyani and Sen hashed out the details of Sen's departure. Sen wanted to do it as soon as possible. Obviously he wasn't really going to go that far out of his way just to sit on a different rock. He figured if he did it right he could spend a few days with Suda and Ada and be back before Miyani noticed.

He looked out at the foggy coastline. It wouldn't be hard to fool the apathetic Miyani. Getting there would be the hardest part.

***

Ada was really glad to have a roof over her head again. Before departing from the city, Fire Lord Goto had helped them acquire some decent accommodations. He'd also left his two agents behind for security reasons, but Ada had seen very little of them. The duo had gone incognito, watching over them from a distance. Ada didn't mind at all. Their dialogue had gotten a little tiresome after a while.

Ada got out of bed and got dressed. She had always liked the Fire Nation fashion sense, so she was glad she got to make it her wardrobe. She was dreading the day they got the Water Tribe. The thought of all that fur made her skin crawl.

Despite the fact that they had a place to call their own now, Ada and her companions still spent most of their time on the beach. It was secluded enough for them to talk openly, and it made a good practice area for Ada and Sorikami's sword lessons. It was also where Gun spent most of his time, although his appearances had been rarer and rarer lately.

Gai Zhu was a lively place at any time of day, even in the early morning. Tahu Island was the last major island before the Fire Nation mainland, so Gai Zhu was an important port. As Ada walked down the sidewalk towards the beach she saw all sorts of things and people. A lot of people had gathered in front of the local electronics store for some reason. Ada crept her way through the crowd, which was not a difficult task given her small size.

The TeleVarrick in the electronics store window was the main draw of the crowd. Ada had been hoping for a news broadcast, but it was just a Republic City pro-bending match, broadcast as ever in blurry black and white. The sport had gotten a little more interesting ever since they'd officially integrated airbenders, but Ada still had better things to do with her time. She wormed her way back out of the crowd and headed for the beach.

With the crowded city streets behind her, Ada picked up the pace. All the sword exercises she had been doing had gotten her into excellent shape physically, at least. She still had a very troubled mind, and Sorikami's lessons were causing her no small amount of stress. She often went to the beach early to practice on her own, so that she could try to remember the skills she had without Sorikami constantly dismantling her

She hopped the beachside fence to find that Gun was above ground, pressing his face into something. Probably some subterranean animal he'd dug up and was eating. Ada kept her distance from the badgermole until she began to hear muffled cries of protest from underneath Gun's massive body. She examined the edge of Gun's stomach and saw a leg sticking out from under the mass of fur. Gun was pressing his head against something and nuzzling it less than gently.

Ada pressed her arms against the badgermole and pushed. She had absolutely none of the strength required to move Gun, but he had a tendency to avoid anyone who wasn't an earthbender, and as he sensed Ada get closer and start to touch him, he backed away from whoever he had pinned. Ada was shocked to see Sen gasping as he was released from Gun's weight.

"That stopped being fun after fifteen minutes," Sen mumbled. He spat out a lump of badgermole fur that had gotten stuck in his mouth. Immediately afterwards, he threw his arms open wide and grabbed Ada in a bear hug that was significantly more bear-like for the massive amounts of fur stuck to Sen. As he released a surprised Ada from his grasp, he apologized for the mess and started brushing the hair off of both of them.

"What are you doing here? Did you finish training?"

"No, I actually- Well, I just came to visit. I need to talk to someone. I mean, someone I actually like."

Sen gave her a weak smile as he said the last few words. The smile warmed Ada's heart, but his act of defiance against Hayao's orders was more important. Hayao was trying to teach Sen to make his own decisions, and breaking away from his teacher and directly disobeying Hayao's orders was very decisive. Maybe Sen was closer to being done than she thought.

"So, where are you, then? How's your firebending coming?"

"I haven't done anything at all," Sen moped. He sat down on a rock on the beach. Gun placed his head at his masters heels, sighing contentedly. Ada sat down on another nearby stone and listened to Sen. The fact that he hadn't learned any firebending was a bit of a damper on Ada's hopes of change, but there was still a chance that he was making progress in other ways.

"I haven't made so much as a spark. Except for the time the Fire Lord talked me into electrocuting myself, of course."

"What?"

Ada had thought Fire Lord Goto was a bit of a jerk, but she hadn't imagined that he would cause anyone, least of all the Avatar, to come to any real harm.

"He convinced me to try making lightning," Sen groaned. "It's practically my fault for falling for it, but still. It didn't end well."

"Are you okay?"

His skin still felt crispy in some places, but overall Sen was fine. Ada was glad to hear that. She was well-acquainted with the side effects of electrocution. Permanent nerve damage was not something she wanted Sen to be dealing with.

"I just really thought I could do it," Sen sighed. "He made so much sense, talking about how I was being pulled two different ways."

"How so?"

Sen took a minute to focus. The events immediately surrounding his self-electrocution had been rendered somewhat fuzzy. It took him a minute to remember the exact details of the Fire Lord's lessons. Even when he'd done so, he got interrupted. Any further attempt at discussion was cut short by an exuberant cry from the distance. In a few short seconds, Suda had vaulted over the fence and onto the beach, slamming down on a seat next to Sen and putting his arm around the Avatar.

"Sen! Good to see you, Avatar. How's it going?"

"I got electrocuted," Sen said. He then reiterated the whole story of Fire Lord Goto's visit to Suda and Ada. They winced at his vivid description of the pain of electrocution. Suda especially. The cut Ada had given him had healed long ago into a rather neat-looking scar, but he distinctly remembered the pain of the electric shock.

"Training has been kind of awful over all," Sen moped. "All I've gotten out of it so far is boredom and pain."

"Is it really that bad? What's that Miyani person doing with you anyway?"

"Not much," Sen said. "I've got the stances memorized, and I'm pretty good at the breathing stuff, but I haven't made any progress in firebending yet."

Sen's frustration was obvious. Suda could practically hear his teeth grinding. Gun got up and pawed at the ground, clearly sensing his masters frustration.

"It's been weeks. Why aren't you doing any real bending?"

"Eh, I think Miyani's the monk type. She's been removed from the world for so long she forgot that some people have deadlines. I can't really tell her I'm the Avatar, so she doesn't think there's any hurry."

"What's she like, anyway," Ada asked. "Why would Master Hayao partner her with you?"

Their last chat with Hayao had led Ada to believe that he was a schemer. Ada hoped they could figure out what the masked master intended for Sen to learn from Miyani.

"She doesn't do much. She doesn't really have emotions, or opinions, or anything. She's really tall, though, and she wears wraps around her arms and head. And her shoulder too, almost forgot."

"What, like bandages? If she's got scars, that would explain why she's so slow on firebending. Maybe she's afraid."

"Well, it depends," Ada said. "If they were burn scars, those can be an accident. Cuts, though, that would mean someone was trying to hurt her."

Sen put his head in his hands. He didn't know for sure if Miyani really was scarred at all, but if she was, it might explain her hesitation in firebending.

"Someone like that probably has a lot of issues," Suda said. "You should try to be a little more understanding."

"Yeah, like I don't have issues," Sen said. He sighed forlornly. "Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm meant to be like her. I should just stop caring."

Suda sensed that this line of thought was going to go south very fast, so he changed the topic. He sprang out of his seat and hopped across the rocky beach, grabbing up a stone and circling it around himself.

"I learned some new earthbending moves," Suda said. "I figure I can teach you a few more things."

"Wait, I thought I was done with earthbending."

"Not hardly," Suda said. "You're good enough that you can learn firebending, but you've still got a lot of work to do. You're not a master yet, kid."

Ada stepped up and pushed Suda's rock out of the way. He didn't like that, so he pushed the rock right back into place. Ada was not going to play this back-and-forth game with him, so she stared him down until he dropped the stone to the ground. Gun sniffed curiously at the earthbending display.

"Sen shouldn't do any earthbending this close to town. We've been snuck up on before."

Sen nodded his head, agreeing with Ada. Suda picked the rock back up anyway.

"Well, there's nothing stopping me from demonstrating, is there?"

Ada shrugged. As long as Suda was the only one earthbending, it should be fine. He was obviously from the Earth Nation anyway, with the way his skin and hair looked. Sen and Ada had a healthy dose of racial ambiguity on their side.

Suda demonstrated a few of the moves he had picked up. He chose a few rocky pillars to act as his targets, and then unleashed a volley of arcing attacks at them, explaining the methodology behind them as he did. Everything he'd learned recently was oriented towards using small, tactical strikes to control the opponents motion. Sen was unfamiliar with the techniques, but Ada was more cultured.

"Suda, have you been pro-bending?"

"Yeah, I've been going to the local gym a lot," Suda said. "I don't have any mysterious master like you two, so I figured I'd keep myself in shape. Turns out there's a big demand for earthbenders in the local pro-bending groups. I help the teams practice."

Suda had been a complete amateur a few days ago, but as soon as he'd lifted a rock while a crowd was watching, he'd gotten a dozen offers to join practice teams and scrimmage groups. There were plenty of firebenders to go around in Gai Zhu, but far fewer earthbenders and waterbenders. Anyone who wanted a complete team had to do a lot of searching. Suda had never been so popular before.

Sen was a little interested in Suda's new pastime, but something else he'd said also deserved some attention.

"Speaking of training, how's yours going, Ada?"

He and Ada had parted on oddly awkward terms, and though he suspected that they had both gotten over it in the intervening weeks, he needed to show Ada he cared. It would be the first step in patching up their fractured friendship.

"Very slowly," Ada said. "I'm having to learn everything all over again, like I'm an amateur."

"Nothing wrong with that," Suda said. "Even I lift pebbles now and then, just to work on the basics."

Suda was a little disappointed they weren't talking about his pro-bending antics, since he had a lot of stuff he wanted to brag about, but he knew Ada needed to talk as much as anyone. He took a seat once again and listened while Ada bared her heart.

"I know that practice is a good thing, but I can't shake this feeling," She began. "It's like I never really knew these things in the first place. I thought I was so fantastic, that I was really ready to learn from a master like Sorikami. Now I can see what a real master is, though. I'm not even close."

Sorikami's lessons had focused much more on what Ada was doing wrong than teaching her to do things right. Every time Ada moved, Sorikami pointed out some flaw in her stance, some error in her footwork. It was wearing Ada down, being treated like an idiot at every step. In all the weeks they'd been training, Sorikami had never once given her anything resembling praise.

"Hey, of course you feel bad when you compare yourself to Sorikami," Sen said. "I mean, imagine if an amateur had to compare themselves to you. They'd feel the same way."

Suda raised an eyebrow, and Sen suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. Somehow he could feel an idea forming in Suda's head.

"So, let's work with that. Ada, give Sen one of your swords."

Ada gave Suda a wordless stare. She couldn't imagine why he would suggest that.

"Come on, you need a confidence boost. Once you see Sen flail around a little, you'll feel a lot better."

Sen actually liked that idea. It would be a good chance to make Ada feel better, and it might even be a little bit fun. He walked over to Ada and held his hand out. She rolled her eyes and handed over one of her two swords. Sen grabbed it by the blade and waved it around, pointing the pommel at Ada.

"Am I doing it right?"

It got a chuckle out of Suda, but Ada only seemed slightly amused. Sen took hold of the sword, the right way this time, and tried to mimic Ada's stances. Ada seemed more entertained by his amateurish stance than his joke.

"No, like this," Ada said, and she demonstrated the right way to do it. Sen had gotten uncannily good at mimicking other people, and he replicated the stance with surprising speed. Teaching someone else felt surprisingly good for Ada. Maybe Suda's idea wasn't so bad after all.

Sen was a fast learner, but the way of the sword was complex, and even hours of training wouldn't be enough to get through the basics. An impatient Suda demanded sparring, and Sen seemed willing to oblige. Ada restrained herself to basic moves, and went through a little bit of swordplay with Sen.

The Avatar was less than amateurish, he'd never held a sword before in his life. Anyone who could wield all four elements would have no need to wield a sword, but it was still amusing for Ada. She had never actually conceived it was possible for someone to be this bad. She casually flicked her wrist to deflect even the most skillful of Sen's blows. Was this what Sorikami felt like all the time? She could get used to the feeling.

"I don't even need my left hand," Ada said playfully. She held her arm behind her back just to rub it in.

Sen tried a thrusting blow, and Ada carefully spiraled her wrist to spin the blow away from her. It really was too easy. She'd almost had enough of this, but she let Sen get in a few more awkward attempts before shutting down the sparring practice. She did feel much better. Sen felt a little emasculated, but he could see a smile on Ada's face, and that made him feel better. He handed her sword back and they returned to their seats. Ada sighed, quite satisfied.

"That actually does feel better," Ada said.

"I know what I'm talking about sometimes," Suda said smugly. He looked at Sen, who looked a little tired, but otherwise happy. Sen was glad to see Ada smiling again. Something about her felt warmer than before. Suda had figured the experience would help him as well. The Avatar had a natural urge to help people.

Sen wondered where that urge came from. Was it something he was born with, as the Avatar? He couldn't really recall any life experiences that would give him that empathy, the desire to help people. In the orphanage he'd been fairly apathetic to everything, even the suffering of others. It was only after he'd met Hanjo that the urge to protect had come to him.

His heart sank. That had been the last thing Hanjo had ever said to him. "The Avatar's got to help people." Suda saw the sudden frown on his face and changed the subject rapidly.

"Hey, Sen, if you want, I could probably ask my pals at the gym to give you some firebending advice. If Miyani won't teach you, someone else might as well."

Sen shook his head. He wasn't willing to go that far. Even though he was visiting his friends in defiance of Hayao's orders, he still believed he should learn firebending at the island. Master Hayao was needlessly mysterious and Miyani was needlessly slow, but he felt he had something important to learn from them.

"If that's what you want," Suda shrugged. "But keep it in mind, alright?"

Ada scooted closer to Suda and whispered a word of warning to him. Hayao had advised them that Sen needed to stop relying on other people. If Suda and Ada were still holding his hand at every step, he wouldn't learn anything. Suda kept his suggestions to himself from then on. He changed the subject completely.

"Uh, yeah, maybe it isn't such a good idea anyway. If you could earthbend around town, you'd be real popular at the gym, but I don't think they need more firebenders."

"I'm surprised a pro-bending circuit found success here," Ada said. "If earthbenders are so rare, where are they getting airbenders?"

"Well, that's the thing," Suda explained. "When the Republic City league integrated airbenders, all the teams that couldn't find airbenders, or didn't like the new rules, came to the Fire Nation circuit instead. They all play the classic three versus three matches. It's still not as popular as the Republic circuit, but there's good money involved."

"Are you playing any real games," Sen asked. "Maybe we could come see one."

"No, games get a lot of media coverage, and I don't want my face on a TeleVarrick where the bad guys can see it. I've just been helping teams practice. They like opponents who aren't on the circuit, because then you can train without giving away your secret techniques."

Suda was glad to get the chance to talk about his bending, finally. He was having a lot of fun. There were some really neat people at the gym. Hopefully he'd get to introduce Sen to a few before they left town.

"Maybe I should see a game anyway," Sen said. "I've got to learn about world culture and stuff eventually."

"A buddy of mine is playing a game next weekend," Suda suggested. "You still going to be around then?"

"No, I told Miyani I'd only be gone a few days. She'll get suspicious if I'm out too long, or if I come too often."

He didn't really know that she would; she was likely so apathetic to the world around her that she'd barely notice Sen's disappearance. He knew he had to set some limits for himself, though, or he'd waste too much time. He couldn't allow his desire to spend time with his friends get in the way of firebending practice, even if that practice was coming very slowly.

"So, you'll only stay for like a day or two, and then go back to the island, right?"

"That's the plan," Sen explained. "But I'll come to visit again, I think. Especially if Miyani keeps delaying my training."

"Well, maybe we should do something other than sit on the beach," Suda suggested. "You ever tried Fire Nation food? Stuff's spicy like you wouldn't believe. I don't know if it might be too spicy, but there's this place called Hakajima's-"

"I've eaten nothing but rice and dried fruit for weeks," Sen said. "Nothing can be too spicy."

***

Sen had been oh so wrong about the spicy. It had been three days and his tongue still burned. He had learned more about fire from one bite of Hakajima's Spicy Pork than he had from weeks sitting on a volcano. It was like an inferno but with meat attached. The bitter memory of the intense heat occupied his mind as he made the long slog back to Hayao's island. It was hard getting there without a boat, but with his earthbending he could make himself a decent path. It took nearly twelve hours, though.

He returned to the cavern in the dead of night, when no one would be around to see, and promptly collapsed on the ground. He was too exhausted to be kept awake by nightmares tonight, so he actually got a good nights sleep for once. In the morning he returned to the familiar, non-burning taste of rice, and had never been so glad to eat something so bland. And speaking of bland, Miyani arrived in the cave shortly. She sat down across from Sen and asked him how his meditation had gone.

"I feel like it was productive," Sen said. Though it hadn't been meditation, his field trip to his friends had helped him get a hold on himself. The burning inside his heart (though not on his tongue) had faded just a little. For a moment there, he had been forced to face Hanjo's memory, instead of avoiding it at every opportunity. Maybe it was time to face the issue head on.

Miyani nodded approvingly and ate her breakfast. Sen had been hoping she'd offer an opinion. As far as he could tell, she was not reacting at all. Sen tried an experiment. He had his bare feet on the ground, and as he ate, he closed his eyes and focused on Miyani. When he focused, he could just barely feel her heartbeat reverberate through the ground. It was calm and steady, just as he had expected.

He felt something else, too, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't something he could feel through the ground, though, it was something higher up. He snapped his eyes open. All he saw was the same old Miyani, cloaked in bandages.

"Is something wrong?"

"I think," Sen said. He didn't know how to put this. "I think I'm ready to talk about Hanjo."

Miyani nodded.

"Then I am ready to listen."

Sen took a moment to choose the right words.

"He was clever, is how I'd put it," Sen began. "He could make plans, or jokes, really quickly. They didn't always work, of course. Especially not his jokes. I remember once he talked about 'bending the element of surprise'. Man that was terrible."

Sen shook his head. Miyani rested a hand on her chin, just slightly covering her mouth. Sen continued his story.

"His plans were pretty good, though. He got me out of trouble a lot, and helped me do a few important things."

It had been Hanjo's clever ideas that had gotten them both of trouble with the Weaver, gotten Ada to join the team, and led Sen to Bolin. Sen would've been in a much different place without Hanjo's guidance.

"But now he's gone," Miyani said.

"I mean –I don't know that for sure," Sen said. "He could still be…somewhere."

"But he isn't here," Miyani said. "Not entirely. You have your memories, at least."

"Memories aren't good enough," Sen mumbled.

"They're all you have. But you're destroying them. You're letting the pain corrupt the joy. You want to treasure those memories, but every time you call them to mind, all you remember is your loss."

Sen nodded slowly. Her words felt right. Miyani crossed her legs and took a breath. She was happy to finally make some progress in the training, but this was not about her. Sen was the one who needed help now. There was one more step.

"Take a deep breath."

Sen followed her orders.

"Hold on to all your happy memories. Never let them go. But abandon the negative. Let it be carried away on the breath. Let it go."

Her words sounded scripted, somehow, like she was just repeating something she'd heard from someone else, but there was wisdom in them nonetheless. Sen exhaled, and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. All the regret, all the sadness, all the guilt, was carried away like steam rising from boiling water. The air hissed as the intense heat that Sozin Syndrome had been trapping within his body was released and dissipated into the air. Miyani nodded approvingly.

"You're ready to firebend."

Sen felt truly right for the first time in weeks. There was no more heat trapped inside his body, no more inner turmoil clashing within. He was more than ready.


	24. Book 2 Ch9: The Path of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen has overcome the personal issues blocking his firebending, but his master Miyani may be a new obstacle.

Now cured of the mental affliction called Sozin Syndrome, Sen was ready to advance on the path of the firebender. Miyani led the way to the top of Hayao's mountain, far above the fog bank that surrounded the islands base, and stood in the heart of the ancient volcano's caldera. The sun shined brightly overhead.

Seeing her in the light of the sun for the first time, rather than the faded light of the fog or the darkness of Hayao's cavern, Sen noticed something new about Miyani. They were difficult to see, but when Sen examined Miyani closely he could see many narrow patches of discolored skin. Taking a few steps closer to her, Sen looked closely at her arm. They were scars, to be certain, but very light ones. They had healed remarkably well, considering the apparent size of the cuts.

Sen rapidly stepped back as Miyani came to a halt in the middle of the caldera and turned to face him. She gestured towards the blazing sun overhead.

"Everything that lives comes from the sun," Miyani said. "Plants absorb the light, and then those plants are eaten, passing the energy on to animals, or people like us. In that way, we're all connected to the sun. The heat you feel within your body is only borrowed from the heat of the sun. That's why when you try to bend solely from your own body heat, as firebenders did in the Hundred-Year war, you warp the art. True firebending comes from the sun and the sun alone."

Sen looked at the great yellow disk above him. Even though there was a cold breeze on the mountaintop, he could still feel the warmth of the sun. It was only a faint connection, though, hardly comparable to the way he could feel earth beneath his feet. He wondered how difficult it would be to draw on the suns power.

Miyani took a deep breath, and a small flicker of flame appeared in the palm of her hand. She held it out for Sen to examine. It was a very faint tongue of flame, barely holding together in the breeze, but it was a serviceable first lesson. Sen had learned the hard way that he couldn't expect to do advanced techniques on his first outing.

Sen recalled his long, dull lessons on breath control and stance. He breathed in, shifted his feet into place, and held out his hand. He could feel heat rising in his palm. He wondered if he was doing it right. Was the heat supposed to come from inside him at all, or was he supposed to bring it from outside? The heat dissipated under his self-doubt. He tried again, and once again failed to produce a flame. He decided to ask Miyani for guidance.

"Am I supposed to feel heat inside me? I'm worried, because of how I was before, when I was burning up."

"Firebending is very closely linked to your internal chi, so yes, you have to channel the energy through your own body," Miyani said. "Don't worry about the heat you feel. When you breathe in, you should draw the heat of the ambient air with you, and then release it through fire."

Sen nodded, internalizing her advice. He tried once more, repeating the breathing process and the focus of heat in his palm. There was a brief spark, but no defined flame. He tried twice more, and managed to maintain a flame on his third attempt. In excitement over his success, the flame flickered and died suddenly.

"You're making progress. Next time focus on maintaining the flame."

On his next attempt, Sen was less excited just to create the flame, and when the spark ignited he managed to hold it steady for a few minutes. Miyani told him when he had held it long enough. Moving on to another lesson, she summoned a similar ball of fire, but this time she rolled her hand beneath the flame, letting the crackling energy roll over her bandaged hand. The flickering light crawled across her faint scars as it rolled along Miyani's hand.

"Precise control is the next step," She instructed. Sen thought just rolling the fire along his hand would be fairly easy. He was thus confused when Miyani withdrew a strip of cloth, the same kind as her bandages, and wrapped it around Sen's outstretched hand. She repeated the demonstration.

"Follow my example. You instinctively avoid burning your skin, but not burning cloth is much harder."

Sen had never even thought about the bandages on her hand. He'd never seen her without the cloth wrappings around her hands, shoulder, and head, so he almost thought of them as her skin. He'd never realized the bandages were anything but a part of her.

Sen's first few attempts went poorly. It was harder than he thought to move the flame, much less to do so without burning his bandage. It took several hours and several strips of cloth for him to master the exercise. Miyani had him repeat it a few times just to be sure. By the time he had finished, the sun was very nearly vanishing. It actually wasn't sunset just yet, but a massive wall of stone stood to the west, which would make the sun vanish from view early for them. Miyani decided it was a good place to stop exercises for the day. It kind of defeated the point of her lessons to practice without the sun in view.

The two hiked back to the base of the hill, bank into the fog bank and Hayao's secluded cavern. Sen deliberately kept his pace slow, trying to keep himself out of the cloud of salty mist for as long as he could. He passed the time by making conversation with Miyani.

"So, when you trained, did you have a proxy master like I have you," He asked. "Or did you train right under Master Hayao?"

"I trained with Master Hayao."

"So, is it rare for someone to be trained like me?"

"I can't say. I've only been with Master Hayao for ten years. He's been teaching people for more than sixty."

Night started to fall. Miyani held up her hand, alight with flame, to illuminate the surroundings. Sen did the same, not for the sake of more visibility, but for a little extra practice in controlling fire.

"So, why did you come to Master Hayao in the first place?"

Miyani didn't answer immediately. Sen clarified.

"I mean, did you have Sozin Syndrome like I did, or was it something else?"

Miyani maintained her silence. Sen quickly realized he wasn't going to get an answer to this question. He could feel a vague sense of unease. Sen had clearly overstepped a boundary to his relationship with Miyani. He wasn't frustrated by this; there were plenty of things he wouldn't tell her if she asked, so he understood. They weren't exactly friends. He decided to go with a less personal question.

"How old are you anyway?"

"Eighteen."

"No kidding," Sen said. Thanks to her height and her behavior, Sen had imagined her as much older, but she was only two years Sen's senior. Maybe one year. Thanks to poor record keeping at the orphanage, Sen had no idea when his birthday was. He just added a year to his age every New Years. "You're not much older than me."

Miyani didn't carry on the conversation. Sen kept talking anyway. Visiting Suda and Ada had re-ignited his desire to converse, and he didn't get many opportunities on the island.

"I'm only sixteen, so that puts us two years apart. Maybe that's one of the reasons Hayao partnered us up."

Something about Miyani's presence changed for the better. Sen wondered how he knew that. He couldn't see it, as Miyani was as blank-faced as ever, and he couldn't feel her heartbeat with the seismic sense either. He was left to question how he could feel her mood change. He chalked it up to good intuition and continued. Apparently she responded positively to conversation about Hayao.

"Why did Hayao ask you to train me, anyway?"

He figured Miyani could finally give him some real insight on their situation. Hayao was not exactly talkative.

"I don't question my Master. Neither should you."

"But Hayao isn't my master. You are."

Miyani's mood soured.

"Then listen to me," Miyani said. There was an unusual hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Yes master," Sen said. He had been hoping to learn something today, and in a way he had. Miyani didn't know why she was Sen's teacher any more than Sen himself knew. Whatever game Hayao was playing, Miyani was as much of a pawn as he was.

"Do you talk to Hayao often?"

Something about Miyani became very cold, and Sen already knew what her answer was going to be.

"My training is complete. Master Hayao has no more reason to speak with me."

Her voice said it, but everything else about her screamed that she didn't believe it. For the first time, Sen felt an actual emotional connection to Miyani. He wished it could be something other than pity. Miyani still had lessons she needed to learn, and the one person she was relying on to give her answers was refusing to help her.

The two descended into the fog bank, and Sen gave up on his attempts at conversation. Between the sinking darkness and the thick fog, Sen could barely see his own feet. Every step risked a troublesome fall. Miyani was the first to make a mistake, tripping and falling in the darkness. Sen offered to help her up, but she refused. All he could offer was a light as she righted herself. They continued through the shadowed fog until they reached Hayao's cavern and parted for the night. Sen slept very peacefully; his nightmares had ended, it seemed.

The next day, the fog was surprisingly thin, so Miyani decided they didn't need to hike all the way to the top of the mountain. They went far enough way to not disturb the other monks, but no further. Sen had yet to learn anything about the other residents of the island; Miyani only told him that they were not to be disturbed.

Standing just above the cloud of fog, Miyani took up a stance. Sen quickly mimicked her, earning a nod of approval from Miyani. Taking a deep breath, Miyani shifted her feet and pushed her hands forward. A weak gout of flame emerged from her palms, streaking lazily across the foggy sky. She gestured wordlessly to Sen. He followed her example. He absorbed the energy of the sun, building it up within himself, then released it.

His first attempt was needlessly cautious, and so it turned out weak. He could still remember the striking pain of electrocution, and the feeling of energy flowing through his body scared him somewhat. It took him a few tries to realize that he was not going to hurt himself this time as he was only creating fire, not lightning.

Once he had overcome that lingering fear, it became a matter of control rather than power. His attempts to firebend ended up as spectacular but ineffective bursts rather than targeted attacks. Miyani demonstrated a weak stream of flame when she felt it necessary, but her guidance was mostly verbal. Under her training, it didn't take long for Sen to match her initial firebending display and be ready for the next step.

Eager to move on, Sen watched with rapt attention as Miyani ran through another stance, took a deep breath, and produced an identical burst of fire, as weak and direct as the first demonstration.

Sen quickly duplicated the feat perfectly and they moved on again. Once again, Miyani ran through a unique stance, a new technique, only to produce the exact same lackluster result. Sen repeated her behavior, and the process repeated itself. Then repeated itself again. And again.

***

"I'm beginning to wonder if she even can do anything else," Sen grumbled to Ada.

As days had turned into weeks, Sen's patience had been tested once again. At first he had believed that Miyani's weak displays of firebending were just for training practices, but Sen had quickly overcome the pitiful spurts of fire she produced, and she refused to demonstrate anything beyond her miniscule sparks. Sen had to consider the possibility she was not restraining herself at all, but was just inept. He thought he had overcome the only roadblock to becoming a firebender when he had cured himself of Sozin Syndrome, but now he faced another.

Ada did not respond, as she was slightly preoccupied deflecting the attacks of Master Sorikami. The elder swordswoman didn't seem to care that Sen was defying Hayao's orders; she was more concerned with her own pupil. Ada had made progress in the past weeks, but not enough for Sorikami's satisfaction. She was not disciplined enough quite yet. Ada was still allowing her emotions to fuel the way she fought.

When that emotion had been depression, after Hanjo's demise and Sen's abandonment, her fighting had been weak and sluggish. Now that Ada was in higher spirits, her swordplay was more energetic, which was an improvement in some ways, but not what Sorikami wanted. The Master intended for Ada to completely sever herself from emotions during a fight. Their training had been growing more intense lately, occupying more and more of Ada's time. Ada wanted to talk with Sen now, to help him through his problems, but Sorikami didn't give her the chance.

Ada made a slight slip-up, and in her usual form, Sorikami punished her for it with a swift strike from the dull side of her blade. Sen stood up.

"What are you doing?"

"Educating," Sorikami said.

"How is that helping anything," Sen objected. He was hardly going to just stand by while Sorkami beat Ada.

"Sen, don't," Ada said weakly. "Just let me do this."

Sen relented. As long as Ada was willing to put up with it, there was very little point in arguing it. He bid goodbye to his sparring friend and wandered off to find Suda. He stopped to pat Gun on the head on his way. The badgermole had become much more affectionate in Sen's absence. He still avoided anyone who wasn't an earthbender, of course.

Walking in Gai Zhu made Sen feel very out of place. The Fire Nation town was different, on a fundamental level, than any city he'd visited in the United Earth Kingdoms. People in the UEK seemed to be mostly concerned with maintaining a routine, having a schedule and sticking to it. Here in Gai Zhu things seemed to be evolving, rapidly and dangerously. People he had seen wearing fancy suits and jewelry on his last visit weeks ago were now wearing rags and squatting in alleys. Life here changed rapidly and riskily. People took chances that didn't always pay off.

It made Sen uncomfortable. He hurried to the house that the Fire Lord had set up Suda and Ada in. He wanted to talk to Suda, another earthbender, and get back into his comfort zone.

His first few knocks on the door met no response. He hadn't heard that Suda would be out and about today. He knew that it was much too early for the gym Suda spent time at to be open, so he couldn't think of anywhere else his earthbending master might have gone.

As he turned around, Sen nearly had a heart attack when he saw two uniformed agents casually leaning against the wall of a neighboring house. He quickly realized that these must be the two agents Fire Lord Goto had left behind, and put his heart at ease.

"He's looking for the earthbender, isn't he Luan?"

"Seems so, Zouf."

Ada had informed him of the agents dialogue "quirk", she had called it, but Sen had not really believed her. He could see this routine getting old very fast.

"Do you know where he is?"

Agent Zouf managed to respond without doing his call-response routine with Luan, which relieved Sen to no end. The two secret agents served as Sen's guide through the shifting streets of Gai Zhu. They tried to introduce themselves on the way, but Sen had already heard about them from Ada, so the introduction was short. The strange duo led Sen to an unfamiliar house.

"He's in here," Zouf said. "Or he was last time we checked."

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on us?"

"We do," Zouf replied indignantly. He was offended that the Avatar doubted his ability to perform his job. "But while your buddy may be playing a lot of sports know, what he's been doing lately isn't exactly for spectators, is it Luan?"

"That depends, Zouf," Luan replied. Zouf gave his partner a dirty look. Sen had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Weren't all sports for spectators, he thought to himself.

Luan and Zouf stayed behind as Sen went up and knocked on the door of the unfamiliar home. After a brief pause and some quiet shuffling, a strange woman answered the door. She had dark skin, and her hair was tied in intricate loops. She was definitely from the Water Tribe, but more importantly, she was definitely not Suda.

"Can I help you," She said, clearly confused by Sen's presence.

"Umm, maybe," Sen mumbled. "Is Suda here?"

The strange water tribal squinted for a second, and then her eyes snapped open in a moment of clarity. She cracked a small smile.

"Oh, you must be Suda's firebender buddy," The girl said. "I'll go get him for you. Come on in."

Sen took an awkward step inside the unfamiliar woman's residence. He was deeply confused as to why Suda would be here until he took a look around. A few trophies were on display on a shelf right inside the door. Apparently this woman was one of the pro-benders Suda had been getting to know.

Suda himself appeared eventually, looking exhausted and confused, but still quite happy to see Sen. He clapped Sen heartily on the shoulder.

"Hey pal, what's up?"

"Oh, I just started firebending, kind of want to talk about it," Sen said. "If I'm not interrupting anything."

The waterbender girl laughed, and Suda gave her a strange look. Sen had no idea why she'd laugh at that. She quit laughing and started to introduce herself.

"Hey, I'm Nura. You're Sen, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Sen said quietly. He was still a little confused as to what was going on, and why Suda was here instead of home. It was far too early to be visiting a friend. Unless they were eating breakfast together for some reason.

"Gym opens in about an hour, right," Suda asked. Nura nodded. "I'm going to swing Sen by my place. I'll meet you in the ring, alright?"

Nura nodded again, then turned to Sen.

"Don't let him leave you behind, Sen. Maybe we can get you some practice in too."

Suda took Sen by the shoulder and led him out of the house. Sen was just starting to like Nura, too. Hopefully they'd see each other at the gym later.

"How'd you find this place, anyway?"

"The Fire Lord's agents led me here," Sen explained. Luan and Zouf had both vanished while he had been inside Nura's house, presumably going back to observing them all in secret. Suda shook his head.

"Alright, well, can you do me a favor, Sen?"

"Of course."

"Don't tell Ada about this."

"Sure, I guess," Sen said. This was just getting more and more confusing. "Why not?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?"

"No, I don't get it," Sen replied. "Does she not like Nura? Why can't you two be friends?"

Suda stopped walking to give Sen an awkward stare, like the look a teacher gives a child that has been eating glue. Sen wondered what he'd said.

This was the situation where Suda drew the line. He was the mature one, yeah, he was the "team dad", but there had to be a point where he said enough was enough. He was not going to have this talk with Sen. He was not going to explain why he'd been at Nura's house. He had principles. Sen could learn that lesson from someone else.

"Just promise not to tell Ada," Suda repeated. Sen promised, without understanding why. He could feel confusion from Suda, so he decided to drop it. Suda knew that Ada would not be happy to know how he was spending his time, so hopefully Sen could keep a lid on it.

"So how's firebending going?"

Sen explained his concerns with Miyani's substandard firebending. Suda nodded understandingly, though he was mostly concerned with having changed the subject.

"Well, you are an amateur. Maybe she's taking it easy on you?"

"That's what I thought, but she's been at it for weeks. I'm starting to think she just isn't good."

Sen had tried everything he could to push Miyani towards more skillful displays, but she consistently produced very lackluster results. On a few occasions, Sen had felt more like he was training her than the other way around.

"Well, she's got to be good, doesn't she? Why else would Hayao tell her to teach you?"

"I just don't know," Sen admitted. "I mean, she helped me with that Syndrome thing, but now we're stuck again. I'm starting to think Hayao was wrong."

"I don't know, Sen, Master Sorikami and the Fire Lord both seem to trust him. He's got to be some kind of wise."

"I'd like to see some of that wisdom, then," Sen said angrily. Suda was surprised to see him so upset. He was usually kind of mellow. "All I've gotten out of him so far is vague garbage and a mediocre-"

Sen's voice trailed off. Suda didn't understand the sudden change in tone. He'd been really angry one second and then he'd just given up.

"What's up? You got a mediocre what?"

"Uh, I was going to say something about Miyani," Sen admitted. "But this isn't her fault. She doesn't deserve that."

"Really? You seemed kind of critical of her last time. You were on about how she doesn't have feelings."

"Well, of course she has feelings," Sen mumbled. "She just doesn't show them. Inner peace. Monk stuff. She's very calm."

"Well, didn't you say maybe that's what you're supposed to learn from her? How to be calm."

Sen remembered saying that, and he still sort of believed it. At the same time, Miyani seemed to be a very bad firebender, so wouldn't being like her make Sen a bad firebender too? Sen wasn't sure how to proceed.

Suda vanished into their temporary base of operations for a moment and returned wearing a more sport-ready outfit. Sen had only the clothes on his back, so he was going to have to go the gym in those. Hopefully nobody would think him strange for his oddly monastic grab.

Approximately everyone found him strange for his oddly monastic garb. Few people in Gai Zhu were actually aware of the island monastery only a few miles off of their shore, so they were unused to the sight of such rustically dressed people. Sen stuck out like a sore thumb. Luckily he had the fairly popular Suda with him. Suda couldn't take ten steps without getting a friendly greeting from a resident of the gym. Sen was a little jealous of all the attention. If he wasn't restricted from showing off his earthbending, he'd probably be just as popular in a few minutes.

Suda found Nura and headed for a practice match. Nura briefly argued that Sen should play as their third, but Suda countered with the fact that Sen knew next to nothing about pro-bending.

"What, it's simple. Just don't burn the other guys and you're golden."

"I agree with Suda, really," Sen said. "I don't know any of the rules. Or what probending is, at all, in any way."

In the Beaker Hall orphanage, there had been no televarrick, radio, or even newspapers. The only time Sen had ever even seen a pro-bending match had been on the blurry TV in Zang, and that gave him nothing to work with. Nura looked at Suda in confusion.

"You find this kid under a rock?"

"Something like that," Suda said. The full story, which involved attempted robbery and Energybending terrorists, was obviously not meant for Nura's ears. Suda felt bad for lying to her, but it was unavoidable. In almost every other aspect, Suda was quite honest, which he hoped made up for it.

"Well then just watch for today," Nura advised. "It's a simple game, honestly. Pay attention and you can be in the ring by tomorrow."

Sen stayed in the stands while Nura and Suda went into the ring. They were joined by a third teammate, a firebender Sen didn't recognize, and the practice match began. Sen quickly found himself agreeing with Nura; pro-bending was a surprisingly simple game. The rules of striking your opponents and zone advancement were pretty obvious. Maybe Sen was just a quick study, but he didn't think he needed this explained to him.

Rounds in pro-bending only lasted about three minutes, so the practice proceeded very quickly. A coach on the sidelines stopped play every few minutes to give the players pointers. He especially liked to yell at the firebender on the team opposite Suda's. It seemed that player couldn't go two seconds without making a major mistake. Sen kept an eye on him. The amateur firebender almost reminded Sen of Miyani. His flame was about as weak, but his stances and strikes were much sloppier. Miyani at least had a good grasp on the technique; this firebender was just bad.

Suda was doing a fantastic job, in comparison. He hadn't been moved back in the entire practice session. Suda's personal technique was to keep to the back of the current zone, and charge forward whenever he saw an attack coming. His massive size meant that his sheer inertia cancelled out most attacks, making him nearly impossible to move backwards unless he was caught off guard. Most of his opponents had given up on ever moving him back with a single strike.

On the other end of the arena, the young firebender seemed to be knocked over by the slightest scrape.

"Mogoshu," The coach shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you? Balance on your toes, not your heels!"

Sen noticed how Mogoshu's center of balance was put off, making him easier to knock down. He remembered that. Balance was important to all bending styles. The firebender stood up, play resumed, and he was immediately knocked over by a bolt of water launched by Nura.

Nura's play style was fairly aggressive. Normally, the waterbender on a team might use their water to play defense for their teammates, but with Suda playing the role of a juggernaut, Nura had no need for defense. Their team's firebender suffered for her lack of cooperation, but she could keep up an effective offense that made up for the trouble.

Mogoshu tried to launch a counterattack, but his flame strikes were slow and easily dodged.

"Mogoshu! Never breathe in while firebending!"

Sen knew how important breathe was to firebending, but he had never really seen the consequences of doing it wrong. Improper breathe technique robbed your firebending of potential power. Sen doubted he'd ever have that problem with self-control, but it was handy information to know.

After an hour-long practice, Suda and Nura moved out of the arena, and another team took their spot. Sen waited patiently for a while, until Suda and Nura tracked him down in the stands. They were sweaty and tired, but they were still having an excited conversation about the days performance. As soon as Nura laid eyes on Sen, she asked him what he thought of the practice.

"I think you guys did great," Sen said. It was enlightening to watch a waterbender in action in a peaceful environment. Up until today, all the waterbenders he'd met had been trying to kill him. Hopefully watching Nura would come in handy when he finally got around to learning waterbending.

"No, see, you're supposed to tell Suda he did terribly," Nura said. She smacked Suda on the shoulder lightly. "He needs to get his act together, right?"

Sen shook his head. Nura rolled her eyes.

"He's never going to get any better if you don't push him around! A guy will only get so far if you only pat him on the back; now and then you got to shove him around."

"I thought he was doing well," Sen said. Suda crossed his arms triumphantly. "That firebender on the other team was the really bad one."

"Mogoshu? Yeah, he's awful. Great guy to practice with."

"Why does being awful make him so good to practice with?"

"Because sometimes you can learn as much from a screw-up as you can from a coach," Nura said. "We see all the things he does, and then we don't do them."

Suda had a sensible chuckle at Nura's joke. He soon noticed Sen wasn't laughing at all. In fact, he seemed to be deep in contemplation. Nura noticed the same.

"You okay, little guy?"

Sen nodded, but the concerned expression on his face remained the same. Suda played connect-the-dots with recent events and figured Sen was thinking about Miyani and her sluggish firebending training. He tapped Sen on the shoulder to get him going and said goodbye to Nura. The two of them headed back to the beach.

Sorikami and Ada were having a sparring session that was quite rudely interrupted by a massive badgermole emerging from the ground between them. Gun greeted Sen and Suda enthusiastically, glad to have his favorite earthbenders back. After receiving a satisfactory amount of love and affection, Gun vanished back into the soil of Gai Zhu, leaving four humans alone on the beach. Sorikami was rather annoyed by the interruption, but Ada was glad to take a break. Despite what she'd said earlier, Sorikami's training was getting a little too intense for her.

"Welcome back, Sen," Ada said, quickly trying to keep Sorikami from shooing them away. "Did you have fun?"

"I was," Sen said quietly. Nura's comments had given him a new perspective on the situation. Early on in his training, he had resented Miyani, thought of her as being too emotionless and detached. Maybe that had been Hayao's intention all along. Was Miyani a failure he was meant to learn from?

Sen shook his head. It was too early to jump to conclusions.

"What's the deal, Sen," Suda asked.

"I don't think I should talk about it," Sen said. It didn't feel right to talk about Miyani behind her back. It would feel especially bad to contemplate whether or not she was a failure with a group. He did need to talk to someone about it, though. There was only one person who knew her well enough to give Sen any answers. It was time to talk to Hayao.


	25. Book 2 Ch10: The Seer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar learns a rare firebending technique. The Harrier comes one step closer to finding his prey.

Sen stood before the curtain to Hayao's chamber, contemplating his course.

Hayao was clearly not being straight with Sen or Miyani in regards to their training. They were both being manipulated somehow, but for what reason? Sen knew it wouldn't be as easy as walking in and asking. He might end up with more questions than answers if he tried.

Still, he didn't really have any other options. Miyani was uncooperative, and oddly enough, so were his friends. Sen recalled how Hayao had spoken to them privately months ago, during their first meeting. Had Hayao made Suda and Ada part of his scheme as well? He didn't like the idea that they would keep secrets from him. Ada still had a tool from Ko Rin's arsenal she was trying to hide from him.

Still, if Suda and Ada both agreed with it, then Hayao's plan was probably for the best. He'd just have to play along for a little while. Sen pulled the curtain aside and stepped forward.

Hayao was still sitting in the exact same place and position as Sen had last seen him. The only change in the room was the number of burning candles in the ring around Hayao. A few had gone out. The white skull-mask Hayao wore seemed slightly darker for the lost light of the candles.

"How goes your training, Avatar?"

Hayao's voice was as deep and resounding as ever. Sen had the feeling that if Hayao ever shouted, it would shake the very earth, but so far he had never raised his voice.

"I've been doing well," Sen said. "I think the worst is behind me."

"I agree," Hayao intoned. The flow of energy through the Avatar's body had mostly normalized. For most people, this would be enough, but the Avatar had to be more than normal. There were lessons still yet to be learned.

"Ma-, uh, Hayao, I had some questions. About Miyani."

"Those answers are not mine to give."

"But, Miyani hasn't been-"

"What Miyani is doing or saying is Miyani's concern," Hayao scolded. "I am not responsible for the way she acts. If you want answers, you may get them from her."

Sen had the feeling he wouldn't get those answers easily. Hayao changed the subject.

"Miyani will continue your training, but there is one thing I would teach you personally," Hayao began. "It is rare and valuable knowledge, and I believe it will be essential to your quest."

"Well, how can I refuse," Sen said. He sat cross-legged as Hayao began his lesson. He had come here to ask about Miyani, but the idea of learning a new technique appealed to him. Hopefully it would be something useful.

"You recall our first meeting, when I ascertained you were the Avatar through reading your body heat," Hayao asked. Sen nodded. "The ability to read heat can provide insight into your fellow man, and will be complimentary to your pre-existing ability to sense vibrations through the ground. You may have already noticed yourself using this talent subconsciously."

Sen had noticed strange sources of heat from people around him in recent weeks. He had assumed it was coincidence, though, not some technique he had accidentally learned. He also wondered how Hayao knew he'd been sensing these things. They hadn't spoken in months.

"Heat Reading is not difficult to master, but it is a rare ability to possess; it requires an intuitive ability to understand your fellow man, and the way energy flows through the body. I believe that your experience with the so-called 'Sozin Syndrome' has familiarized you with the way energy flows through your own body. The nexuses of personal energy are called Chakras."

Sen had a passing familiarity with the concept of chakra's, but no real knowledge. It was hardly a problem, as Hayao would undoubtedly be telling him soon.

"Chakras will become important for you later in your journey, as you master the Avatar State, but that is not your concern at this time. For now, we will only discuss the basest details. First, focus on the base of your spine."

Sen turned his newfound sense inwards, towards his waist. Without Sozin Syndrome filling his body with heat, it was surprisingly easy to feel the flow of energy through himself. It was particularly concentrated near his waist, just where Hayao had told him to look.

"This is the Earth chakra. It concerns survival, and is blocked by fear. In those who are courageous, this chakra flows with energy. In cowards, it is sluggish. It is also, naturally, the chakra of earthbenders, and flows stronger in them, as you can see. Now, look to your pelvis."

Sen shifted his focus. The next nexus of energy was dimmer, though not completely dark.

"The Water chakra deals with pleasure, and is blocked by guilt. Those who are joyful shine brightly, while those unable to enjoy life grow dark. This chakra is also associated with waterbenders."

Sen nodded. It made sense that this chakra was darker. While he'd overcome most of his negative emotions regarding Hanjo, there was still guilt clouding his heart. That would be something to be dealt with in time, though.

"Now, focus on your stomach. This is the fire chakra, the governing chakra of firebending. It is also the chakra of willpower, blocked by shame."

Hayao made sure to stress this lesson. Though Sen had grown stronger, he still lacked true willpower; the drive and desire to be master of his own destiny. If Hayao could not inspire that determination in him, then the world was lost.

When Sen focused on the Fire chakra, he found it surprisingly blocked. He had assumed Water, blocked by guilt, would be his worst, but the Fire chakra was even darker. He had been doing fairly well at firebending, even. It didn't make sense to him.

"Those who have the strength of will to decide their own fate, and persevere despite mistakes, have great power. Those who let their past errors weigh them down and allow outside forces to decide the course of their life will see this chakra blocked."

Sen hung his head and thought about Hayao's words. Everything he'd done so far had been decided for him by other people. He had made very few choices of his own volition, never taken charge of his own life. He'd thought that relying on his friends would be the wise thing to do, but at some point he'd forgotten to rely on himself as well.

It was hard for him to think of a way in which he could have made the right choice, though. He was still naïve in a lot of ways, inexperienced about the world. If he hadn't trusted Hanjo to guide him, they never would have found Ada or Suda, and Sen might never have learned proper earthbending. Even now, he was reliant on Miyani to learn firebending. Was it really so bad to count on other people?

The fire chakra in Sen's stomach stayed as dark as ever. Hayao noticed this, but was hardly surprised. Words alone would not change such a thing. It was a lesson Sen would have to learn the hard way.

"Now focus on your heart," Hayao said, pressing onwards. "This is the Air chakra. It concerns love, and is blocked by grief. Airbenders have great power in this chakra."

Sen was pleasantly surprised to find this chakra flowing fairly healthily. Miyani's lessons in holding onto the positive memories of Hanjo, and releasing the negative, had helped him deal with his grief.

"Those who acknowledge the flaws of their fellow man, and the world, and choose to love regardless have great power in this chakra. But there are those who have given in to despair, and allow the fear of darkness to rule their heart, and those people have a powerful coldness inside them."

There was something strange about Hayao's tone, as if he were speaking of someone specific. It didn't sound like he was describing Miyani, but if not her, who? Hayao quickly proceeded, giving Sen little time to contemplate it.

"The next chakra is located at the throat. The Sound chakra is the chakra of truth and lies. Those who are honest see great light, while the deceptive are lost in darkness. It is not associated with any element or bending art."

Sen focused on his throat and found it surprisingly bright. He had been deceiving Miyani about his identity, claiming to be someone other than the Avatar, for quite some time. Sen supposed it was the intent as much as the act that defined the lie. He didn't lie to Miyani out of malice or a desire to manipulate; it was necessary. Hayao had ordered him to, and keeping his identity secret kept the Energybender off of his trail.

"The Light chakra, located in the forehead, concerns insight, and is blocked by illusion. Those with great perception will have this chakra flow strongly, but those who are manipulated easily, or manipulate others, will see it blocked. This is also the chakra associated with advanced bending techniques. Metalbending, lightning generation, and other master disciplines require great insight, and thus those capable of them show great power in this chakra."

Sen found this chakra to be fairly average within himself. He still had a lot to learn about the world and himself; it was no surprise that he lacked insight. It also explained why he'd been unable to metalbend thus far, and why he'd failed so spectacularly at creating lightning.

"The Thought chakra is a complex chakra, dealing with cosmic energy and being blocked by earthly attachments. While it is essential to unlocking the Avatar State, it has no bearing to our lesson today. Thus, we are done."

Sen nodded and uncrossed his legs, standing up and stretching out. He felt oddly refreshed.

"Commit what I have said today to memory. So long as you remember this, you will be able to learn much. By seeing what chakras flow freely and which are blocked, you can discover many things about people."

Sen was suddenly overcome with curiosity. Hayao could see what was coming now and did nothing to stop it. Sen tried to read Hayao, and immediately regretted his decision. It was like staring into the sun. Sen suddenly had an extremely powerful headache.

"I would not do that again," Hayao said, without a hint of sarcasm.

"What are you," Sen asked. He felt like he'd jammed a hot poker into his forehead. What he'd seen in Hayao wasn't even roughly comparable to the energy he'd felt within himself. He wondered if Hayao was even human. The robed master being some kind of spirit might explain why he never needed to move.

"I am a man," Hayao assured him. Sen peered curiously at the ancient Fire Nation mask that covered Hayao's face, trying to catch a glimpse of humanity beneath it. "Beyond that, you don't need to concern yourself with me."

Hayao knew that in the grand scheme of things, he was nothing impressive. Sen was still in his formative years, but in time, Sen would outshine Hayao and all other things in existence. A fully realized Avatar was the single most powerful entity, human or spirit, in all existence.

"Now, as you're still barred from returning the mainland, this talent may not be immediately useful." Hayao said that, but he absolutely knew that Sen was making occasional visits to the mainland. "I urge you to practice it regardless. Focus on yourself whenever possible."

"And what if I focused on, say, Miyani?"

The Avatar was trying to make it sound casual, but Hayao could tell that Miyani had been occupying his thoughts. That was good. The two of them would need to work together to achieve their mutual goal. Miyani was not likely to begin the partnership, so Sen taking the initiative was a good sign.

"Or, wait, would that be the wrong thing to do," Sen said. The second-guessing surprised Hayao. He had not really been expecting Sen to contemplate the morality of it. "Isn't it a violation of privacy, really? I mean, you asked permission before you did it to me."

Hayao supposed it was good that Sen was concerned about the morality of his actions. While Hayao wanted to teach the Avatar to be proactive, responsibility was a crucial lesson as well. Finding the balance between your concern for yourself and your concern for others was important.

"That was a formality," Hayao told him. "Consider the Sound chakra. If it is blocked, you know the individual is a liar. You do not, however, know what they are lying about. Their privacy is intact."

Sen nodded. That explanation satisfied him. He was excited to try out his new ability, and began to bid goodbye to Hayao. Hayao interrupted him, as he had one final thing to say.

"Sen. Do not underestimate what I have taught you. Heat Reading is yet another way for you to gain insight into the world around you. You will need this and more to achieve your destiny."

"I can see how," Sen said. "All the knowledge of the chakras should be useful against the Energybender. Thank you."

"There is more than that," Hayao said. "The Energybender is the foremost challenge you must face, but you have a long life ahead of you, and it will be filled with challenges. The skills you learn now will decide how you approach them all. Talents such as heat reading will define the kind of Avatar you become."

"I don't understand," Sen said. "The Avatar is the Avatar. I have to maintain balance. Is there more to it?"

"The Avatar is not 'the Avatar'," Hayao scolded. "The Avatar is you."

Sen didn't understand. Hayao didn't expect him to, not yet. But by hearing those words, he would begin to contemplate them, and by that contemplation he would eventually come to understand.

Sen asked Hayao what he meant, and received no answer. He didn't bother asking twice. He'd heard from Miyani that when Hayao didn't want to talk to you, he just flat out stopped talking. If Hayao was shutting up now, it meant they were done for the day. Sen bowed and stepped outside the chamber, climbing out into the fog-shrouded coast. Miyani was waiting by the entrance to the cave. Sen took a seat next to her, without calling for her attention. It was time to put the days lessons into practice.

Sen was surprised at how cold Miyani felt. Energy flowed through her at a sluggish pace. While most of her chakras were obviously blocked, the heart of the matter seemed to be the Light chakra. It felt to Sen like energy was trying to flow, but it was being restrained by some outside force. By feeling his way through the network of chi that ran through Miyani's body, he assumed that resolving the blockage of the Light chakra would repair the broken flow of energy through Miyani's body.

Hayao had said the Light chakra was blocked by illusions or manipulation. Sen nodded his head. At last he finally had some direction for helping Miyani. Hopefully he would be able to find out what was causing her problems and put an end to it, for Miyani's sake.

"Afternoon, Miyani," He said. Miyani finally acknowledged his presence. She had a habit of not realizing Sen was there until he spoke, as she got wrapped up in her own meditations.

"Hello, Sen."

"You eaten lunch yet?"

"Not yet," She said.

"Well, the rice is looking particularly delicious today," Sen joked. "It'd be even better with company. Want to join me?"

"That sounds good," Miyani said. Sen helped her to her feet and they proceeded into the caverns makeshift kitchen. Miyani's problems, whatever they were, would still be there after lunch. For now, Sen just wanted to eat with her.

***

The Harrier's loyalty to his cause was not in question. He absolutely believed in the Energybender's cause, and he was more than willing to give his life if it meant achieving that goal.

Yet the Imperfects found a way to make him question whether life was worth living at all.

"Is it a vegetable," Huel shouted.

"You idiot, I already asked if it was a metal and he said yes," The Eel scolded. "You just wasted a question!"

"I needed to be certain," Huel replied.

"Yeah, because so there's so many metal vegetables in the world!"

The four Imperfects were trying to play twenty questions in the back of the armored transport, and their circle of questions made Harrier legitimately considering putting his fingers to his head and making some lightning.

"It's my turn now," The Eel said. "I want to know, is it yellow?"

"No," Duga said.

"Does it conduct electricity," Paz asked.

"Yes it does," Duga said. Paz was enthusiastically congratulated by The Eel. They were the current pairing in Paz's circular romantic cycle. They only had a few days left before she jumped back to Duga, of course.

"Oh spirits, it's tungsten! He's thinking of tungsten," The Harrier said. They should have been able to figure that out seven questions ago. Not that he expected much from the Imperfects. They wouldn't know tungsten if you hit them in the face with it. The only reason Duga knew is because Harrier had mentioned it in a conversation about metalbending earlier. They had been talking about metalbending a lot, since learning of Sorikami's paranoia.

"You're really good at this, boss," Paz said. The Harrier sighed heavily. He picked up the radio and got in touch with some of the other search parties. They were significantly understaffed. The Fire Nation was the smallest of all six existing nations, but they just didn't have the resources in place to maintain a search. They had been at it for months now with almost nothing to show for it. It was as if the Avatar had dropped off the face of the earth.

Their only lead was his involvement with Sorikami, and she was just as hard to track. Sorikami's bitter personality made it so few people knew or cared where she had gone to. The only real clue they'd gathered about her was that she was afraid of metalbenders, and that didn't help their tracking much at all.

The Harrier finished his correspondence with his search parties and groaned again. Being stuck with the Imperfects was bad enough, but having nothing to show for it made it all the worse.

"Our search is not going well," Huel shouted.

"We're missing something," The Harrier sighed. "There has to be some piece of evidence we missed. Some kind of idea we haven't had."

"I have all kinds of ideas," Paz said. "Like, what if the Avatar has a dragon now, and he's just flying all around?"

"That's preposterous," The Harrier said. There were only a few dragons in the whole world; they would notice very quickly if one was travelling in a suspicious pattern. He pulled out a map of the Fire Nation and started looking it over.

"Yeah, and an Avatar with a dragon would attract even more attention than a normal Avatar," The Eel said.

"The Avatar is already barely attracting attention," Huel shouted. "We have seen no sign of him since Tahu Island."

The Harrier slowly looked up from the map.

"Huel. When you say you haven't seen him since Tahu Island, exactly what do you mean?"

"My squadron confirmed that he arrived on the island via the Kyanu port, travelling with Master Sorikami. We have seen no sign of him since then."

The Harrier calmly folded his map up and placed it in the glove compartment. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face Huel.

"And why didn't you inform me of this specific detail?"

"There has been no further information," Huel continued. He was far too stupid to realize he was in trouble just yet. The Harrier made that trouble very apparent when he grabbed a small pen that was lying around and threw it into Huel's eye. His training had imbued the Harrier with an uncanny accuracy, with lightning and with thrown objects. Huel clutched at his wounded eye.

"And did it ever occur to you that we haven't seen any sign of the Avatar since then because that's where he stopped moving?"

Huel choked out a panicked excuse. Harrier didn't bother listening. He turned around in his seat and activated the radio.

"All units recall to Tahu Island," he said. The driver of the vehicle slowed and turned around. Doubtlessly dozens of other units across the Fire Nation would be doing the same. The Harrier retrieved his map and looked to Tahu Island. It was fairly sizable, with multiple small villages located on it, but only a few major cities, among them the bustling port of Gai Zhu.


	26. Book 2 Ch11: Queen of Blades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorikami's fear of Suda and her harsh treatment of Ada finally crosses a line. Ada takes a stand for herself and her friends.

Sen hadn't wasted much time returning to Gai Zhu to show off his new skill. After explaining how heat reading worked to Suda and Ada, Suda decided that he would be Sen's first target.

Suda sat patiently as Sen repeated the heat reading technique. As was expected, Suda had a lot of chi flowing through the Earth chakra. His Light chakra seemed intensely bright as well. Sen didn't have a lot to compare it to, but he had the feeling that Suda was exceptional in that regard. Overall, Suda didn't really have any major blocks in his chi flow, though it got a little sluggish around the Water chakra. Suda got very smug as soon as Sen informed him of that.

"Hey, those two fire nation agents are spying on us from the roof over there. Do them."

"We can hear you," Agent Zouf said.

"You're terrible spies," Suda said. Zouf didn't dignify that with a response. Sen reached out in their direction anyway. To his surprise, there were absolutely no problems in their chi flow. Everything was completely even.

"You guys really have your act together," Sen said.

"Yeah, who would have guessed that two adults with stable careers would be mentally healthy," Zouf shouted back sarcastically. "Luan even has a family. Wife and two kids, right Luan?"

"My pride and joy, Zouf."

"Yeah, you guys better do your thing before Luan Juniors birthday. Luan's going to get really upset if he misses the party, aren't you Luan?"

"I might have to kill someone, Zouf."

The trio immediately left the area. They decided to hang around the city park for a while. They were going to see one of Nura's games later, since Sen was finally in town while she was playing, but they had a few hours to kill until then. Suda bugged Sen to give Ada her turn with Sen's new trick.

"Ugh, don't," Ada groaned. "I'm all worked up from practice with Sorikami."

Sen had tried to take Sorikami's side now and then, since she was the one who had led them to Hayao, but that was the only good thing she'd done for them. Since arriving in Gai Zhu she'd been abrasive and difficult to deal with. Sen had stopped seeing her as an ally and now viewed her as more of a nuisance with benefits.

Sorikami had been pushing Ada harder and harder in their lessons. Now her rigid instructions stretched out of the practice duels and meditations and tried to govern every aspect of her behavior. Sorikami was telling her how to dress, how to speak, how to walk. Ada was trying to find the balance between Sorikami's strict lessons and her own desires, but the balance was becoming harder and harder to achieve. Every time Ada recommended compromise, Sorikami only pushed harder. The lessons were physically and mentally exhausting.

Sen couldn't help himself, though. He looked inside Ada's heart. A deep frown crossed his face.

"Suda, why don't you go find Nura, let her know I'll be coming to the game."

"Uh, sure," Suda said. He had the feeling something was wrong. "What about you, Ada?"

"No, Sorikami wants to train tonight. I shouldn't."

Suda shook his head, but it was Ada's call. He left to look for Nura. Sen turned his attention to Ada.

"I told you not to," Ada grumbled. She knew what was going on.

"Ada," Sen began.

"Just tell me what's wrong with me," Ada said. It was nothing new. Sorikami had done nothing but tell her she was wrong for months. She was used to it by now. Sen looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Ada."

That was not what Ada had been expecting to hear, to say the least. Sorikami had accustomed her to being criticized, not understood. Sen looked in Ada's heart and saw guilt and regret.

"I've been selfish," Sen mumbled. "I should have been thinking about you, but I acted like I was the only one hurt. Hanjo was your friend too."

Ada tried to stay stoic. Sen continued.

"Everyone I care about is here for me, but you...you left your home behind, your family. I'm so sorry, Ada. For not appreciating everything you've done for me. For not being there when you needed me."

Ada gave up on trying to be stoic and embraced Sen, pressing her face into his chest to hide her red eyes. Sen put his arm around her shoulders and nodded. It was difficult for him to consider things like home and family; he'd never had either. But for Ada, home and family had been everything, and she had left it all behind without even saying goodbye when Sen had asked her. He'd never properly appreciated what she'd sacrificed. Maybe he never really would, but he was much closer now.

"Ada, you know, if you really wanted to, you could go-"

"To the game," Ada interrupted suddenly. She let go of Sen, and suddenly seemed to be remarkably calm. Almost too calm, actually.

"No, Ada , I mean-"

"Sorikami will be mad, yeah," Ada interrupted. "But she'll live. I should spend a night with my friends."

Ada gave Sen a knowing smile, and he understood. That was the end of that discussion, and Ada led the way as they met up with Suda outside the gym. Suda was more than happy to see Ada would be joining them, and then they proceeded into the arena.

Nura's team took to the ring, with a thunderous round of applause. Suda seemed to be cheering the loudest. Ada had her suspicions that the two of them were more than just fellow sportsmen, but she didn't bother Suda about it.

Nura's team put up a good show in the game, but not quite good enough. While they put up a good fight, they ended up losing the game two to one, just barely losing the third round. It wasn't an embarrassing loss, but it was still a loss. Suda was understandably disappointed, but it had still been an entertaining game.

The two passed time outside the arena for about an hour while they waited for Nura to join them. Most of the crowds had dispersed by then, and Ada started checking over her shoulder for Sorikami. The old woman would not be happy that Ada had skipped practice. She was prepared for the verbal thrashing she would inevitably get, but she didn't want anyone else getting dragged into it. Even so, she had a sneaking suspicion that Suda would become involved anyway. Sorikami's distrust of the metalbender was bordering on paranoia nowadays.

Nura eventually arrived, her gear slung over her shoulder, looking a little despondent. Suda tried to congratulate her for doing her best, but Nura didn't put up with any of that. She cupped her hand over his mouth and turned to Ada and Sen.

"You feel like Hakajima's?"

"Works for me," Sen said. Ada agreed. She and Nura were acquainted well enough that she didn't mind spending time with the waterbender. It certainly helped that Nura was naturally friendly. She had only met Sen once before, but from the way she talked one would think they were childhood friends.

"Do I get a vote," Suda objected. He actually wanted to go to Hakajima's, but he also wanted to get Nura's hand away from his mouth.

"No," Nura said. She continued holding her hand over his mouth until Suda finally got sick of it and started walking immediately behind her, out of her reach. Nura laughed at him until they got to the restaurant.

As usual, Nura paid. She had a fairly profitable job and they had no job at all, so Nura was okay with always picking up the tab. Ada always made sure to order something cheap regardless.

"So this match didn't affect your chance of making the tournament, did it?"

Sen still didn't know much about the way this system worked. He knew that wins and losses decided whether you made it into the tournament at the end of the season, but he didn't know how.

"Nah, even if we lost every game for the rest of the season we'd make it in, at this point," Nura said. "But still, I'd rather win than lose."

"Wouldn't we all," Suda said.

"This is your fault, you know," Nura said. She elbowed Suda aggressively and turned to Ada. "This guy is a way better player than Goson, my teams earthbender. If he had subbed in like I asked him we could be winning."

"I keep telling you I can't," Suda said. Playing in such a popular league, especially this late in the season, would give him too much exposure. The fact that they'd stayed in Gai Zhu for nearly seven months was risky enough; Suda didn't need to attract extra attention.

"I get it, I get it," Nura said playfully. "But you'll be making it up to me tonight."

She gave Suda a wry smile that made the situation deeply uncomfortable. He looked to Ada and saw the look of confusion on her face. Suda grabbed Nura and pulled her away from the meal.

"What's that about," Sen asked, his mouth still full of food. He'd made sure not to order something spicy this time.

"You don't know?"

"No, I really don't," Sen said. He was still confused about what Nura and Suda were doing that Ada wouldn't like. Ada shook her head.

"I don't have time for this," She said. She slipped away, leaving Sen alone and confused again. He hated having unanswered questions. Sen shrugged and continued eating his dinner. Ada snuck out behind Suda and Nura, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I told you not to talk about that stuff in front of those guys," Suda scolded.

"Okay, yeah, I took that wink-wink nudge-nudge stuff a little too far," Nura admitted. "But why do you have to be so protective about them? She isn't that young."

"It's not about age," Suda said. He sounded very troubled. "I mean, you've got a little sister. What would you think if I started talking about that kind of stuff right in front of her? How would you feel?"

Nura paused for a moment. Ada slouched against the wall she was hiding behind. Her suspicions about Suda's behavior faded from her mind. She'd never realized that Suda thought of them that way. They were friends, sure, but family? There was still a massive scar on Suda's shoulder from their first meeting. She'd been away from her family for a long time, but she knew they'd never left any scars on her.

She suddenly didn't feel like looking Suda in the eye. She wandered away from her hiding place and into the dark streets of Gai Zhu. She stood before a very large house, an opulent manor belonging to some wealthy businesswoman. She noticed a familiar shadow fall on her path. Someone had been following her.

"Are you done hiding yet?"

Sorikami towered over her reluctant protégé. Ada thought she had prepared herself for this inevitable confrontation, but she hadn't. She didn't want to talk to Sorikami at all. Maybe ever again.

"Suda can only provide so many excuses," Sorikami chastised. Ada was confused. Why was she trying to make this about Suda? Of course she had her paranoia, but Ada had thought she could put that aside for one moment just to scold her.

"You and Sen work tirelessly to improve yourself, and he gallivants with tramps. How long are you going to try and hide what he really is?"

Ada clenched her teeth. She had been unprepared to defend herself, but she was willing and able to fight for Suda. A matter that had been very confusing to her only moments ago suddenly became very clear.

"He's family," Ada retaliated.

Suda had been the one there to support Sen and Ada at their worst. He'd been through the same loss, but instead of retreating into his own despair as they had, he had tried his best to help them. Suda, a thousand times more than Sorikami, had been the one there to help Ada when she had needed it.

"He is a bandit," Sorikami said. "He's to be kept at arm's length at best, not embraced."

"Why are you so afraid of him," Ada demanded. "What is it that makes you so terrified?"

"You haven't earned-"

"Shut up!"

Sorikami was taken aback by Ada's sudden outburst. Ada took a few steps towards her and pointed an accusing finger.

"I don't need to 'earn' any justification for the way you insult my friends," Ada shouted. "Tell me why you're such a coward or get out of my life!"

Sorikami's eyes narrowed at her student. Her tone was disrespectful, but perhaps giving her the truth she wanted would finally make her understand.

"Rahm."

Ada was braver than most, but even so a spark of fear spread through her. Sorikami saw that, and approved. Fear was the appropriate response.

"Rahm was like Suda. He was a metalbender, a former criminal, but when the Seventh Kingdom Uprising began he supposedly reformed, even became a General in the United Coalition. For a while I and many others served with him, loved him, worshipped him. And you know how this story ends, girl."

There were few people who didn't know. Rahm had been one of the greatest metalbenders in history. During his military career, he had cut a bloody swathe through the heart of the enemy, personally defeating all of their generals, even a combustion bender named Gohrman. But when the Seventh Kingdom surrendered, and the war came to a halt, Rahm didn't. He pursued the enemy still, cutting them down just as brutally as he had during the war. Eventually, as the Seventh Kingdom vanished entirely, so did Rahm. Some say he still hunted them, cutting a bloody one-man crusade through the shadows.

In a way, Ada could understand Sorikami's fear. The last days of Rahm's war had been marked with massacres of innocent people. But that didn't excuse the way she was treating Ada, and especially not Suda. Ada snorted derisively.

"You're so terrified of that one person you're letting him define your whole life, the way you treat everyone around you. Do you even know where Rahm is? Do you even know if he's still alive? Why are you still so afraid of him?"

"That is not the point," Sorikami said. Ada could see from her body language that the name of the General had affected Sorikami deeply. Her shoulders were tense, and her hand constantly flitted in the direction of her sword. "Rahm was a monster hiding in a man's skin. Anyone could be like him."

"No," Ada said. "Rahm is Rahm. Suda is Suda. They are nothing alike."

"You've never even seen Rahm."

"And you've never seen Suda," Ada spat back. "You look at him and all you see is someone else's shadow. You're a fool, blinded by your fear."

Sorikami's face had been locked into an expression of slight disapproval for months, but that perpetual frown now broke into a full scowl. Ada had crossed the line. Whatever happened next, it was certain that the two were done as master and apprentice. Ada didn't care in the slightest.

"I'm not going to be like you," Ada said. She was telling herself as much as Sorikami. "I'm going to get better. I'm going to be a master. But I'm going to do it my way."

"And what has 'your way' gotten you? You've stabbed that boy you're so fond of because of 'your way'. You let the Avatar get poisoned. His best friend is dead, because of 'your way'. Your way is failure, your way is pain, your way is wrong. Come back to the beach. We'll see if I can't put an end to 'your way'."

"Just because I was wrong before doesn't mean I'll be wrong every time," Ada said.

She had made mistakes, and people had gotten hurt, but that didn't mean she was on the wrong course. Sorikami had spent all these months trying to destroy Ada, all because of a few mistakes, but Ada was done letting her try.

Ada turned her back on Sorikami, facing back towards her friends. She couldn't resist one last jab. After all, she loved conflict.

"For the record," she said arrogantly. "Trusting you was one mistake."

Ada would have been more than happy to keep Sorikami behind her, never seeing the crotchety old fool again, but she had to pause. She could hear the quiet scrape of metal against metal, the signature sound of a sword being drawn.

"You will go nowhere," Sorikami stated.

Ada turned around again. Sure enough, Sorikami had drawn her sword, pointing it blade-first at Ada. Ada put a hand on the hilt of one of her own swords.

"Are you really going to do this?"

"I won't allow you to use my techniques to aid and abet a criminal," Sorikami said.

"I didn't intend to," Ada replied. "Your techniques are useless. Trash. Piandao would be ashamed of you. You don't deserve to sleep on the dirt beneath his feet, much less live in his castle."

In the future, Ada would slightly regret being so insulting, but she was caught up in the moment and feeling especially hateful towards her former master. It was intensely satisfying to see the distressed look on Sorikami's face as Ada insulted the style she'd built her life around.

"Now put your sword away," Ada commanded.

Ada presuming to order Sorikami around was the last straw. She had seen this kind of arrogance before in the worst examples of swordsmen. It would be easy enough to teach Ada the cost of such pride. Sorikami lunged forward.

With a flash of light and the sound of clashing metal, Ada drew one of her blades and swept Sorikami's thrusting strike to the side. Sorikami hadn't expected such speed from Ada. In all their practices together, she had been sluggish in her defense.

As Sorikami had expected, Ada wasted no time making a retaliatory strike, but the sheer ferocity of the strike did surprise her. Sorikami blocked the blow, but she felt the impact send a shockwave up her arm. She looked briefly at Ada's face. The girl's mouth was twisted into a wide, toothy, grin, almost predatory in the way she bared her teeth.

It occurred to Sorikami that she was fighting the Ada she had been trying to destroy all this time. Every lesson she had taught the girl was meant to separate her from her emotions, but now she had embraced them completely. For her fighting was not a matter of discipline or skill, it was only victory or defeat, power and power alone.

All this time she had been seeing the specter of Rahm in Suda. Now she saw clearly that Ada was the real danger. A cold chill ran through her blood.

Ada could see the fear in Sorikami's eyes and she ignored it. Sorikami would see the face of Rahm in anything that threatened her. Her judgment was permanently warped by her fear and regret. Ada knew she and Suda were nothing like the old ghost that haunted Sorikami's mind.

Sorikami launched a new round of attacks on Ada. While her behavior was ruled by her frightened emotions, her swordsmanship was as rigid and disciplined as ever. Her moves were stiff and lifeless, just as they had been in practice. Ada, on the other hand, was like a brand new warrior. Every move she made was alien to Sorikami, while Ada recognized all of her opponents techniques.

This contrast of the familiar and unfamiliar was the only advantage Ada actually had in the fight. While the younger swordswoman was more aggressive and powerful in her assault, Sorikami still had Ada outmatched in terms of sheer experience and skill. The old woman's reputation was not entirely undeserved. As Sorikami familiarized herself with Ada's brutal offensive style, the balance of power began to shift again in Sorikami's favor.

Ada drew her second sword. Hopefully this would give her a new advantage. She struck from different angles, hoping to force Sorikami to block one blade while the other found its mark. Sorikami was surprisingly agile for her age, and this tactic didn't achieve anything. It at least forced her to be on the defensive more often, which kept her from attacking.

Ada wondered how far Sorikami would take this duel. Ada was willing to fight, but she didn't know if she would really hurt Sorikami. She hated her former master, but she wasn't really an enemy. It would be pointless to wound her.

As if in answer, Sorikami's longsword swept past Ada's arm, far too close for comfort. Sorikami was clearly not holding back. Ada returned the favor. One of her blades managed to graze Sorikami's arm, cleaving the fabric from her sleeve, but not harming the person beneath. It didn't hurt, but it sent a fearful chill down Sorikami's spine.

The duel in the street had started to attract attention. Even late at night, the streets of Gai Zhu were active, and bystanders had gathered to watch the duel. A tall woman with a basket over her shoulder paused in the middle of the street. Ada kept the battle away from the circle of onlookers, lest Sorikami's carelessness lead to injury. The dueled in the middle of a street, all the while being watched by mysterious strangers.

With a forceful thrust and a sweeping twist of her wrist, Sorikami managed to catch one of Ada's blades at the wrong angle and forcefully disarmed her. Ada ignored the inconvenience and focused on her one sword. Without her second blade, her options for offense were sorely limited, and she was put on the defensive. Sorikami's strikes were rigid and easily predictable, but Ada's reflexes were still barely capable of deflecting each blow. Ada began to doubt whether she could win this.

She banished the doubt from her mind and hardened her resolve. She had a chance, if she could only seize it. Ada had been so cautious about Sorikami's superior skill and experience that she was letting the old bat set the pace. Ada was being passive, not active, in her fighting. That had to change.

Blocking one final blow, Ada lunged forward like a predator on the hunt, closing the gap between herself and Sorikami. Sorikami was forced backwards, and Ada pressed her brief advantage. She turned her blade on Sorikami's gut and activated the electric jolts that made her swords unique. Electricity coursed through the fabric and into Sorikami, racking the old swordswoman with pain.

But Sorikami, for all her personal failings, was still an old soldier. Pain meant less to her. She retained her focus through the electric shock, and brought the pommel of her longsword down on Ada's head, knocking her to the ground. Ada had no time to collect herself before Sorikami struck her again with the flat of the blade, knocking her further down, to her knees.

"You see what real skill achieves," Sorikami said haughtily. "Your berserker rage and your electrical toys are no match for art."

Ada grunted breathlessly once. She had lost today, that was not up for debate. Sorikami took her remaining blade and kicked it far away, disarming Ada permanently. She was arrogant. Ada had lost this battle, but there would be others. She would get better, and one day she would surpass Sorikami. That, Ada believed with all her heat.

"Battle isn't an art. You win or you lose," Ada said.

Sorikami suddenly had a look of furious hatred in her eyes. Ada was surprised to see such intensity from her.

"You talk like him."

Driven suddenly by hatred and fear, Sorikami tightened her grip on her sword and lunged forward. Ada held her arms in front of her face, and she was shocked to feel the edge of Sorikami's blade sink into her left forearm. She recoiled quickly from the pain, leaving herself unable to retaliate as Sorikami raised her blade high above her head and brought it down.

Sorikami's blade halted in midair. It was not any sense of mercy or restraint that stopped the blade, simply the fact that she could no longer move it forward. Sorikami froze in a brief moment of terror, leaving her wide open for what came next.

Once, during Sorikami's career in the Seventh Kingdom Uprisings, an enemy metalbender had dropped an entire truck on her. That experience was the only thing comparable to the feeling of getting punched in the face by Suda. The full weight of the metalbenders massive frame was focused on a few inches of Sorikami's chin. The titanic blow dislocated her jaw and sent a shock through her body that caused her to black out completely.

By the time the momentary shock wore off, she quickly realized she was no longer on the ground. Suda had gripped her by the torso and, with a loud bellow of anger, tossed her bodily away from the wounded Ada. Sorikami's limp body slammed against a wall and crumpled to the ground.

Suda was briefly tempted to follow Sorikami, to keep punishing her for daring to hurt Ada, but he abandoned thoughts of revenge when he saw Ada bleeding. He picked her up and started carrying her toward the hospital. Sen, who was just a few steps behind, was now deeply confused. Suda was running towards the hospital far too fast to explain the situation, carrying Ada with him.

"That was very impressive," Ada said quietly. Despite the horrible pain in her arm, she had greatly enjoyed watching Sorikami crumble under a single punch and then be tossed aside like a ragdoll. The sight of her flying limply through the air would be a memory Ada treasured for a long time.

"I should've been there sooner," Suda said. "I'm sorry, I should've stopped her-"

"I'm okay, Suda," Ada assured him. It hurt, badly, but she could feel that the wound was not very deep. "Nothing worse than what I did to you."

Ada smiled weakly. Suda started walking faster. Her silence was not exactly reassuring him. His mind was racing with thoughts of her safety, despite Ada's insistence she was fine.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled. She pressed her face against his shoulder. She could just barely feel the massive scar underneath his shirt. "I never apologized for hurting you."

"It's alright, everything's fine," Suda said. It was almost funny how much he was panicking. Ada could feel his arms trembling as he carried her. "I'm fine, and you're going to be fine too."

"Yeah, I will."

Far behind them, in a far more ignominious position, Sorikami finally collected herself and started the process of getting off the ground. Her entire body ached, and she could feel a stabbing pain in her jawbone. She reoriented herself and observed her surroundings.

The Gai Zhu police had finally arrived on the scene, much too late. They were being held at bay by Agent Luan, who was using his Royal Family credentials to keep them from asking any questions, while Agent Zouf and Sen stared Sorikami down. Sorikami held up her hand, looking for assistance in getting off the ground, and Agent Zouf quite decidedly did not help her.

"What the hell happened to you, Sorikami? Why would you do that?"

Sorikami tried to explain why Ada and Suda were dangerous, but her dislocated jaw made it painful to even try to speak. She ignored the agents lecture and retrieved her sword from the ground.

"You stabbed a child," Zouf chastised. "If we didn't risk compromising Sen's security, I would be letting these police arrest you!"

Sorikami rolled her eyes. Anyone who didn't see that Ada was the real villain here was not worth her time. Zouf regretted not getting involved earlier. They had been too preoccupied guarding Sen to notice that Ada had been in battle just a few streets away. If Suda hadn't stepped in when he had, Sorikami would have dealt a mortal blow. It was hard to understand why Sorikami would suddenly be so filled with hatred for a child; Sen had never imagined that Sorikami would take it that far.

"Get out of here," Sen commanded. Sorikami ignored him. She could care less about the Avatar. He was as caught up in Suda's treachery as the rest of them. They were all being deceived.

Sen could feel a coldness from Sorikami that eclipsed anything he'd seen before. Her Earth chakra, the chakra of fear, wasn't just blocked, it was almost inverted, draining chi from her. She was so absolutely terrified that it drained the life out of her. Whatever she was scared of, it completely ruled her life. Sen didn't need a coward like that on his side.

Sorikami collected her blade, put her sword into its scabbard and stormed off into the night, her head filled with thoughts of an old friend and a new enemy. Sen was happy to see her go, and hoped they'd never see each other again. Now that she was gotten rid of, it was time to see about following Suda to the hospital. He didn't know Gai Zhu's layout very well, so he tried asking directions. A significant crowd had gathered, so it wouldn't be hard to find someone who knew.

As he interrogated his first target, the conversation came to an abrupt halt as the civilians eyes darted upwards. Sen felt a hand fall on his shoulder. A hand wrapped in cloth.

"What have you done," Miyani asked.


	27. Book 2 Ch12: Two of a Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's rule-breaking is brought to light, as are Hayao's manipulative orders, causing a very confusing evening for Miyani as she gets caught in the crossfire between the two.

Sen had been hoping to see some emotion from Miyani, but not this kind. She was angry and confused, nothing that Sen had ever wanted for her or anyone.

She'd been in Gai Zhu collecting food and supplies. A wealthy former student of Hayao's lived in town, and kept the island stocked with donations. Miyani was responsible for collecting them, which was why she had unfortunately crossed paths with Sen. She was furious to see him here, in blatant defiance of Hayao's orders.

Sen had taken them both to the beach, so they could at least have this discussion in peace. As he stepped onto the soil, he stomped his foot down, telling Gun to stay underground. The last thing he needed now was a badgermole making the situation even more confusing for Miyani. She was already hurt enough. She put her basket of supplies down on the beach, staring out at the island. She refused to speak to Sen for a moment.

"Why would you do this," She said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Miyani. I had to-"

"You had to stay on the island. Like Hayao told you to! Like you told me you were going to! Why would you lie to me? Why?"

Miyani's face was flushed, and the blood flow turned the faint scars all across her body red. She clawed at the bandages on her arms in frustration.

"I don't understand," She continued. "You were doing so well, everything was fine, it was all perfect."

"I was only making progress because of my visits here," Sen argued. "If I hadn't come to see my friends, I'd still be stuck in rut, nothing would have changed!"

Somehow that only seemed to make Miyani's mood worse. Her hands tightened around her bandages, digging her fingernails into her skin.

"Is that it? I've done nothing for you?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Sen quickly backtracked. "I mean, you've been very helpful, really, really, really helpful, but I couldn't have done it with just you. I needed help from my friends too. But I did need you too! I wouldn't have gotten where I am without you, but I wouldn't have gotten here without them either!"

That seemed to help a little, but Miyani was still very upset. It would take a lot more explaining before she was satisfied. She had relaxed a little though, hopefully enough that they could talk more reasonably from here on out. Miyani sat down on a boulder and rubbed her eyes. The bandages around her forehead were starting to aggravate her. Sen sat down next to her.

"I'm really sorry I lied to you," He explained. "When this started, I was really confused, and I just wanted to see my friends…I wasn't thinking."

"I would've understood if you told me," Miyani said. She was obviously calmer, but still upset. "Why did you keep lying to me?"

"Because then we would have had to have this talk," Sen admitted.

There was a moment of silence, as they both wallowed in their emotions. Sen could feel a pervasive cold, from Miyani and from himself. The only real heat came from Gun, who was still tunneled just below the surface, worrying about his master. Sen tapped his heel, driving the badgermole deeper underground. Gun reluctantly obeyed.

"You need to stay on the island from now on," Miyani said. "I know you think this is the right way, but it isn't. It may have helped you a few times, but in the long run all it'll bring you is more pain and confusion."

"I can't do that now," Sen objected. "Ada's hurt. I need to be here for her."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," Miyani shouted. "This is what happens when you try to get involved! It just causes you more problems, more guilt!"

"Me being here or not wouldn't have kept Ada from getting hurt! It would've been exactly the same, except I wouldn't know about. I can't just sit on the island and pretend bad things aren't happening because I can't see them! The world doesn't work that way."

Miyani looked away. Maybe that had hit too close to home for her.

"I'm sorry."

There was another moment of quiet. Sen felt pretty useless right now. He had two extra senses and he still couldn't tell exactly what was happening. How much did he have to learn before he could figure things out? He might as well have been blind, deaf, and mute for all the good his talents were doing him. Hopefully he could figure out how to explain himself to Miyani in a way that didn't just make things worse. He just needed some time, and maybe a little help.

"Miyani, I know this is important to you," He began. "But I really need to see Ada. I'm worried about her."

Miyani sighed deeply and stood up.

"I'll come with you."

Maybe she was concerned about Ada as well, or maybe she just didn't trust Sen to be alone. Either way, Sen's only concern right now was making sure Ada was okay, and getting to Suda. Hopefully Suda could help him deal with Miyani. Miyani led the way to the hospital. Sen asked around about Ada and was eventually led to the outpatient room. Miyani stayed a ways behind while Sen approached a very relieved Suda.

Ada's arm was wrapped in bandages and hung in a sling, but the fact that she was already on her way out of the hospital was a good sign. They'd be keeping her much longer if it was a serious injury. She and Suda were talking about something.

"I just don't think it's very professional of you," Ada said sluggishly.

"Last I checked, I didn't sign a contract," Suda said. "There's no code of conduct. I can see Nura if I want to."

"Seeing her isn't the problem, it's-"

At this point, Suda finally saw Sen approaching.

"Sen! Glad you finally found us," Suda said. He looked like he'd been sweating nervously for quite some time, and was quite glad to change the subject. "Ada's fine."

"Yup," Ada said. She sounded a little woozy. "Just a few painkillers and bandages kind of cut, they said. Few minutes with a healer, a couple pills, and I am just fine."

It sounded like she'd had more than a few painkillers, actually. Her voice was wobbling a bit as she spoke. As long as she was alright, everything else was secondary.

"So, did they say anything about the long term? Is this going to affect how you fight?"

"I'll be out of the fight for a few weeks," Ada said. She wobbled slightly in her seat. "But I am guaranteed to be back in action in no less than five weeks."

"They actually didn't give an exact number," Suda said. He gave Ada an awkward glance. "But she's going to be fine, yeah. It's all good. Everything's fine."

Miyani chose this moment to step forward. Suda gave her a shocked stare. It had been years since he'd met someone taller than him. That, and he hadn't expected to see her here at all.

"She's fine, Sen. Let's go."

Ada's slightly fuzzy mind recalled Miyani's description and realized that the very tall woman in front of her matched that description perfectly. She was not entirely together in the head, but she knew that Miyani being here meant trouble. She decided to keep her mouth shut, lest her painkiller-addled mind make her say anything stupid.

"You must be Miyani," Suda said. "Nice to meet you."

Miyani gave Suda a harsh glare. He wasn't used to being looked down on, and despite the fact that she was skinny and pale, the intimidation was surprisingly effective. Suda took a step back. Miyani put a scarred hand on Sen's shoulder.

"Sen and I were just leaving," She said.

"I never said that," Sen said. He was hoping that Suda could talk to Miyani, say something to get him out of this situation. Suda had proven very wise in the past. "I should help her get home, at least."

"You're making excuses," Miyani said accusingly. "You've been bending the rules enough. We're going back to the island, and this time you're staying. No more breaking Hayao's rules."

Suda looked back and forth between Sen and Miyani in a panic. He didn't want Sen to be gone. He knew that Sen needed to be here, for his own sake and for Ada's. Also because Suda's birthday was coming up. He had to do something, anything, to keep Miyani from taking Sen away.

"What if Hayao's rules were made to be broken?"

Ada let out a low groan. That had been the exact kind of stupid thing that she'd been hoping to avoid saying. Miyani glared angrily at Suda.

"That's what they are," Suda said. "Hayao only told Sen to stay on the island so he'd eventually leave. Hayao wanted him to break it. He told us so himself."

Miyani's angry glare morphed into an expression of confusion and concern. Her eyebrows twitched slightly. Sen was making pretty much the same face. Ada was shaking her head lazily. Suda was beginning to think he'd said the wrong thing.

"Is that true," Sen asked. He already had a feeling that it was, but he wanted to be sure.

"Yes," Ada groaned. "Hayao said it was important to learn to defy people."

She was glaring angrily at a guilty looking Suda. Sen shook his head.

"I came to him sick and mourning, and he takes me away from my friends to teach me some stupid lesson! Who does he think he is?"

Sen grit his teeth and looked at his friends.

"You went along with this? You helped him keep us apart, when I needed you?"

"Sen, it was a good idea, you have to-"

Suda stopped talking as Sen whipped around and looked at Miyani. She had a far-away look in her eyes, but she snapped back to attention when Sen started to speak to her.

"And you! Did you know about this?"

"Sen, I swear I didn't-"

"So he was manipulating you too," Sen said. "You of all people he should have trusted, but you're just another toy to him!"

Miyani suddenly clutched at her forehead. Sen could feel the energy in that area knot and twist around itself as Miyani grew more confused. She stormed off suddenly, and Sen followed her out of instinct. Suda stayed with Ada, feeling rather guilty.

"I screwed up, didn't I," he said.

"Happens to the best of us," Ada assured him. She couldn't resent him for one mistake, not after all the mistakes she'd made.

Sen followed Miyani outside of the hospital and down the streets, until she came to a halt far away from any people or buildings. Sen wondered why she had run all this way. After taking a few deep breaths, Miyani calmed down and stopped grabbing at her head. She seemed slightly calmed by the fact that Sen had followed her all this way.

"Are you alright?"

"I get- I get migraines, sometimes, from stress," Miyani choked out. Her throat was hurting her. "I try to avoid those kind of situations. Confrontation. That kind of thing."

Sen walked up next to her and stood by her side. They were on the outskirts of Gai Zhu now, looking out at barren hills. It was never really quiet around the lively city, but it was fairly calm here.

"Let's just forget this ever happened. We can start over," Miyani suggested. Sen could see red marks in the skin of her face, where she'd dug her own fingernails into her skin. Sen didn't like the way she seemed to take her frustration out on her own body.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You were wrong to lie to me, but I was wrong to get so mad at you. If it's what Hayao wanted, it was for the best. We're even."

"Is it that simple," Sen asked. "I mean, just because Hayao said so, its okay? You seemed upset earlier. I know I'm not happy about this."

"You shouldn't be upset. Hayao is wiser than both of us."

Miyani was very blatantly trying to justify Hayao's actions. Sen could tell from the way she'd initially reacted that she was not okay with being manipulated. Hayao was her master; she should have been able to trust him. Instead he had treated her like a pawn in a game. Now she was lying so she could convince herself that Hayao hadn't really been mistreating her.

"That doesn't mean he can't be wrong," Sen objected. "He manipulated us, all of us! I don't care how wise he is, that doesn't give him the right to treat us all like pawns."

"It's not like that."

"Yes it is! Why are you even on his side, Miyani? He hasn't talked to you in years. Why do you care so much about someone who isn't even there for you?"

"He knows what's best for all of us," Miyani said. "I know you don't like being manipulated, Sen, but it's better to let Hayao guide you."

"Because it's easier," Sen said angrily. He had finally figured out something very important about Miyani. "Because if you let Hayao make every single decision for you, you never have to be responsible for your own life. You can just hide away on that island and ignore all life's problems."

The way she'd been talking all night had finally revealed her core problem. Miyani was terrified of being decisive. She would allow Hayao to rule her life, for better or worse, because it meant she didn't have to be face reality. She could hide from confusion, from sadness, from regret, because she never once made a choice. She couldn't make any mistakes because she never acted, she couldn't fail because she never tried.

"You're a coward, Miyani."

The words tasted like acid on his tongue. He had insulted people before, jokingly, in his conversations with Hanjo or Suda, but he had never looked someone in the eye, called them a coward, and meant it. He had never spoken with the intent of hurting someone. But something in his heart said Miyani deserved it. The scar on his wrist burned like a fire.

Miyani's eyes darted aimlessly from side to side, in a frenzy of confusion and anger. Reacting more than thinking, Miyani raised her arm. Sen was expecting her to grab at her arms again, so he didn't react to what was coming in time.

Miyani's blow had very little but impotent anger behind it, so it barely hurt at all, but the fact that she had struck Sen at all was shock enough. Her clenched fist caught Sen's jaw and barely managed to push his head to the side. Sen shook off the blow and stared at Miyani. She stared back for a moment. Sen didn't know what to say, and clearly neither did she.

Suddenly, Miyani turned on her heels and ran back towards the beach. Sen watched her go, but didn't bother following. He was done following her. She would just run back to Hayao, like she always did. With that thought in mind, Sen turned around and headed back to Ada and Suda.


	28. Book 2 Ch13: The Red Rider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen visits the island of Dragons and the home of the reborn Sun Warriors, gaining new insight on himself and his former master.

Yesterday had been needlessly confusing. Sen was taking a day off, from everything. Ada was still recovering from her fight with Sorikami, and Suda was trying to think of a way explain everything that had happened last night to Nura, leaving Sen alone. That was fine with him. He had a lot of thinking to do.

He wasn't sure if he would go back to Hayao's island, or if he would even be welcome there. It was hard to imagine Miyani being happy to see him after what he'd said to her. She'd punched him in the face, after all. That was a pretty universal sign for "I don't like you".

Sen was sitting on a rocky cliff, looking out at the volcanic island from a great distance. Gun sat beside him. They were far enough away from Gai Zhu that no one would see the badgermole, and Sen hadn't spent enough time with his animal guide lately. It was nice to spend time with Gun; he was simple. As long as he had food and Sen, Gun was perfectly content. People had a bunch of issues and complexities that caused confusion, but animals were simple.

Gun tapped his claws against the rocky stone. He didn't really like living in the Fire Nation. The soil was too rocky for his tastes, harder to tunnel through, and it had fewer subterranean creatures for him to eat. He missed the loose soil of the Earth nation. Sen was here, though, so this was where Gun belonged.

Gun sighed and pressed his head against Sen's arm. Sen patted the badgermole on the head and continued examining the skyline. He wished Gun wasn't blind. It would have been nice to share the view, but Gun could only see through the ground. He had no idea the sky even existed.

Sunrise was well behind them now, so the sky wasn't quite as beautiful anymore, but it was still nice to look at. Seahawks spiraled around the cliffs, hunting for fish in the waters below. Every now and then one dived beneath the water to grab its prey. It was interesting to watch the birds dive.

The horizon seemed much wider here than it ever had in the United Earth Kingdoms. There were no hills or mountains blocking the view, so you could see for miles in every direction. Most of what you could see was only blue ocean, though. Occasionally an island would appear, or a bird would spiral over the horizon. Right now there was a black speck drifting slowly across the sky.

Sen's heart stopped briefly. Gun noticed the sudden change and looked around in a panic. Sen got up and started sprinting back towards town. The last time he'd seen something like that black mark in the sky had been at Tunuk Bay. The Energybender's zeppelin.

The Avatarmobile had been gathering dust in a garage for many months now, which was why Ada was so surprised to see Sen suddenly rip open the doors and started tearing through the storage containers. He tossed aside the smoke canister, the platinum-plated stones, and Ada's secret tool, looking for something in a panic. Ada quickly and carefully retrieved her unique item and packed it away safely before asking the question on her mind.

"Sen, what's going on?"

"There's something in the sky," Sen said. Ada didn't waste time panicking. Using her uninjured arm, she pushed Sen aside, grabbed a pair of binoculars from the supply boxes, and looked up at the sky where Sen pointed. She quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's not a zeppelin," She said. Sen finally relaxed. He had been so terrified that the Energybender might have caught up with them. He didn't need that stress on top of everything else.

Ada refocused the binoculars and looked back to the sky. Whatever was flying around up there definitely wasn't a zeppelin or any other aircraft, but it wasn't a common bird either. Ada wondered if it was a Sky Bison. She took a closer look, and found a surprise.

"Sen, that's a dragon!"

She handed over the binoculars, and Sen looked into the sky. Sure enough, a serpentine dragon was winding its way through the sky. A rider was just barely visible on its back.

Suda, who had heard the word dragon, quickly came running to take a look. Sen barely had time to hand over the binoculars before Suda ripped them out of his hands. Suda scanned the sky and let out a quiet gasp of excitement.

"Wow, a real dragon! There's only like thirty of those in the whole world."

Dragons had been making a resurgence since being hunted nearly to extinction during the Hundred-Year war, but they were slow breeders. Unlike the Sky Bison, which bred in litters and grew very quickly, dragons were rather finicky breeders. They rarely mated and their eggs took a very long time to hatch. Their population had been rising steadily, but very slowly.

"What's a dragon doing all the way out here?"

"Just guess," Sen said. He pointed lazily as the dragon began to soar downwards towards Hayao's island.

***

Zorotl guided his dragon carefully into the fogbank of Hayao's secluded island. Kalatal hated flying through the fog, but the dragon was familiar with the island. He had been here often, on Zorotl's yearly visits.

The massive red serpent landed in front of the cavern entrance, his mighty wings temporarily clearing away the fog. Zorotl scanned the surroundings for a moment. While he was happy to visit his former master, there were other, less pleasant individuals on the island. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Zorotl picked up his pack and proceeded into the cave.

"Greetings, master," Zorotl said with a bow. Hayao was sitting right where Zorotl had last seen him a year ago, and the year before that, and the year before, going back about twenty-three years. Long ago Zorotl had been cast out from the Sun Warriors for his pride and violent temper, but thanks to Hayao's teachings, Zorotl had been welcomed back to his people, and had even come to be a dragon master. The only thing Hayao demanded in payment was that Zorotl return once a year to refresh the circle of candles around Hayao's pedestal.

Zorotl went to work scraping up the melted wax and replacing the candles. Hayao was motionless and silent during most of this process, but he spoke towards the very end.

"I have an additional request of you this year, Zorotl," Hayao said.

"Anything you say, master," Zorotl said. He would do anything Hayao asked, but he hoped that Hayao would not ask him for a certain favor.

"I want you to take someone back to the Dragon Roost," Hayao declared.

Zorotl had been hoping for anything but that. He shook his head.

"I'll take her if you want, but you know she isn't welcome," He said sadly.

"Miyani is not who I speak of," Hayao scolded. Zorotl stepped back. "Your exile has retreated into solitary meditation for now. You are to go the mainland, and look for a boy named Sen."

He had intended for Miyani and Sen to travel to the Dragon's island together, but the two had apparently gone through a falling-out, and it would not do to force them back together. Hopefully Sen could learn what he needed on his own.

"Can I ask why?"

"He has something to learn from the residents of the island," Hayao commanded, and then he was silent. Zorotl finished his work with the candles and returned to Kalatal. The dragon was excited to leave the fog, but confused to see that they were heading for the mainland instead of back home.

Landing in Gai Zhu was more of a pain than it was worth. It was impossible to hide a dragon in a city like this, and a massive crowd gathered. Luckily Kalatal's ferocious growls were enough to scare off the civilians, and nobody tried to touch him. Kalatal didn't like to be touched, and Zorotl was worried he'd bite someone in half if they were dumb enough to try.

Zorotl reluctantly left the dragon behind as he searched for the boy named Sen. It was hard to get information from anyone. The Sun Warriors had technically come out of seclusion to help rekindle the dragon population, but most people had still never seen one. Many of the civilians of Gai Zhu were too busy staring at Zorotl's outlandish clothes to actually help him. After an inordinately long search, he was directed to a house on the outskirts of town.

Agents Luan and Zouf regarded the Sun Warrior with no small amount of confusion. The Avatar seemed to be attracting all kinds of strange attention. The Sun Warriors could be trusted, though, so they didn't interfere with Zorotl's mission, whatever it was.

Suda was suitably confused upon opening the door to a strangely dressed man with red tattoos all over his body. Zorotl introduced himself politely and then got to business, asking if he could speak with Sen. Suda awkwardly called Sen to the door. The young Avatar was just as surprised to see the stranger at their door. Even Ada, who actually knew about the Sun Warriors, was surprised to see one at their door.

"You're Sen, yeah? You're familiar with Hayao?"

"I guess I'm a student of his…technically," Sen said. It was a complex situation right now.

"He asked me to take you somewhere," Zorotl said. It was probably better to not say they were going to the Dragon Roost while the others were around.

"Where are we going?"

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it," Zorotl said. He really didn't want to say anything about the dragons. Suda looked like the "eager" type, and then he'd ask to go along.

"I'm done being pushed around by Hayao," Sen said, frustrated. "Either tell me where we're going or I'm staying here."

Zorotl rolled his eyes and asked if they could speak in private. Suda and Ada reluctantly retreated.

"Hayao said I should take you to Dragon Roost island. He says you have something to learn there."

Sen was quite shocked to hear that. He had seen the dragon flying towards Hayao's island this morning, but he hadn't thought Zorotl would be the rider. The idea of visiting the Dragon's island appealed to him on a basic level. Dragons were the original firebenders, after all. Sen had learned the seismic sense by mimicking Gun, a primeval earthbender. Imagine what he could learn from dragons.

Sen said a hasty goodbye to his friends and followed Zorotl across town. Hopefully this would be a pleasant diversion from the problems of yesterday. He could distract himself from the issues of Sorikami and Hayao and Miyani with dragons.

He had been expecting to see a dragon for a while, but Sen was still shocked to lay eyes on Kalatal. The dragon was absolutely massive, even larger than Gun. The dragons titanic wingspan blacked out the sun.

Zorotl unceremoniously threw a sack over Sen's head like a hood.

"So no one wonders why you're riding a dragon," he explained. Sen reluctantly agreed. He'd already gotten too much attention for having been involved with Sorikami the past night. The less people knew he was here, the better. Sen wrapped the fabric around himself and proceeded towards the dragon.

"Now be careful. Kalatal's unfriendly, even by dragon standards."

Kalatals piercing eyes gazed intently at Sen for a brief moment. This was usually the part where Kalatal threatened to roast anyone who approached him. To Zorotl's surprise, Kalatal calmly allowed Sen to approach. That didn't happen often.

Zorotl instructed Sen how to climb onto the dragons back, and then the two of them set off. Sen did not enjoy flying as much as he thought he would. Looking down at the ground, miles beneath him, filled Sen with absolute terror. He missed the feeling of earth beneath his feet. Sen pressed his face against the dragons scales and held on tight for a few hours, until he heard wings stop flapping.

Zorotl helped a still very nervous Sen dismount Kalatal. The Avatar was glad to have solid stone beneath his feet again. He was not looking forward to doing that again.

Kalatal soared away, and Sen watched him go. The mighty red dragon soared across the strange island towards a stone cavern. He roared loudly into the cavern, and another dragon responded. Kalatal disappeared into the stone maw.

"His mate," Zorotl explained. "One of only two living things in the world Kalatal doesn't try to fight, the other being me."

Zorotl had seen four, technically, but Sen didn't need to know that he had humbled a raging dragon, and the less people knew about the fourth person, the better.

"Now, I'll show you around," Zorotl said. He pointed towards the rocky peaks of the island. "This is Dragon Roost island, as you may have guessed. It is where we rebuild the dragon population. The peaks you see here are the living areas."

Zorotl pointed downwards, and began walking that way. Sen followed.

"Down at the base of this hill, we have the hatchery. There's a few eggs being tended at the moment. We usually don't have guests, but I guess you're an exception."

They walked through a tangle of thick jungle trees. Underneath the leafy canopy was a large stone courtyard. Several eggs were placed on rocky podiums, being watched over by small groups of Sun Warriors and carefully observed by dragon mothers. In the distance, pyramids emerged from the treetops and soared towards the sun. The Sun Warriors had rebuilt their ancient cities after leaving their self-imposed seclusion, and their cities had quickly regained their former glory. All of the Sun Warriors in the courtyard immediately looked towards the outsider in their midst. Though the Sun Warriors had gone public, they were still wary of outsiders.

"My people! This is Sen, a chosen guest of Master Hayao. He has come to learn from us!"

The name Hayao seemed to inspire equal parts admiration and suspicion from the dragon caretakers. Sen was welcomed, but not warmly. The dragons seemed to care the least, returning to their vigil over the eggs as soon as they ascertained Sen was not a threat. Sen was glad of that. He could handle suspicion from people, but he didn't want to be on the wrong side of dragons.

Zorotl led the way to a nearby podium. The Sun Warriors parted to allow Sen to get slightly closer to the egg. He was watched carefully by the tribe, every move he made cast under suspicion.

"This one ought to be hatching in a month or two," Zorotl said. A circle of firebenders were gently using their art to keep the egg warm. "After that it'll be a matter of finding a caretaker. Maybe you could give it a try. The dragons seem to accept you."

The dragon mother overlooking her egg was unmindful of Sen's presence, which was suspicious in a way. Dragons were not inherently trusting creatures, especially when it came to their eggs. A stranger being ignored so quickly was not common. The dragons should at least be casting Sen a wary eye, yet they seemed to at least disregard him, if not trust him.

"I don't think so," Sen said. He could never replace Gun, not even with a dragon. A badgermole was the only companion he needed. Sen had no desire to fly again anyway.

"Well, if you say so," Zorotl said. The invitation had mostly been a formality anyway. The Sun Warriors were not eager to hand over their dragons to an outsider. Their last experience with taking in an outsider had ended poorly.

Zorotl led Sen away from the hatchery and towards a vast open expanse. This was where the Sun Warriors trained their young warriors. A massive stone field was filled with dozens of youths, overseen by instructors both human and draconic. In smaller areas outside the main training field, three juvenile dragons trained with their partners. Sen was led to the main area, and Zorotl called over one of the watching dragons.

"Well, Hayao wants you to learn from these guys, so lets get to it," Zorotl said. At a signal from Zorotl, the blue dragon began to spiral around Sen in an intricate pattern. Sen was a quick study, and he began to replicate the dragons motions. The dragon began to breathe controlled spurts of fire as he flew, and Sen matched the bursts. Zorotl nodded approvingly. He gave another signal, and the dragon shifted to a different form.

Sen spent an hour repeating the varied motions of the dragons, quickly matching their actions. The way they behaved was nothing like Miyani's attempts at firebending. They weren't better, necessarily, but they were different, more organic. Miyani's lessons had taught Sen to build energy within himself and then release it in bursts. The dragon style of firebending involved a more natural flow of energy, drawing on heat and releasing it in a fluid motion.

"You learn fast," Zorotl observed. Sen didn't admit it, but he was cheating a little bit. His ability to read chakras apparently applied to dragons as well as people. He could easily see the way the fire was shifting through their bodies and duplicate that flow.

"Let's get you some one on one. You have to use the fire, not just be able to make it. Who wants to spar with the outsider?"

There was only one volunteer among the teenaged Sun Warriors. Zorotl called the boy forward. He seemed to be about Sen's age, though his Sun Warrior clothing and tattoos meant they looked nothing alike.

"Hi there," The young warrior said cheerily. "I'm Rohtan."

"I'm Sen. Nice to meet you."

Rohtan and Sen shook hands, but Zorotl quickly pushed them apart.

"You aren't here to make friends, you're here to pretend to kill each other," Zorotl half-joked. He didn't want Rohtan getting too friendly with an outsider. "Now get started on the make-believe murder."

Rohtan smiled brightly and then began to launch a salvo of lethal attacks at Sen. He'd never really sparred with Miyani, or anyone else, before, so the attack caught him off guard. He spun his hands in a circular motion and dispersed the flames, negating the attack. Rohtan didn't hesitate to launch a follow up attack, a spiraling line of flame that came at Sen from unexpected angles. Sen was kept moving, forced to constantly retreat from Rohtan's relentless attacks.

Eventually, Sen got in a good position for a counterattack. He recalled how dragons were always swooping as they had demonstrated their skills, and put that into practice. As he dodged one of Rohtan attacks, he lunged forward and retaliated with an attack of his own. The ferocious counterattack gave Sen some time to plant his feet.

Although he was dedicated to firebending at the moment, Sen was still an earthbender at heart. He was best suited to a steady, stable stance, keeping his feet firmly on the ground. With time to get into position, he was able to bend more naturally, and the sparring match became more even. Rohtan and Sen traded attacks fairly, neither of them really gaining ground or losing it. Rohtan seemed to be enjoying himself, but Sen was taking this a little more seriously.

He had probably completely ruined any chance of continuing training with Miyani by now, so it was important for him to learn as much as he could from the Sun Warriors. Hopefully he'd be taught enough that he could move on to Air. He had been in the Fire Nation for several months now. It was nearly time for him to move on, lest the Energybender catch his trail.

Briefly distracted by thoughts of his future, Sen reacted too slowly to one of Rohtan's attacks, and he was forced to take a step backwards. Thinking quickly, Sen retaliated, not with the techniques he'd learned from the dragons, but from Miyani. He took a deep breath, felt the heat build up within his body, and then released it in a powerful burst of flame. Rohtan was forced backwards, and Sen pressed forward. His advance was quickly halted by a furious looking Zorotl.

"What are you doing?"

"We were sparring," Rohtan explained sarcastically. He didn't like being interrupted. The match had just been getting fun.

"Shut up, boy," Zorotl said dismissively. "You, Sen. Where did you learn to bend like that?"

"From my master," Sen said.

"Hayao? Hayao taught you to bend like that?"

"No, not from him. It was another one of Hayao's students. A girl named Miyani."

Zorotl's eyes narrowed. He should have known Hayao would pull something like this. Sen and Rohtan were confused. Sen had no idea how Miyani was connected to the Sun Warriors, and Rohtan had no idea who Miyani was at all.

"I don't get it. Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes. That's unnatural," Zorotl said.

"No it isn't," Rohtan objected. "The dragons know when someone's bending wrong. They didn't care at all."

The training dragons were maintaining a silent vigil over the situation. They had an innate ability to sense flaws in technique, particularly permutations like rage-based fire. They hadn't reacted at all to Sen's last display of bending. It wasn't a common technique, but it wasn't unnatural either.

"Look, you don't know what you're talking about," Zorotl said to Rohtan. He tried to push the young warrior out of the conversation, but Rohtan held his ground.

"How do you know Miyani anyway," Sen asked. Zorotl looked around. Several of the other trainees had gathered around them. The watchful eyes of the dragons bored into Zorotl. The Sun Warriors had a philosophy, that if you would not speak the truth before a dragon, you were a coward. Zorotl would not be called a coward.

"She lived among us once, a long time ago," Zorotl explained. "She was orphaned in the Seventh Kingdom war, and she was brought to us. But Miyani is not the kind of person we could have amongst ourselves. She was exiled. We sent her to Master Hayao."

Sen did the math in his head. He didn't like the results. Miyani was eighteen, and she had said she'd been with Hayao for ten years.

"You exiled an eight year old girl," Sen said in disgust. While he had not exactly treated Miyani well, he had at least waited until she was nearly an adult to do so. Treating a young child so harshly was deplorable.

Zorotl was getting dirty looks from the Sun Warrior trainees. The adult trainers understood the situation, and they took Zorotl's side.

"What could an eight year old do to earn an exile?"

Rohtan was standing at the head of the angry teenagers now. Zorotl had to defuse this situation. Sen was the catalyst, so removing him should help. Zorotl whistled loudly. From across the island, Kalatal heard his masters call and came soaring to the field.

"This discussion doesn't concern you children," Zorotl said to Rohtan and the other bystanders. "Sen and I will continue this in private."

Kalatal landed with a heavy rush of air, and Zorotl bid Sen to mount the dragon. Before he left, Rohtan grabbed Sen by the shoulder and gave him a half-hearted smile. They barely knew each other, but Sen did admire the way Rohtan had fought, and the way he'd stood up to Zorotl. Hopefully one day they would get a chance to know each other better.

Sen climbed onto Kalatal's back, and Zorotl took off. After a brief flight, they landed atop a mountaintop some distance from the training ground. Sen gladly hopped off the back of the dragon. It was still a frightful experience, riding the dragon, but he was not going to be distracted that easily.

"Now, I've got the same question as Rohtan," Sen said. "What did Miyani do?"

Zorotl looked towards the land stretched out below. He leaned against Kalatal's scaled shoulder.

"You don't already know?"

"No," Sen said angrily. "She doesn't trust anyone. I'm starting to see why."

"It's not about what she did," Zorotl said. "It's just what she is. We can't have her kind around us, around our dragons."

"What kind? Outsiders? I don't get it."

Zorotl looked at Sen suspiciously. Eventually that suspicion dropped from his face, replaced with resignation.

"Yes, outsiders," He said. He wasn't telling the truth. "I only brought you here as a favor to Hayao. We don't like your kind."

Sen knew that wasn't completely true. They had not really been welcoming of Sen, except for Rohtan, but they weren't completely xenophobic. It was something about Miyani specifically, not outsiders in general.

"Why are you so afraid of Miyani? Now you're trying to get rid of me just because of her."

Sen could see in Zorotl the same kind of fear that he'd felt in Sorikami. It was a paranoia, based on some kind of past experience. Something about Miyani scared Zorotl, but what? Sen found her frustrating, not threatening. What had Zorotl seen in an eight year old child that scared him so much?

Sen sighed. He could remember being eight years old. It was one of his first memories of his dull time at Beaker Hall, before meeting Hanjo. When he'd been eight, the orphanage had been attacked for the first time. Someone had hurled rocks through the windows late at night, striking Sen. He could remember all the fear and confusion, wondering why someone would attack him when he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Forget it. Take me to Hayao's island," Sen said to Zorotl. It wasn't a significant change of course, but it surprised Zorotl.

Sen felt guilty. He wished just for once he could figure out his own problems, instead of having to see them reflected in someone else first.

All the things he'd been so angry about in the past two days had just been some kind of cruel parallel with his own life. He'd been angry at Miyani for letting Hayao control her because he'd been doing the same thing. He had been letting Hanjo or Suda or Ada make all the decisions for him instead of taking charge. There was nothing wrong with trusting other people, but when you started to use them as a crutch, it became unhealthy. That was why losing Hanjo had hurt so much. Sen had relied too heavily on his friend. With Hanjo gone, he had lost direction, because he had no direction of his own. He had snapped at Miyani because he saw in her the same mistakes he was making. He had hated her, because he saw everything he hated about himself in her.

Recognizing those problems wasn't enough. Sen had to do something to fix them.

It was a nerve-wracking ride to the island, mostly because of Sen's distaste for flight, and partly because he was worried about what he would say to Miyani. He had Kalatal land on the rim of the volcanic caldera. He had a feeling he knew where to find Miyani. Zorotl bid a hasty goodbye and retreated from the island quickly. Sen proceeded into the heart of the volcanic crater.

Miyani was at the center, exactly where they had begun their firebending training months ago. She was quite deliberately ignoring Sen. He could feel confusion boiling inside her, tearing at her mind. Sen sat down in front of her and thought about his words for a while.

"I visited the Sun Warriors today," He began. "I was almost winning a duel because of what you taught me. I think I would've had it, but I got interrupted."

Miyani kept her eyes closed, trapping herself in her meditation. The two of them had almost been friends, before all the confusion. Sen hoped they could get back to that place.

"I'm sorry about what they did to you, and what I did to you. It was wrong. I understand why you want to live your life this way, letting other people make your choices for you. I really do. I've been doing the same thing. When I called you a coward…I was talking about myself as much as you. That's why I was so upset. I'm sorry."

That had been the easiest thing to say. The hard part was coming up next, and how Miyani reacted would decide whether they could ever look each other in the eye again.

"I understand why you're acting this way, but it's still wrong. It was wrong when I did it, and it's wrong for you too. You- We are avoiding all the bad things, but we're missing out on the good things too."

Miyani pretended not to hear his words, but Sen could feel her heartbeat shift. She was definitely listening.

"I spent so many years hiding, refusing to have my own identity, because I thought I could avoid all the confusion. But I didn't. The only thing I was missing out on was being happy. It wasn't until I decided to be decisive, be brave, that I met my best friend."

Miyani finally opened her eyes, though she was still deliberately avoiding looking at Sen.

"I know I lost him…But the few months I spent with Hanjo were better than a decade of hiding. So I'm going to keep being my own person, making my own decisions. I want you to do the same. So, here's a choice. I want to stay and help you, and to have you help me. But, if you don't want that, just tell me, and I'll leave. It's up to you."

Sen bowed his head and awaited Miyani's answer. It took a long time to come.

After a long and worryingly quiet delay, Miyani rested her head in her hands and finally looked Sen in the eyes. She seemed angry, yet resigned, like she had an itch on her back she couldn't reach.

"So if I ask you to stay, what happens next?"

Sen stared forward intently. Miyani watched him closely. After a few minutes he started to sweat visibly.

"You have no idea," Miyani said, actually sounding a little amused.

"I'm thinking," Sen said nervously. He held up his hands in a stalling gesture. Miyani actually smiled. Sen hadn't seen her smile before. The faint scars on her cheeks curved gently as her face shifted into the unfamiliar expression.

"We'll figure something out," She said.


	29. Book 2 Ch14: Gone Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen and Miyani test their new friendship by going on a fishing trip. They are provided with a bonding experience by a classic source; the attack of a large predatory reptile.

Things had been going a lot better than Miyani or Sen had been expecting. For a few days they had carefully danced around one another, but gradually they had become much more comfortable talking casually. Now they spent most of the day side by side, talking about whatever topic came to mind. Now they were eating breakfast, breaking into the meager supplies of stored food.

"Don't you ever want to eat something other than rice and fruit?"

"All the time," Miyani said. "But we don't have a shopping list, we take donations."

A wealthy former student in Gai Zhu supplied Hayao and the other monks with food, but their selection was restricted, as most food would mold or rot in the humid conditions of the volcanic island. They had a rather limited menu.

"What about fish? We are on an island."

"A volcanic island. The lava pours all kinds of things into the water, and that scares the fish away."

Sen nodded slowly. He had forgotten about the lava. The fog surrounding the island made it hard to see the lava streams sometimes.

"We could fish, but we'd have to go far away from the island," Miyani said.

She ate another spoonful of rice and found it unbearably bland and tasteless. This had been happening a lot lately. Things she had once been willing to accept were now appalling to her. She sighed.

Part of her didn't want to go fishing. "Remember what happened last time," she said to herself. Miyani pulled at the wraps on her hands. She had liked fishing once, though. Maybe she could like it again. Just because something bad had happened once, didn't mean it would happen again.

"Let's go fishing," She said. They had fishing tools in the supply room, unused for a long time. She and Sen grabbed fishing poles and started marching out away from the volcanic waters of Hayao's island.

Miyani seemed oddly nervous about a simple fishing trip. Sen kept up some idle chitchat to keep her mind off of whatever was affecting her nerves.

"So, if we need a place to fish, I think I saw a good one. There's a sandbar off shore that we can-"

"Not there," Miyani said hastily.

"Why not?"

"No fish," Miyani mumbled. She was lying. Sen didn't say anything. If she had a reason not to go there, that was her own business.

Eventually Miyani charted a course to a small island far from her hated sandbar, and they proceeded. The sea was filled with outcroppings of rocks that rose out of the water. Sen made a fool of himself trying to hop and crawl and clamber across the stones. Miyani was simply swimming.

"Fishing was your idea," Miyani said. "Why are you making it so difficult?"

"I don't really know how to swim," Sen said. He had made short slogs through shallow water before, but he'd never really swum across open water.

"Didn't you live on the coast? How do you not know how to swim?"

"You live under a mountain, why don't you know how to tunnel?"

It was a distraction, and hopefully it would work. Miyani was still under the impression that Sen had lived in Tunuk Bay. It was necessary to keep up that one lie. Getting Miyani involved in his life as the Avatar would only put her at risk. It was better if she didn't know.

"Fair enough," Miyani said. "Just jump in the water. I'll teach you."

"I don't really think I need to," Sen said. He was doing just fine hopping around on the rocks. Even if he fell over or hurt his feet on sharp stones quite frequently. He was doing just fine.

"Sen, you should know how to swim," Miyani said. She sounded concerned. "Come on, I'll teach you. Just let me."

Miyani demonstrated a few of the basic tricks to swimming, how to stay afloat and how to push yourself forward, and then told Sen to give it a try. They were nearly at the island anyway, so she pulled herself onto the shore of a nearby chunk of volcanic rock and watched Sen from across the water.

"Come on, Sen, give it a try," Miyani said. Sen hesitated, and Miyani jumped in the water to demonstrate again. Sen noticed this time that she always kept her head above water, never diving beneath the surface. She never held her breath. Miyani crawled out of the water again, and beckoned Sen to try it for himself.

"Don't worry, I'll save you if you start to sink," Miyani said. With that assurance, Sen stepped into the water.

"Maybe," She added sadistically.

Sen stared her down for a second before continuing on. He made a fool of himself, flopping around in the water like an idiot, but he managed to get across eventually. Miyani helped him out of the sea water, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him up.

"You didn't look like a total idiot," Miyani said. Even though they'd made amends, she still gave Sen a hard time now and then. Sen was willing to put up with a few playful insults if it meant being her friend.

"Where are we going next," Sen asked, trying to shift attention away from his foolish attempts at swimming. Miyani apparently had a destination in mind. She pointed to the east. A small circular island was visible in the distance, far away from any other stone outcrops. That meant swimming again, and much further this time.

"You did this on purpose!"

"I didn't, honest," Miyani said. She sounded genuine. "I assumed you could swim."

"Well, I can't swim that far," Sen said. "So what do we do now?"

Miyani looked Sen over and placed her hands on her hips. Something about the way she stared him down made Sen feel uncomfortable. Her expression gradually shifted from concern to certainty. She nodded.

"I'll just pull you along," Miyani said. "You hold on to my shoulders and I'll do all the swimming."

Now it was Sen's turn to look Miyani over. He noticed a problem with her plan.

"I'm going to have to jump up to grab your shoulders, you know," Sen observed. Miyani was much taller than Sen. It wouldn't be easy to grab on to her shoulders.

"No you aren't."

Miyani carefully removed Sen's glasses, tucked them safely into her pocket, and then pushed Sen into the ocean. After a brief moment of incoherent flailing in the ocean, Sen noticed that Miyani had jumped into the water as well, and quickly grabbed her shoulders. As his arms wrapped around her neck, he barely resisted the urge to squeeze tightly. Miyani chuckled slightly.

Miyani started swimming towards the far-off island. Sen mumbled to himself as he suffered the indignity of being carried on her back. Miyani finally clawed her way onto the coast of the island, climbing up with much difficulty. Her hand slipped slightly and jammed against a sharp stone. Sen was relieved to finally be back on the land. Sen laid on his back on the rocky island and started to dry himself off. Miyani sat down next to him, and noticed the indignation on his face. She gingerly replaced his glasses.

"Uh, sorry about that," She mumbled. "I guess I'm working out some anger."

"It's fine," Sen grumbled. "Let's kill some fish, that'll get your anger out."

Sen handed Miyani a fishing pole, and they split up to separate sides of the island to fish. Even on opposite sides, they were still only about five feet apart. It was a very small outcropping of rock.

"So, since you can't swim, I'm assuming you don't fish either," Miyani said.

"Not once," Sen said. There were some skills that had just never come up in his journey. Fishing, tax filing, marriage counseling: there were lots of things he never had to do and likely never would. But right now he wanted to eat something other than rice, and fishing was the only way to do that. Miyani gave him a short lesson in fishing. Fishing, unlike bending, was simple enough to learn in a few minutes, so he mastered it quickly.

It wasn't long before Miyani caught the first fish of the day. The eel-trout of the area were large, muscular beasts, but Miyani managed to wrestle one ashore. As soon as it was on the ground, Miyani blasted it in the face with a burst of fire, very weak, but enough to end its panicked wriggling.

"I do feel better," Miyani said. She grabbed a small knife out of her belt and began eagerly preparing the eel-trout for cooking. Sen found the process a little disturbing.

At some point in the process, Sen had to dodge a chunk of meat being thrown at him, and it splashed into the water behind him. Miyani glared at him.

"You were supposed to catch it, Sen," Miyani said. The slab of meat sank into the depths. Miyani carefully handed him another one. "You can cook it yourself. Firebending practice."

Sen tried to carefully heat the eel-trout meat before him, and managed to do a decent job. Miyani cooked her own dinner much quicker, despite being the worse firebender of the two, and joined Sen in eating. She picked the bones out of the meat and placed them carefully in a pile at her side, while Sen tossed the bones into the ocean water.

"So, you seem to like fishing," Sen observed.

"I used to do it a lot when I was younger," Miyani said. "I just stopped."

Miyani never finished that sentence. Sen saw the look on her face and assumed it was connected to some bad memory. He changed the subject just vaguely enough that Miyani wouldn't notice.

"So, did you want to be a fisherman when you were a kid?"

Miyani looked confused. Sen elaborated.

"You liked to fish. Did you ever dream of going on a boat, fishing for a living?"

Miyani shook her head.

"No, of course not. Who'd want to be a fisherman? It's kind of a lame dream."

Sen had a sudden spark of memory.

"Hey, that's not a lame dream. My dream was way worse."

"Well now I'm interested," Miyani said wryly. Sen recalled his conversation with Hanjo, long ago, and all the jokes he'd made at Sen's expense.

"I wanted to be a construction worker," Sen said. Miyani did seem amused by that.

"Seriously? That's dumb in the first place," She chuckled. "Not to mention you aren't even an earthbender."

"Yeah, someone like me could never be a construction worker," Sen sighed. He still sort of regretted that he could never follow through on that dream. It was a childish dream, but he still felt robbed of potential. The only thing he could ever be was the Avatar. He didn't have any choice.

Miyani sat silently for a while. She seemed to have something on her mind. She was biting her lip.

"Well, but, how much do you know about construction, Sen? A lot, a little, how much?"

"Why, you suddenly share my lame dream?"

"Sort of," Miyani mumbled. "Well, what I really wanted to be…I wanted to make toys. I had an idea."

"I had an idea", was not a phrase you heard often nowadays. People had just stopped inventing several decades ago. Sen was surprised to hear it from anyone, much less Miyani. Everything he'd learned about Miyani up to now, he'd learned from other people. She'd never shared something personal on her own. Sen was not going to waste this opportunity.

"I know my fair share. What's your idea?"

"Well, when I was younger, I played with blocks occasionally. They were the only toy I had."

Sen remembered playing with blocks when he was younger as well. Maybe that had sparked his interest in construction. He kept that fact to himself, though. Miyani was still talking.

"I remember getting frustrated that they could only build so high before they fell down. I wanted to make a brick that would stick to the other ones, but still disassemble easily. So, I thought maybe you could build something with little pegs on the top, and some holes in the bottom, so they could mesh together. Maybe make them out of plastic, so they'd be light. Would that work?"

Sen thought about it. His knowledge of construction was fairly limited, in reality, but the idea sounded like it would work. It would be a lot of fun, actually. They'd be able to build much more complex structures than ordinary wooden blocks.

"That sounds like a really good idea," Sen said. "If you did it right they'd be way better than normal blocks."

"Yeah, I thought so," Miyani said. She sounded very excited to finally be sharing her idea. There was a light-hearted tone in her voice that Sen had never heard before. "Since they'd stick together really well, you could even make blocks that had wheels on them, or doors for houses."

"Well, if you have those, you'd need people too," Sen added.

"Yes, of course," Miyani said. "And they'd have the pegs and holes on them too, so you can make them stand or sit on the other bricks."

"They should have hands too," Sen suggested. "The little people could hold things like tools or weapons, so kids could play any game they wanted with them."

"I didn't think of that," Miyani said. There was a broad smile on her face. "Maybe, maybe, they wouldn't all just be brown blocks, like the wooden ones are. You could sell grey ones that make a castle, or colored ones to build normal houses, and, and then…"

She suddenly seemed to be at a loss for ideas. The smile on her face said she was still thinking of them, though. Her fingertips tapped the stone island rapidly. Sen added in his ideas.

"Then you have the people get themed too. Little swords and helmets for the castle people, and things like telephones and hats for the house people."

"Perfect!"

When Sen and Miyani went back to fishing, they sat side by side, sharing ideas about Miyani's hypothetical toy bricks. Sen finally snagged a fish of his own just as Miyani finally started thinking about names.

"Would it be selfish to name them after myself? Miyani's blocks? No, that's not catchy. Something shorter."

Sen had a suggestion, but he was too busy wrangling with his fish to deal with it. Eel-trout were surprisingly hard to reel in.

"Something shorter, like Mi-Blo's, except…less stupid than that."

Sen planted his heels in the ground and pulled heavily on his fishing rod. This was a particularly tricky fish. It hadn't been nearly this hard when Miyani had been the one reeling it in. He felt he was getting closer. He could see the shadow of his fish in the water.

"Come on," Sen grunted. "Either get caught or let go."

"Let go," Miyani said excitedly. "That's it! We'll call them Leg-"

Her excited revelation was cut short by a loud scream. Sen's catch had finally breached the water. It was quite decidedly not an eel-trout. Eel-trout weren't seven feet long with teeth the size of Sen's fingers. Sen released the fishing pole in a panic and backed away from the water in a frantic hurry, with Miyani following closely behind. They stood side by side at the very middle of the island, clinging to one another in fear. After their moment of mutual panic was over, Sen had questions.

"What was that?"

"Saltwater iguanadile," Miyani said. She was talking normally, but her eyes were still wide with fear, and she still had her hands tightly gripped on Sen's shoulder.

The iguanadile briefly floated on the water's surface before vanishing into the waves. Sen's fishing rod, still hooked to the creatures mouth, was dragged into the water as well. Sen watched it ominously vanish from sight.

"Is it gone?"

"I would say no," Miyani said. She released Sen's shoulder and carefully grabbed a bone from the pile she had stacked up earlier and tossed it into the water. A shadow rushed by the sinking bone and then vanished into the depths again.

"Well. That's something," Sen mumbled.

"This is all because of that meat you let fall in the water," Miyani scolded. She punched Sen lightly in the shoulder. "The iguanadiles never come this far, unless someone gives them a free meal."

"So they can smell blood from far away?"

Sen was looking at his shoulder now, for some reason.

"Yes, they can, which is why-"

Sen shut her up by displaying the shoulder she had been gripping. There was a red smear across his skin. Miyani held up one of her hands to examine it. The bandages on her left hand had been torn and stained red. She must have cut her hand when she'd slipped climbing out of the water earlier. Strange that she hadn't noticed that.

"Huh."

"I guess we both screwed this one up."

Miyani stared at her hand.

"Let me deal with this," She said.

Miyani turned her back on Sen and huddled over her own arm. Sen heard the sound of cloth bandages being unwound and retied. When Miyani finally stopped fiddling with her bandages, she held up her hand to reveal that the red spot was gone. She had a half-hearted smile on her face.

"What's one more, right?"

She was trying to laugh about it, but it was clear she didn't really mean it. Sen looked at the faint scars on her arms. He couldn't help but wonder what she was hiding under those bandages. More scarring, perhaps, or something worse. Miyani noticed Sen's curious stare.

"You want to know how I got them?"

"Only if you want to tell me," Sen replied.

Miyani leaned back and relaxed a little. She seemed surprisingly cavalier about the injuries she'd received.

"It's really not as bad as you'd think," Miyani said. "I mean, I guess it was bad…But I don't really remember it, I only know because other people told me. It's like it happened to someone else, except I still get the scars."

She wrung her hands together, brushing bandage against bandage.

"Apparently, when I was really young, I was a prisoner during the Seventh Kingdom war," Miyani said. Sen remembered Zorotl mentioning Miyani being orphaned during the conflict. "The bad guys were really harsh on their captives. I was just one of a lot of people who got treated badly during a war. These things happen."

As she proceeded further into her story, Sen started to believe her less and less. She was no longer looking Sen in the eyes.

"Nobody needs to pity me. No one singled me out to get hurt, I was just another random casualty of war. I'm not special."

"It still hurts," Sen said. He knew that Miyani wasn't telling him the truth, or at least not the whole truth, but he decided to leave it be. Over the past few weeks, it had become increasingly apparent that there was a lot more to Miyani than he had first believed. There was something very important about her that he was not being told, but Miyani's secrets were hero own business. Sen was not going to force her to say anything.

"I heal pretty well," Miyani said. It was true that her scars were remarkably hard to notice, given how large they were. "Now, if you don't mind, how did you get yours?"

Sen was confused for a moment. Miyani pointed to Sen's right wrist. He looked down. The circular scar from his struggle against Suda's restraint were still visible. He had almost forgotten about it.

"It was when we left Hanjo behind," Sen explained. "I didn't want to. Ada had to force me to escape, and then Suda bound me to the side of the ship. I kept pulling and pulling…"

Sen looked at the ring of scar tissue. Miyani scratched at her own scars and decided to change the subject.

"So, does the salt ever bother it?"

"Salt?"

"Salt," Miyani repeated. "Back on the island, the air is full of that fog, and the salt in the air makes the scars sting."

"No, I never had that problem," Sen said.

"Oh well, I do," Miyani said. "That's why I wear the bandages. The scars underneath are much worse than the rest, so the salt bothers them."

Miyani gestured hesitantly to the bandages on her hands and shoulder. Sen got the feeling she was lying again. He couldn't understand why, though. Wearing bandages wasn't as sensitive of an issue as the source of her scars.

"Miyani, you'll probably get mad at me for asking…Do you want to leave the island?"

The iguanadile resurfaced for a moment, hissing loudly as it breached the water, temporarily delaying Miyani's answer as she and Sen panicked together. They would be safe on land, as they could firebend, but the water was not safe by any means.

"Well, in the short term, I can't, thanks to that," Miyani said, staring at the hostile predator. "And, to answer your real question: No. Not yet. I was afraid. I still am. But I'm less afraid now."

The Fire chakra in Miyani's body seemed to shine a little brighter as she overcame the shame of her cowardice in the past. Her entire chakra network seemed to be healthier, to Sen's perspective, but the Light chakra was still a mysterious source of trouble. It was so twisted in on itself it warped the chi flow of her entire body. None of Miyani's progress had changed that. Some kind of illusion was still warping her spirit.

"So, I think I will leave. But not yet. Probably not any time soon. Maybe some short visits away now and then, but nothing permanent. Hayao's island is still the only home I've got, I guess."

A genuine smile slipped onto her face as she looked at Sen. Sen was looking out at the ocean and didn't see her grin. Miyani looked out at the water briefly and crossed her legs. The iguanadile would likely be lurking these waters for the next few hours, making swimming away impossible. They might as well have a heart to heart while they were here.

"So, when do you think you're going to leave?"

Sen was surprised to hear that. Miyani had been the last person he'd been expecting to hear this from. Ada had been raising concerns about having stayed in one place so long, but she hadn't pressed the issue yet.

"I hadn't really decided," Sen said. "I guess it should be soon, though. Suda's been talking about a birthday party, so we'll probably wait until that's over, at least."

Miyani had come to the conclusion that Sen had something important to do, though she wasn't sure what. Whenever they talked about him leaving, or events that were happening in the outside world, there was a strange melancholy in his voice.

"Why wouldn't you go home for the birthday party?"

"Suda doesn't really have any family," Sen explained. "So everyone he cares about is here with him. He's made some friends with the locals, too, so he wants to invite them, I think. We haven't really made plans- Oh."

"What?"

Sen sighed and bowed his head.

"I forgot to go back into town," Sen said, ashamed. "Ada and Suda saw me leave with a Sun Warrior more than a week ago, and they haven't seen me since. They're probably really worried."

"Oh, well, you can, you know, go back any time," Miyani said. "I'm not going to stop you."

Sen had figured as much. They were both done letting other people control them. Miyani was not so stuck in Hayao's ways anymore. The only reason she stayed on the island now was because she had nowhere else to go.

"That thing, however, will stop you," Miyani joked.

Miyani pointed at the iguanadile floating in the water just off shore. Two massive, spiny ridges of scales were visible above the waters surface. The beast had to be about seven or eight feet long, judging by the spines. Sen clenched his jaw as he watched the predator drift along the tides.

"Yeah, is there anything we can do about that? We've only got an hour or two until sunset, and I don't want to sleep out here."

"Well, it'll have to leave the water to sleep tonight, and it can't come up here," Miyani said.

"And what if it decides to go sleep on our way home," Sen said. He gestured to the far-off outcropping of rock that was part of their route home. It was not a large landmass; if the iguanadile decided to rest on it, their route would be completely blocked. Swimming was theoretically possible, but Sen doubted that Miyani could go that far with Sen on her back.

Miyani put her chin in her hands. She had never run afoul of a predator before. Sen slouched down, feeling the warmth of the sun on his back.

"What if it came up here, by the way," Sen asked.

"We've got bending," Miyani said. "We can handle it on land, but firebending isn't possible underwater."

The spark of inspiration struck. Sen stood up, stretched his arms, and grabbed the pile of fish bones Miyani had set aside earlier, dumping them in the shallow water at the edge of their island. Miyani stood up and backed away from the coast quickly.

"You better know what you're doing, Sen," She cautioned.

"I do," Sen replied. Miyani believed him.

Tempted by the scent of flesh and blood, the iguanadile began to move slowly through the water, towards the bone pile. As it slipped into the shallows, Sen got a clear look at it for the first time. It had long, thick jaws, filled with massive fangs. It was covered in thick, heavy scales, and its body was stocky and muscular. This was not something that Sen was really eager to tangle with, but he knew that he and Miyani together could handle a simple animal.

Sen felt the heat of the sun on his back and focused on that energy. He drew it into himself and then directed it outwards. Rather than a burst of fire, he channeled the heat through the air and into the water directly behind the iguanadile. Rapidly, the water began to reach the boiling point, bubbling and steaming. The iguanadile, startled by the sudden burst of heat, lunged out of the water in a panic.

Miyani was frightened to see the creature lunge out of the water, but it was blinded by panic and not in the mood to attack anything. Quickly, Miyani hit the predator with a burst of flame. Her firebending was still weak, too weak to do any real damage, but it made the creature hesitate for a second. Miyani wasn't eager to have it near her. Miyani didn't really get along with animals of any kind, much less large predators.

Sen swept his hand in a low curve, and sent an arc of fire streaming below the iguanadiles stomach. Its back was heavily armored, but its underbelly was soft and vulnerable. The rapid burst of flame put a quick end to the scaly predator.

Miyani and Sen stared down at the deceased beast in shocked silence for a moment. Miyani put her hands on her hips and lightly kicked the immobile iguanadile, confirming for herself that it really was dead.

"Well look at that," She said. "You did it."

"We did it," Sen said.

"Don't get sappy with me," Miyani snapped. "Not everything has to be a bonding experience, Sen. This was all your idea."

"Alright, I'll take all the credit then."

"Was that so hard?"

Sen looked up at the sun. They still had a while before it got dark. Sen looked down at the iguanadile and was suddenly overcome with curiosity.

"You know…We did come here to get something to eat."

Miyani looked down at the iguanadile and then up towards Sen. She had a skeptical look in her eyes.

"You really think we could?"

"I don't see why not," Sen said. Miyani took a moment to consider it.

"Let's do it."


	30. Book 2 Ch15: Back in the Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Suda's girlfriend finds herself on the bad side of a crime lord, Sen steps in for some classic Avatar action; helping the innocent and fighting bad guys.

Since they still had a few days left before Suda turned twenty-one, Sen came to the conclusion that it would be best to re-introduce Miyani to his friends before the party itself. That would get all of the awkwardness out of the way in advance, so the birthday party could be nothing but fun.

Miyani was waiting on the beach while Sen went forward as the advance party. She was still a little nervous about going into town, for good reason. Whenever she came into town before to pick up supplies, people stopped to stare or comment on her height, or the scars if they noticed them. While Miyani had repressed her reactions to those comments before, she was trying to be more emotionally open now, so she wasn't eager to walk into the middle of town to get harassed. Sen, therefore, was going as her emissary.

"And remember to ease them into it," Miyani advised him. She was worried about the impression she had left on Suda and Ada the last time she'd seen them. "I was kind of a jerk when they first met me."

"Right, so do I introduce you as just a big jerk, or the biggest jerk?"

Miyani punched Sen in the shoulder.

"The biggest jerk," Sen muttered to himself as he walked away.

Soon Sen stood at the door of Suda and Ada's temporary residence, knocking on the door and waiting patiently. He really should have his own key to this place, he thought. There was a very long pause before Ada finally answered the door. Her eyes shot open wide when she saw him, and she quickly wrapped her good arm around his shoulder in a strange hug.

"Sen!"

"Yes, hi Ada," Sen said awkwardly.

"Where've you been? We were worried! I mean, the last time we saw you, you were leaving with that Sun Warrior."

Sen tried to act casual, because he knew he would have a hard time explaining himself if Ada knew all the details of his short visit to the Sun Warriors and his reconciliation with Miyani.

"Oh, right! Well, there was something that came up, and I went back to Hayao's island instead of here."

"You did?"

"Yes, you see," Sen began, then stopped himself. "Actually, is Suda here? I don't want to have to say this twice."

Ada fetched Suda, who was much more casual about Sen's return. Suda had always expected Sen to come back eventually.

Ada was starting to wonder what this announcement of Sen's was. It was clearly something important. She could at least assume it was good news. Sen seemed to be in a good mood. For as long as Ada had known him, he had been fairly complacent and undemanding. Now the Avatar seemed to know exactly what he wanted.

Sen kept well ahead of Ada and Suda on the way back to the beach. His pace was surprisingly fast, and when they got into the open path that led to the beach he was nearly sprinting. Suda and Ada managed to barely keep pace with the eager Avatar as he hopped over the barrier that separated the road from the beach.

Sen energetically bounded to Miyani's side. Had she been shorter, Sen would've put an arm around her shoulder, but he settled for wrapping an arm around her waist. Miyani awkwardly leaned on Sen's shoulder as a gesture of reciprocation. Suda and Ada were slightly confused.

"You guys never got to really introduce yourselves to Miyani," Sen said. Their only meeting so far had been under considerably strange circumstances.

"So here I am," Miyani added. She had absolutely no idea how to do this, and was beginning to regret it over all. She took a step forward and held out her bandaged hand. Ada examined it almost suspiciously.

"You got real polite all of a sudden," Suda said. She'd been a bit of a jerk on their last encounter.

"Yeah, I was a jerk, sorry," Miyani said. She shrugged her shoulders and moved her head side to side as she spoke. Sen was surprised at how animated she had gotten. She had been like a plank of wood with a mouth before. Now she moved and gestured whenever she was talking.

"She's still a jerk," Sen interjected. "But now she's our jerk, so it's all good."

Miyani chuckled nervously and gave Sen a stiff pat on the shoulder. Sen had been expecting to get slapped in the ear for that. Apparently she was restraining herself in front of Suda and Ada.

"Well, any friend of Sen's is a friend of mine," Suda said. It was about time one of the two kids made a friend. Suda was starting to think he was the only one who knew how to socialize. Now Ada just needed to get herself a new buddy and their social circle would be rounded out.

"I have to wonder about the sudden turnaround, though," Ada said. "You two seemed to be fighting last time we saw you."

"That was kind of rough time for everyone," Sen said. "I like to think of it as a learning-"

"Also we killed an iguanadile and ate it," Miyani interrupted. "It was a bonding experience."

"You said it wasn't a bonding experience!"

"Killing it wasn't, but we ate it together. That was a very connective moment, Sen, I could really feel us getting closer," She said sarcastically. She mostly wanted to avoid Sen getting all emotional on them.

Ada and Suda's faces seemed to be rapidly fluctuating between confusion, curiosity, and disgust. Miyani and Sen looked at them and laughed together.

"I know, that's what I thought at first," Miyani said. "But it turns out its really good. You should try it sometime."

"I don't eat anything that could eat me," Ada said. "I'll pass."

"Well theoretically anything could eat you," Sen said.

"Not plants," Suda said.

"They could if she decomposed first," Miyani said.

"Good point."

"Hey Suda where's Nura been I haven't seen her lately," Ada said rapidly, trying to create a conversation topic other than her own corpse. Suda shrugged his shoulders.

"She's been doing something lately, hasn't had time to talk to me."

In one of the uncanny universal coincidences that only ever happened when Sen was around, Nura appeared at that exact moment. She paused slightly upon seeing the strange new giant standing in the midst of her friends, but quickly shook her head and got back to business.

"Suda! I need you to- actually I don't need you, Sen is right here, hello Sen."

She sounded like she was panicked about something. Sen waved awkwardly. Nura made a little bit of forced conversation, including introducing herself to Miyani, and then dragged Sen away. Once they were far enough away from Suda and the rest, Nura continued panicking.

"Sen you have got to help me I am in serious trouble right now," She pleaded. She grabbed on to Sen's arm and held tight. "I screwed up real bad and I am in serious trouble."

"Okay, well first take a deep breath, second stop squeezing my arm so hard, and third tell me what's going on," Sen said.

Nura took a deep breath and released Sen's arm. She continued her story only slightly more calmly.

"Okay, well, I was trying to get Suda a present he'd like, something special, so I started looking around at all these specialty stores and little underground shops, and I guess eventually I went a little too deep in the bad part of town, and I found something that would've been really great, and I got a little too excited, and some mistakes were made and it's a really long story, but I'm now ten-thousand ban in debt."

Sen considered her story for a moment.

"I'm still not clear on Fire Nation currency, is ten-thousand ban a lot?"

"Yes," Nura said.

"What the heck did you do," Sen shouted. Now that he was clear on how much money was at stake he could be properly offended.

"Well first of all it was an accident, second of all I'm not even sure, I just know that there are some very scary people who want a lot of money that I don't have."

"Alright, now we're at the most important part; what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, I made an arrangement," Nura said awkwardly. "They know I'm a pro-bender, and they happen to be involved, in, well…underground full contact pro-bending."

"Excuse me?"

Nura explained that betting on pro-bending matches had been made illegal a long time ago, and in response, the criminal element had started their own underground bending league. Over time, they had realized that they were no longer bound to follow any sort of league rules, and the underground circuit had changed from an organized sport into a sort of gladiatorial elemental brawl. Now the underground "pro-bending" was a popular source of income for organized crime groups. They had become especially profitable in recent months, as the rumors of the Avatar's death had emboldened the criminal element.

"So you're going to compete in illegal pro-bending to pay off your debt, and you want me on your team, that's what you're getting at here."

"Exactly," Nura said with a smile. She couldn't rely on anyone from the gym; they'd kick her out of the league if they found it she was doing illegal underground bending. "You seemed like a helpful kind of guy."

"I've been told I've got to help people," Sen said. He was able and willing to get involved for Nura's sake. It would be easy enough to deal with. He was relatively experienced in hurting bad guys. It had been a long time since he'd been in a real fight anyway. He needed to keep himself fresh if he was going to save the world one day.

"Okay, awesome," Nura said. "Now can you help me tell Suda?"

"Sure. I know exactly what to say."

They walked back to the beach. Miyani was making awkward conversation with Suda and Ada.

"Hey Suda, you want to go beat up some bad guys?"

"Absolutely."

Suda got up immediately. Physical violence against criminals was very high on Suda's list of favorite activities. It helped him feel like he was atoning for his past as a bandit. Ada would have liked to participate as well, but her left arm was still recovering from Sorikami's stabbing. Miyani was the first one to bring up the idea that charging blindly into a confrontation might not be the best idea.

"Wait, what are you doing? Why?"

"Nura's in trouble with some bad guys so we're going to beat them up until she isn't," Sen said. Nura nodded. "And I'm doing it because I want to."

He had spent much too long sitting on rocks and feeling sorry for himself. His experiences with Miyani had set his mind on a very clear course. It was time for him to act like the Avatar again, and that meant helping the innocent and punishing the guilty. Nura's predicament was an excellent chance to do both. Miyani stood up and looked him in the eyes.

"You're absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"One-hundred percent," Sen said. He nodded firmly. Surprisingly, Miyani nodded back.

"Then I'll come with you."

"Well, I appreciate that," Nura interrupted. "But we actually just need three of us. That's an even team."

"I want to be there if anything happens," Miyani said. "You're walking into a den of criminals. You'll need all the help you can get if something happens."

Nura shrugged. She actually had a good point.

Ada at this point realized that she was going to be left here alone and decided to tag along as well. She took a temporary detour into a nearby alleyway, and quickly returned to back up her friends. Sen wondered how much a wounded swordswoman and a mediocre firebender were going to be in a brawl, but if they wanted to come they could come. Nura led the way to the den of iniquity that would be the site of their showdown. As was to be expected, it was filled with men in ragged clothing all standing in a variety of "tough" poses. Suda noted that they were all striking the exact same look of stereotypical menace. No flare whatsoever, he thought. If you were going to be a bandit you could at least do it with some style.

The worst of the lot were their opponents in the bending showdown. The earthbender was short and muscular with a wide stomach, the firebender was tall, scrawny, and wore a pointed uniform, and the waterbender was perfectly between the two in height and build. They all wore color-coded uniforms as well. You couldn't have found a more cliché group if you'd tried.

The man in charge had some style to him, though. He wasn't a big tough man or a scrawny schemer with greasy hair. He was actually an old man, grey haired and wrinkled. There was a certain look of menace in his eyes that said he'd been in the business of hurting people and stealing things for a very long time. Suda wanted to punch him in the jaw.

"You only get to bring two," the old crime boss said, in a chilling voice. "We do have rules. Not many, but we have them."

"Only these two are going in the ring," Nura said. She was trying to be brave, but she wasn't doing a very good job. Unlike Sen and Suda, she wasn't so unshakably certain in her bending talents. Sen could see some failing in her courage. Hopefully he'd be able to make up for it. He was feeling particularly brave today.

"You have awful taste in cheerleaders," the opposing earthbender mocked. "A stump and a beanstalk, eh?"

The initial insult opened up a wave of degrading remarks from all across the room. Miyani clawed at the bandages around her shoulder in aggravation. Ada used her one good arm to hold onto her sword. She had less reason to be afraid than the others, but she was still cautious.

"Let's get this over with," Sen declared. He pointed at the earthbender who'd mocked Ada and Miyani. "You're taking one in the face for that."

The earthbender laughed heartily. One of the underground arena's officials led Sen, Nura, and Suda into a makeshift locker room, leaving Miyani and Ada behind to bear the insults of the crowd. Nura gave them a walkthrough of the arena's rules as Suda and Sen geared up.

"Alright, there's no zone advancement here, it's all about ring outs. You knock them out of the arena, they're out for good. You can get as close to them as you want, hit them however you want, bending or no bending. Pretty much the only rule is no one dies."

"I think I like this game," Sen said.

"Please take this seriously," Nura begged. Her entire lifestyle was at stake.

"Not a chance," Suda said. Nura sighed and proceeded with them into the arena. They sat out in a shaded side area while the announcer went through the introduction of the enemy team. The bandit crowd cheered in turn as their heroes were introduced; Big Bilshan, the earthbender, Skinny Nguyen, the firebender, and Iceberg Bozon, the waterbender. Sen rolled his eyes three times in a row and proceeded into the arena.

"And, on Team Soon-To-Be-Slaughtered, we have Sen, Nura, and Suda."

Sen didn't bother posturing or grandstanding as he stepped into the ring. Most of the crowd was booing him anyway. He only heard one voice cheering. Sen gave Miyani the thumbs up and stepped into the central ring. A referee gave them a countdown and then started the match.

As promised, Sen immediately launched a burst of fire into Big Bilshan's face. His helmet blocked the brunt of the flames, but it was enough to put him off guard. Sen kept launching bursts of fire at the meaty earthbenders feet, making him dance like a child to keep from burning his feet.

Suda had latched on to something Nura had said earlier; as long as the enemy was out of the ring, it didn't matter if you used bending or not. That in mind, Suda bull-rushed the enemy waterbender and knocked Iceberg Bozon off his feet. Continuing the charge with a very disoriented Bozon on his shoulder, Suda ran right to the edge of the arena and tossed Bozon over the edge, earning a knockout in approximately sixteen seconds. The crowd booed the performance.

Despite the fantastic performance of her teammates, Nura was too stressed to perform with any talent. Her waterbending was limp and ineffective against Skinny Nguyen, and the firebender quickly gained ground on her, threatening to push her to the end of the arena. Suda returned from his errand at the edge of the arena and launched two disks of stone at Nguyen's ankles, throwing him off balance. Her confidence briefly bolstered, Nura followed through with a pillar of water that carried Nguyen to the edge of the arena and tossed him over.

Sen had been toying with Bilshan all the while, making the portly bender look like an idiot as he ran from bursts of flames beneath his feet. Hopefully this would teach the criminal earthbender not to mock Sen's friends.

"Hey, Sen, quit playing with the poor sap and get a move on."

Sen sighed. He started timing his bursts of flame with just enough precision to force Bilshan to the edge of the ring. With one final strike of fire, Sen forced him over the edge. Bilshan seemed almost happy to fall over the edge and end the humiliating ordeal.

Miyani started cheering enthusiastically, breaking occasionally to mock the bandits around her. Ada was a bit more restrained. She was proud of her friends for winning such a decisive victory, but she had the feelings that things wouldn't be this easy.

The old man in charge of the arena looked quite un-amused by recent events. The brunt of his anger seemed to be directed at the arena manager. Apparently he had scheduled a very poor matchup for their guests.

"You said they were amateurs," He hissed.

"Master Druk, I assure you, neither of those two had ever seen the ring before today," the manager whimpered. "Your team is the one that failed. They couldn't handle amateurs."

"Irrelevant," Druk barked. "Now I am forced to honor my bargain."

Druk directed that Nura's debt be forgiven and they all be allowed to leave safely. He was a man of his word, at least. Suda appreciated that in a crime lord. Nura hastily closed the dealings and prepared to leave this whole incident behind her. Sen had something else he wanted to take care of first.

"What about that thing you were going to get from them," He asked Nura. He recalled that this whole incident had started because Nura had wanted a gift for Suda.

"Not really important," Nura whispered. "Let's just cut and run. No reason to get any more involved than we have to."

"Suda's a pretty good reason," Sen said. He turned to Druk.

"I'd like to know what started this whole ordeal, sir," Sen asked. It stung to call an old criminal like Druk "sir", but he still wanted this to go somewhat smoothly.

"Ah, the waterbender didn't tell you? She damaged a priceless possession of mine. A very rare film reel. Exposed it to light, completely destroying it."

Sen could see that wasn't true. The chi flowing through Druk's throat was heavily blocked, indicating a liar.

"Which film? Perhaps we could replace it for you," Sen said.

"Oh, I doubt it," Druk whispered. "Very rare. A Bolin mover. Rebirth of the Phoenix King."

Suda snapped to attention. Ada and Sen recognized the name as well.

"You're lying," Sen said. He pointed an accusing finger at Druk. "That mover was never filmed! This whole thing was a scam!"

Nura rolled her eyes. She had suspected from the beginning that it was a scam, but she didn't think it had mattered. They'd won, they'd had an easy out, but Sen had gone and dragged them all back into it in the name of self-righteousness.

"You're mistaken," Druk said. "It was never distributed. I owned one of very few copies, until Nura carelessly destroyed it."

"Bolin himself said it was never filmed," Suda said. He could still recall the day he'd met his idol quite clearly. The twenty-seventh film had never made it past the scripting stage. "You just wanted to scam Nura out of her money!"

The wizened criminal stood up and glared harshly at the teenagers gathered in front of him. They were absolutely right, of course. He had hoped to use Nura's debt as a means to fix the main bending arena, making Nura throw matches on demand to assure that his favored teams won, but his plan had been thwarted by Suda and Sen's talent. Now they were directly insulting his honor. Their insults were true, but that didn't mean he could allow them to pass.

"I honor my bargain and you insult me in my own place of business," Druk said accusingly. "I will not allow this to stand."

The gathered criminals closed in on their guests. While Druk would enjoy watching them get torn to shreds, he still had to maintain himself with some measure of dignity. His vengeance would be extracted in a more professional manner.

"Agni Kai," He muttered. The criminals backed away. Sen didn't bother questioning the fact that Agni Kai's had been outlawed more than a century ago. He was surrounded by criminals anyway. He knew the rules. Firebender versus firebender. Usually to the death. He didn't like the sound of that.

"I'm not going that far," He declared. He'd beat them to unconsciousness, sure, but he wouldn't go any further.

"I'm not in the habit of wasting good firebenders," Druk said. "The name is more of a formality. It will be a competition between firebenders alone."

"Then I'll play," Sen said. "But this is between you and me. Nura's debt stays out of it."

Druk nodded, and Nura sighed in relief. Finally Sen was showing some actual thinking skills. Sen had no desire to get anybody entangled in his affairs.

"You fight three rounds. No armor. The first burn ends a round. Whoever wins two rounds wins the set."

"I take it there are stakes?"

"Naturally," Druk explained. "If you are victorious, you go free, and that is the end of it. If you lose…You stay and fight in my arena, six months. I could use the cannon fodder."

Suda pursed his lips. Staying another six months alone was a bad idea, even worse if Sen was spending it in indentured slavery. Hopefully they could renegotiate. Sen didn't bother.

"Deal."

He had no reason to doubt his abilities. He'd learned firebending from the dragons themselves. Combined with his enhanced senses, it was nearly impossible for him to lose against a common criminal. Whatever Druk could throw at him, Sen could easily conquer.

"Very well then. We will proceed into the arena."

Druk seemed to be intent on taking up the challenge himself. Sen wasn't so naïve as to be at ease because of Druk's advanced age. Criminals didn't get to be that old without having some power behind them. Druk was likely a master firebender. Nothing Sen couldn't handle, but nothing to be underestimated.

Sen's friends took a place at the edge of the arena and watched their friend prepare for the match. Miyani and Ada seemed surprisingly calm, given the circumstances. The others were all slightly worried. They had confidence in Sen's abilities, but even if he won, there was no guarantee the criminal gang would let them leave without incident. Nura started scanning all possible exits, and found that they were all blocked by hordes of malcontents. She shook her head.

"Don't worry so much," Miyani advised her. "Sen can handle this."

"I know, I believe in him, but there's other things we have to worry about, like dying," Nura said.

"We can handle them," Miyani assured her. "Sen wouldn't have agreed to this if he had any doubt about it."

Ada nodded her head. She had taken certain precautions in advance. They could handle whatever came at them.

Sen stepped into the arena, looking as confident as ever. The crowd booed him even more intently than before. Beating the home team and insulting their boss had done little to endear him to the gang. Hopefully beating Druk would finally earn him some respect.

The old master's first attack was as powerful as Sen expected. It was a massive fireball, huge enough to completely engulf Sen in a wreath of flame. Sen swept his hand through the stream of fire and dissipated the attack, saving him from a burn. He'd used the same techniques in his duel with Rohtan; he wasn't completely clueless about firebending duels.

He skipped a retaliatory attack and chose to focus on Druk's body instead. Reading the energy flow through Druk's chakra's could give him some clues to his fighting type. Whenever Druk was about to attack with fire, the fire chakra in his stomach burned brightly. That helped Sen's defense, by giving him an advance warning on every attack, but Druk was doing a good job of defending himself against Sen's offense.

Druk attacked with a long line of flame, wielding the inferno like a whip. Sen took hold of the end of the line and launched it back at Druk. For a moment the fire made a complete circle, a halo of flame that stretched between the two of them. Druk quickly broke the circle and retaliated again. Sen barely dodged the scorching fire.

It was becoming clear that Druk was the better firebender. He was old and he lacked flexibility, but he had an amount of experience that Sen couldn't match. If he relied on straightforward firebending, Sen would never win this match. It was time to get creative. Sen clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, drawing an arc of fire between them. He launched the ribbon of fire outwards. Druk prepared to defend himself against the attack, but was instead surprised when Sen slammed it into the ground.

The underground coliseum was meant to be a bending arena, and as such, large troughs of water spanned the area. Sen thrust his inferno into one of the troughs, instantly boiling the water and sending up a thick cloud of mist, nearly identical to the fog that blanketed Hayao's island. While Druk was completely blinded by this, Sen had his seismic sense to guide him. Sensing the vibrations of Druk's body, Sen launched a single bolt of fire, and was satisfied to hear a grunt of pain from the old criminal mastermind.

The bank of mist quickly dissipated, revealing a blackened mark on the shoulder of Druk's robe. There was no denying that Sen had won the first round. The arena fell entirely silent. Sen's friends might have cheered for him, but they were worried about agitating the gathered criminals even further. After a long pause, the arena referee marked down a point for Sen, and the dueling firebenders reset.

Sen was even more confident going into the second round with an advantage. He could see frustration on Druk's wrinkled face. That gave him a psychological advantage already. Frustration and anger didn't generate good firebending. That much he'd learned from experience.

Druk made the first move again. This time he sent a wall of flame forward from the ground, sweeping it at Sen's feet, trying to force him off balance. Sen dove over the wall of flame and rolled when he hit the ground, launching a quick salvo of flaming bursts at Druk. They were too wildly inaccurate to hit their mark, but they kept Druk on guard until Sen got back on his feet.

Druk was focusing his attacks on the ground this time. He'd obviously noticed how Sen tended to keep his feet on the ground, fighting like an earthbender. By forcing Sen to keep his feet moving, Druk threw off Sen's entire technique.

Sen considered using his steam trick again, but it was clear that wouldn't work twice. He'd already completely evaporated the water trench between himself and Druk, and Druk was resisting any of Sen's attempts to move him towards another trough. He was too smart to fall for the same trick twice. Sen would have to come up with another idea.

Sen stuck to avoiding Druk's attack rather than trying any clever ideas for now. He was young and agile, he could avoid Druk's attacks for a very long time. It gave Sen some time to think, and hopefully it would exhaust Druk. Sen hopped away from another burst of fire, and was surprised to see the attacks suddenly stop.

Druk had completely ceased his offensive. He had his hands at the ready to bend again, but he had stopped for the moment. Perhaps he'd caught on to Sen's attempts to wear him out. Sen was just glad to have a temporary reprieve. It let him clear his head and think of what he could do. The audience fell silent as both of the dueling firebenders thought through their next actions.

This would all be so much easier if he was could use his earthbending. He was more skilled with earth than fire. He could even tunnel like a badgermole. That alone would have been able to end the fight instantly.

Sen nodded. He'd given himself an idea. Druk saw the subtle gestures and prepared himself for an attack.

Sen broke the temporary ceasefire by launching a massive burst of flame at Druk. The firebender easily caught the massive attack and blocked it, bringing the giant stream of fire to a halt in front of his hands. He was immediately suspicious why Sen would waste time on such a crude attack. The wall of fire was gigantic, but weak.

In answer to his question, the river of fire parted, revealing Sen only a few inches from Druk's face. Sen had parted the stream of fire just as he would tunnel through the earth, charging through the middle of his own attack unseen. Now at point blank range and completely unexpected, it was a simple matter to hurl a fireball at Druk's shoulder, charring his robe yet again. Sen was two for two; a clear and crushing victory.

The defeated crime lord took a few steps back from his adversary. Sen began to wonder whether Druk would honor his end of the bargain. There was a moment of silent tension between them. In the stands above, the criminal gang leered threateningly at Sen's allies. This was the moment when things would go wrong. Miyani was the first to take action.

"Well, I'm glad this is all over," Miyani said. "And we didn't even have to use our backup plan."

She was speaking just loud enough for Druk to hear. Sen was a bit confused. He didn't know of any backup plan. Then it hit him that she was bluffing.

"I told you everything would be fine," Sen called back. "You worry too much."

"Hey, it always pays to have a Plan B," Miyani said casually. Druk's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You're bluffing," he said.

"No they're not," Ada said. "As soon as I whistle, two of the Fire Nations top special agents are going to bust down that door."

Now Druk visibly sneered.

"I've never heard a more obvious lie in my-"

Ada stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. The door to the underground arena immediately burned down. Agents Luan and Zouf dove through the smoking doorframe and held up their badges.

"Stay where you are! Fire Nation Special Authority!"

The criminals immediately proceeded to run in different directions, running for various bolt-holes and secret exits. Druk made a hasty retreat from the arena. Suda used his bending to help Sen out of the inner circle while Luan and Zouf chased the fleeing criminals.

"Really, am I the only one who remembered we have the Fire Lord's men watching us at all times? It didn't occur to any of you to ask them for help?"

Ada had met the two of them in the alleyway just after deciding to join Sen. She'd quickly explained the situation and they had agreed to intervene if things went badly. The common police had been looking to break up the underground bending arena for some time. Gai Zhu's local police force began filing in the door, examining the criminal arena. Miyani was glad that Ada had actually been thinking ahead; Druk had nearly called their bluff, and that would have ended in disaster.

"To be honest, I sort of forgot," Suda said. "Those guys haven't really done anything yet."

Nura and Miyani seemed confused. Miyani was the first one to ask.

"Why exactly do you have Fire Nation special forces with you?"

She could remember Sen's visit with the Fire Lord. Sen seemed to be getting a lot of special attention, for some reason.

"Oh, that was because of Sorikami," Ada quickly lied. "I was her student for a while, until she went crazy and stabbed me."

Ada held up her wounded arm. It was out of the sling now, but still wrapped in bandages. Miyani seemed to buy that excuse.

"They're still watching us, because, you know, she's crazy," Suda continued. "Don't want us getting stabbed again, right?"

Sen nodded, further corroborating their story. Sen's confirmation earned Miyani's complete trust, and she didn't ask any more questions.

"Can we just go home now," Nura asked. This had been a stressful day.

"Sure. Let's all go back to our own, completely different homes," Ada said. She stared at Nura and Suda. She did not in any way approve of how the two of them had been spending their evenings. Sen still didn't understand why.

Ada gave a brief explanation of their presence to the Gai Zhu police, and with Luan and Zouf's help, the group was allowed to leave without any further incident. They left the underground arena and prepared to go their separate ways.

"So, Sen, remember to bring Miyani back around next week," Suda said. "I'm officially inviting her to my birthday party."

Miyani had earned a place among their friends by now. Her attempt at bluffing hadn't actually accomplished anything, thanks to Ada's precautionary measures, but having the courage and trust in Sen to try it had more than proven her bond with the Avatar.

"Oh, you- you're sure? I mean, I'd be fine with-"

"You're coming," Sen said, interrupting her. "Just relax. You'll have a blast."

Miyani's face turned redder than Sen had ever seen it. Nura kissed Suda goodbye, and they all parted ways. Miyani's face gradually shifted back to its normal color as they walked back to the island.

"I think that went rather well," Sen said.

"I could have done without raiding a criminal enterprise," Miyani sighed.

"Well that was half the fun," Sen joked. In all honesty, the battle's had been a bit stressful, but overall he had enjoyed himself. It felt good to be acting like the Avatar again.

"And, well, thanks for having my back," Sen said. He was also glad to know that he could count on Miyani to support him. He needed all the help he could get. Miyani smiled slightly, and the two went back to their island home.


	31. Book 2 Ch16: Another Year Wiser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suda's birthday party signals the beginning of the end for the Avatar's time in Gai Zhu, forcing him to think about the choices he has made so far. The end is set in motion.

When Miyani had finally decided to be open about her emotions, she had tried to prepare herself for a lot of stressful situations. She had expected the world to throw her some surprises anyway, but the exact situations she found herself in still caught her off guard. At the moment she was at the center of a very heated debate over pork.

"Don't do it Miyani, It's not worth it," Sen cautioned.

"Don't listen to him, it isn't that bad," Suda countered.

They were at Hakajima's restaurant as part of Suda's ongoing birthday celebration. Miyani was seated between two different camps; Sen and Ada, who were begging her not to eat the Spicy Pork, and Suda and Nura, who were goading her into trying it. She held a single piece of the heavily contested meat in front of her as the two sides presented their case.

"I tried it once, it's awful. You won't be able to feel your tongue for hours."

"Think of dessert, Miyani. There's cake. If you want to actually enjoy the cake, you won't eat the pork," Ada pleaded.

"Come on, she might like spicy stuff," Suda argued. "She's got to try it at least once."

"Not everyone's as much of a wimp as you two," Nura said. She ate a bite of Spicy Pork to emphasize how easy it was to deal with.

Miyani toyed with the plate in front of her for several minutes as the opposing sides engaged in the debate of the century over whether or not she should eat a piece of pork. After several moments of heated verbal conflict, Miyani held up her hand, and silence fell between the warring parties.

"I've spent too much time being afraid," Miyani said, staring down the Spicy Pork.

"Miyani, no!"

Sen's desperate pleas were ignored. Miyani took the bite.

For a brief moment there was naught but silence, at least among the five party-goers. The other hundred people in the restaurant had no idea of the epic confrontation that had just been brought to an end by Miyani's decisive moment of courage. Their idle chitchat continued as Miyani began her personal duel against Hakajima's Spicy Pork.

Her face seemed as calm and serene as the day Sen had first met her. Slowly, gradually, she turned to look at Sen, who had begged her not to eat the pork. Miyani looked deeply into her friend's eyes.

"I'm going to die."

Tears of agony began to stream down Miyani's face. She collapsed onto Hakajima's table in a sobbing mess as the inferno overwhelmed her.

"Dibs on the rest of her pork," Suda said.

The rest of the group resumed normal conversation as Sen wrapped his arm around Miyani's shoulder and tried to ease her pain. She was completely disconsolate.

"I'm so sorry," She sobbed. "I should have listened."

It was difficult for her to talk through the intense pain that coursed through every nerve of her mouth, and she was eventually reduced to a choking whine as the agony overwhelmed her. Sen gave her an awkward yet comforting pat on the back.

"You'll be okay, I promise," He assured her.

Miyani let out a low groan of pain. She started to say something, but quickly stopped herself when a waitress dropped off a drink in front of her. Miyani immediately banished any thought but that of cold water and selfishly gulped down the drink. That would also turn out to be a mistake. After a few seconds of chugging her brain connected the necessary nerves to make her realize what she was drinking was not water. She gagged heavily and started to choke. Whatever she was drinking, it was sour beyond belief.

"What the heck did you give her?"

"Lemon juice," the waitress said. "Sour cancels out spicy."

Miyani was dealing with the troubling aftereffects of intense sour now, but she seemed to be handling it better than the Spicy Pork. She'd stopped crying, at least. People were still staring. She had attracted attention from the moment she'd entered the restaurant, but her dramatic outbursts had drawn even more eyes to her. She was trying not to care. It was actually pretty easy, with Sen at her side.

"How come I didn't get any of that when I had the pork," Sen asked the waitress.

"Because you didn't spend fifteen minutes talking about it first, sweetheart," The waitress explained. She quickly returned to the kitchen, no doubt to laugh about this incident with her coworkers.

After a few minutes of recovery, Miyani was ready to get back into the conversation. Suda and Nura gave her a hard time for her dramatic reaction to the Spicy Pork, but as Sen and Ada were still on her side, Miyani won any argument about it. Eventually the topic shifted away from Miyani completely and moved towards Ada.

"So, no more bandages, I see," Nura said. She gave Miyani a quick glance. Miyani didn't react in the slightest.

Ada held up her hand. The scar from Sorikami's stab was still plainly visible, but the wound had mostly healed. She was not ready to go back to dual-wielding just yet, but she could use her arm more easily now. It helped that she had always been right-handed. She didn't use her left hand for much anyway.

"It's a pretty neat scar, at least," Suda said.

"Don't get me started," Miyani said. She had to point out her barely-visible scars to Nura, who hadn't realized they were there.

"Your collection is very impressive, Miyani, but you're clearly a professional. We amateur scar enthusiasts have a long way to go before we catch up with you."

Suda often casually joked about Miyani's scars and bandages. Miyani didn't seem to mind. Suda's charisma made him seem inoffensive even when talking about sensitive topics. Only he and Sen ever brought her physical differences up in conversation. Other than a brief conversation about how much taller she was than Ada, of course. Ada could walk right under her arms without having to duck.

"I'd feel better about it if I'd left a scar on her too," Ada jabbed. Her only regret from her duel with Sorikami was not getting in any attacks of her own. Suda shook his head.

"Don't worry, little lady, you'll get plenty of chances to stab people. I mean, look at the mark you left on me."

Suda pulled aside the neckline of his shirt and exposed the scar from his first meeting with Ada. It was around four inches of blackened skin and rough tissue. Sen winced slightly. He'd never really seen the wound before.

"I can't exactly be proud of that one," Ada sighed.

"You absolutely can. I mean, this thing is huge! And the way its black, that just makes it look extra tough, am I right?"

"It is not cool!"

"Yes it is!"

Suda and Ada began to argue over the scar. Sen chuckled slightly to himself. Miyani asked him what he thought was so funny.

"Those two used to argue about that cut all the time," Sen explained. "It's completely backwards now, though."

Suda and Ada had switched sides on the argument. Suda now seemed to support Ada's decision to stab him, while Ada felt guilty about it. Sen laughed again.

"Hanjo would never believe this," He muttered to himself. Sen wasn't sure he believed it. It had been months, almost a year, but all those petty arguments seemed like they had been only days ago. He could remember those early days with surprising clarity.

Miyani flipped over the menu that had been left on the table. Since she clearly wasn't eating the Spicy Pork today, she'd have to find something else for dinner.

"Sen, what's the best thing you've tried," She asked.

"The best dinner I've ever had here is the one we caught ourselves, Miyani," Sen said. Ada and Suda groaned, earning Nura's curiosity.

"Wait, I don't get it," Nura said. "What was the dinner?"

"A live iguanadile," Miyani bragged.

"Well obviously it wasn't live when we ate it," Sen said. "It was very much dead."

"Oh," Nura said. She seemed surprisingly unfazed by the fact that Sen and Miyani had eaten a vicious predator.

"Does that not bother you," Ada asked.

"What? No. Iguanadiles are crazy common here, people eat them now and then. Heck, Hakajima might have some lying around in the kitchen right now."

Sen and Miyani immediately raised their arms and flagged down a waitress.

***

After Miyani and Sen's sudden change of menu and a suitable amount of birthday cake, the party had retreated from the restaurant and tried to find a new venue for their celebrations. They were avoiding the beach, so as not to risk Miyani or Nura having to introduce themselves to Gun, so they headed to a park on the opposite end of town. They found a small circle of benches and sat down.

There were no stars to be seen so close to the lights of such a big city. Sen hadn't seen starlight in quite some time. It was obscured by the lights of the city here, and by the fog on Hayao's island. Whenever he ended up leaving, he would be glad to see the real night sky again.

"There's not even any balloons here," Suda observed. "Not a very good spot for a party."

"This has been kind of a mediocre party," Nura said. "We didn't even get you any presents."

Nura's first attempt at shopping had ended with her in debt to a crime lord, so she hadn't bothered making a second try. Ada and the rest were too short on funds to afford anything worthwhile, so they had settled on a nice dinner.

"Not true," Sen said. "I brought Miyani."

"Miyani's not a present," Ada scoffed.

"Then explain my wrapping paper," Miyani said, pointing to the bandages on her head. She and Sen giggled together. They'd been planning that joke for days.

"Nah, it's great," Suda said. "I'm having a lot of fun."

While he wasn't sharing this information, for fear of dragging down the mood, he hadn't had a real birthday party since he was eleven. That was the last year that his mother had remembered his birthday. Since then he'd been waiting to find people who cared about him enough to bother celebrating his birthday. Now that he had those people around him, even the simplest party would be enough.

Sen could feel the peace in Suda's heart, and he felt a little guilty. Suda was happy here in Gai Zhu, just when Sen had finally made up his mind to leave.

It had not been a quick decision or an easy one, but his victory over Druk had convinced Sen that he'd learned all he needed to know about firebending. It was time for him to move on, to learn airbending. He'd like nothing more than to stay here with his friends, but he had a world that he needed to save. That he wanted to save. All over the world there were people like Hanjo, Miyani, Nura, Suda, and Ada; good people who deserved the chance to live their lives in peace. Every day the Energybender roamed unchecked was a day he threatened those innocent people.

Miyani noticed how intense Sen became and quickly tried to bring him out of it. She didn't know how parties worked, but she was fairly certain they were meant to be happy.

"So, Sen, I've been thinking," She said. "I'm still technically your master, right?"

"I suppose," Sen agreed. "We both know I'm better than you, though."

Miyani's firebending had not advanced in any way since she'd become friends with Sen. Sen was actually slightly concerned about that, but not concerned enough to avoid joking about it. Miyani laughed slightly, but did nothing else. She had been restraining herself around Sen's friends, showing she wasn't fully comfortable around them.

"Yeah, well, put you in the water and we'll see who's really better."

"Hey, you're the one who's supposed to be giving me swimming lessons," Sen retorted.

"You don't know how to swim? Didn't your parents ever teach you?" Nura asked.

"I never knew my parents," Sen said.

"That's the saddest thing I ever heard get said," Nura replied. Miyani got them back on topic.

"Well, swimming and orphans aside, we were talking about firebending. I think it's time you graduated. Officially."

"Yeah, ceremonies," Suda said excitedly. "Does he get a fancy hat?"

"No. At least, I'm not sure. I actually have no idea what to do."

Miyani had not thought this plan through very well. Her face turned red as she shrugged at Sen.

"Suda, you're the birthday boy. Any ideas for a graduation ceremony," Sen asked.

"Well, if it was up to me you'd be doing some awesome sparring," Suda said. "We should probably ask someone else. I doubt you two want to fight."

Miyani jokingly threw up her fists in a mock combat stance. Sen backed away, his hands help up in surrender. They both laughed and stepped closer to one another again.

"Ada, you know things like this. What do graduating firebenders do?"

"I have no idea about things like this," Ada said. She had studied a lot of bending arts, but not the ceremonies associated with them. "Well, there was a mover I saw once…"

"Mover? Bolin never did anything like this," Suda said.

"There are other movers in the world besides Bolin's," Ada said. "It was one of Kaizo Uehara's."

"Kaizo? That pretty boy? He's barely an actor!"

Kaizo Uehara was the new leading man of the film industry. Suda thought very little of him. Kaizo did little more than look pretty while a camera was rolling. He had no real talent, no passion for drama. All his films were cheesy romances, which was exactly why Ada and Canto had always watched them on date night.

"Okay, not the point," Nura said. She had suggested going to see a mover earlier, and Suda had gone on a very long rant after finding out the only films available were Kaizo features. She had no desire to sit through another tirade on Kaizo's failings as an actor. "Ada, what was the thing you were talking about?"

"Oh, just some tacky mover finale kind of thing. The master holds a ball of fire in his hand, then the apprentice takes it from him."

Miyani and Sen nodded. It was a little simplistic, but it was suitably symbolic at the same time. Miyani held out small spark, and Sen carefully took hold of the flame and pulled it towards his own hand. The small light illuminated both their faces in the darkness for a while. For some reason, neither of the two firebenders could look the other in the eye.

"So, you're officially a firebending master now," Suda said. "What are you going to do next?"

"Go to sleep, probably," Sen said. He was starting to get a little tired.

"Oh yeah, Miyani, would you like to spend the night here? It'd be a pain to go back to the island at this hour."

"Oh, I shouldn't," Miyani said. "I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"I don't think it would be a problem," Sen said. "Suda can sleep over at Nura's again-"

"No," Ada declared. She didn't mind the two of them being in a relationship, but there were certain boundaries that should be respected. Suda and Nura rolled their eyes at her.

"You know, I still don't know what's going on there," Sen said angrily.

"Don't look at me," Suda said.

"Nope," said Nura.

"It's a sensitive subject," Ada mumbled.

As a last resort, Sen turned to look at Miyani.

"I'm confused too," She said.

Sen sighed. This was exactly why he hated mysteries. He resigned himself to not getting an answer and decided to drop the issue.

"Me and Miyani can go back to the island tonight, it's not a big deal. We have a boat anyway."

"Well, you should leave whenever," Suda said. He got off the bench. "I'm officially calling it a wrap. Excellent party, everyone. I liked the part where Miyani cried."

Miyani scrunched up her face in indignation. Sen and Miyani decided to stay a while, and Suda roped them into a conversation about why Kaizo Uehara was a terrible actor. With Suda occupied by ranting, Ada drew Nura aside for a more private conversation.

"I hope you don't think I'm being too mean," Ada said. She did like Nura, just not the nature of her and Suda's relationship.

"I get it, Ada. Don't worry about it."

"He really does like you, a lot," Ada assured Nura.

"Well, yeah, but he's going to leave soon right? Sen's the whole reason you were here, and now he's done."

Ada sighed. Leaving was going to be difficult. For her, leaving Gai Zhu just meant she was one step closer to going home to Zaofu, to Canto and her family, but Suda and Sen had gotten attached to this place. The two earthbenders had never really had a home to call their own; Gai Zhu had been the closest thing they'd ever known to a home.

The two stood side by side by side in silence for a while. No specific plans had been made yet, but Sen and the rest were definitely going to be leaving before too long. They were running on nine months spent in Gai Zhu.

"When we leave, what are you going to do?"

"What I did before," Nura said with a shrug. "Suda's a great guy…but I always knew this wasn't forever."

Sen and Miyani quickly grew tired of Suda's rambling diatribe about why Flames of Passion was the worst mover in history, and they excused themselves. They talked over the days events, going back and forth over everything that had occurred at the party. As they approached the beach, they started to walk slower, realizing that reaching the beach would put an end to their conversation.

"Ada really did give us the perfect set up for that joke, though," Miyani said.

"Yeah, our version was a little more forced," Sen agreed. The "gift wrap" joke they'd made about Miyani's bandages earlier had gone much better than expected. Nobody but the two of them had laughed, but they had been too busy laughing to realize that. Just thinking about it set them both chuckling again. Miyani's laugh slowly faded as they approached the beachfront. She could see the water now.

"So, now that Suda's birthday party is over…"

"We'll have to start making plans to leave," Sen said. He'd known from the moment she'd opened her mouth what she was going to say. There was sadness in her heart, but there was a steady resolve as well.

"So, a few more days, then," She said. Sen nodded. They weren't out of time yet. Miyani's smile returned and her pace quickened again.

"I am going to give you an absolute earful when you're on your way out, but I'll spare you tonight. Prepare yourself, though, because I've got a lot to say."

"I'll buy some earplugs, then," Sen joked. Miyani walloped him on the shoulder. He laughed but recoiled from the pain.

"Ow! Why do you punch me so much," Sen asked.

"Eh, I got a taste for it after that first time."

Miyani demonstrated her point by pounding on Sen's shoulder casually. Sen somehow managed to endure her limp-wristed blows. They were even weaker than the first time Miyani had punched him. She wasn't really trying anymore.

"You're just so darned punchable!"

"I'm leaving tomorrow, I can't handle this," Sen joked. Miyani immediately withdrew her hand and tucked it in her pocket. Darkness obscured her expression, but Sen could feel the heat rush to her face as she blushed.

"I'm not actually going to leave tomorrow," Sen assured her.

Miyani nodded, but her mood hardly improved. Sen could see her running the complete range of her nervous ticks; poking at her bandages, tapping her fingers, and clenching her fists. Clearly she was thinking about something stressful.

"Are you going back to Tunuk Bay when you leave," She finally asked.

"Ah, no," Sen said. He had no reason to return to Tunuk Bay, but Miyani didn't know that. She was still under the impression that he had been born and raised there. Sen felt a wave of guilt was over him as he realized that despite their friendship, most of what Miyani knew about him was a lie. "I'm not sure where I'm going to go."

He hadn't decided on an exact course yet. Republic City was the most likely option, but there were other possibilities. The only thing certain was that he had to leave Gai Zhu. That meant leaving Miyani. Though not if she had anything to say about.

"Sen, I've been thinking, and I know it's stupid but I have to ask," She said, stumbling over her words. "When you leave, I want to come with you."

"You- Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean, sort of. I mean, leaving, it'll be hard, and kind of confusing probably, but I just- I feel like I'll be happier, being where you are. You're my friend. I don't want to say goodbye."

Sen could not bring himself to look her in the eye. He knew exactly how she felt. He was reluctant to leave her here all alone, but it seemed from his perspective that it was inevitable. He couldn't just refuse her outright, though. It would break her heart.

"I can't decide that on my own," Sen said hastily. "And, not so quickly. I need- let me think about it, and talk to Ada and Suda. I mean, I'd like to, but this is a big deal…"

"I understand yeah, take your time, think it over," Miyani said awkwardly. She had been hoping for a different answer, and Sen could easily sense her disappointment. Despite that, she accepted Sen's excuse. Their discussion came to an abrupt halt as they found the small boat that would carry them back to Hayao's island.

He didn't know what to make of the situation. If he were in any other situation, he'd be glad to bring Miyani along. But he was the Avatar, and he had to face certain realities. Miyani was a very distinctive character, which made travelling stealthily difficult, and she was not a skilled firebender, which made it hard for her to face the dangers that travelling with the Avatar entailed. All in all, it would be very difficult to make travelling with her work. Sen bit his lip as they began the long boat ride home.

Naturally, he would have to refuse her request. He couldn't bring her along on a dangerous mission. That part of the decision was fairly easy. The hard part would be making Miyani understand why. If he simply told her that she could not come, Miyani might just think Sen was trying to get rid of her. He couldn't live with that.

The duo arrived on the island, and Miyani bid him a hesitant goodnight. Sen stayed awake for a while longer. There was only one solution to this problem. He stormed into the chamber at the center of the island. Hayao rested prone as he ever did.

"Why can't I tell her I'm the Avatar?"

"Pardon," Hayao asked. He had not been expecting such a sudden intrusion.

"When I started here, you gave me two rules. I couldn't see my friends, and I couldn't tell Miyani I am the Avatar. The first rule was just a trick, so what about the second? Why shouldn't I tell Miyani I'm the Avatar?"

"Are you looking for a reason to tell her, or a reason not to?"

"It doesn't matter," Sen shouted. He was not in the mood for any kind of philosophical logic right now. He just wanted a straight answer. "Just tell me."

"Alright," Hayao said. He took a deep breath. Sen nodded. He was glad to finally be talking sensibly.

"I ordered you not to tell her so that you would tell her on your own terms," Hayao said. "If you decided not to, the order would be pointless. If you decided to, it would be for your own reasons, not anyone else's."

Sen shrugged. That was an honest answer, but not exactly what he was looking for.

"Is that it? Do you know how she'll react?"

"I cannot say," Hayao said. "You know her better than I do."

"But you've known her for years-"

"I was her master," Hayao said. "You are her friend."

Sen hung his head. Hayao saw his uncertainty. He could see a certain inevitability in the Avatar's heart, though. One way or another, Miyani would learn the truth. The only question was the terms on which she learned it.

"I know you are afraid, Sen," Hayao advised. "There is no certainty to be found here, no matter how hard you look. It is possible that Miyani will reject your friendship once you reveal your identity. It is also possible that she will not."

"But why can't I know?" Sen said. "There has to be some way to-"

"You cannot always ask questions, Sen," Hayao said. "Sometimes you must make the answers yourself."

Sen looked away from the cloaked master. His words felt empowering, as if they were completing a part of Sen he'd never realized was missing. Sen nodded to himself.

He had given Miyani no reason to hate him. They were friends. He knew her well enough to trust in that. Sen set his course. He needed some time to rest, time to think about how to say it, but he knew for certain that he was going to tell Miyani he was the Avatar. Hayao watched Sen's sudden surge of determination with silent approval. Miyani would know Sen was the Avatar by this time tomorrow.

The lights of Gai Zhu were almost beautiful. The Harrier turned his back on them. The chain of bird skulls he wore clattered around his neck.

"We're certain," He said into a radio. "Master Sorikami was involved in an incident here, and a group of teenagers matching their descriptions has been spotted several times."

"I want confirmation," The radio responded. The crackle of a long-distance radio did nothing to diminish the power in the Energybender's voice. "No mistakes this time, Harrier."

"You have my word," The Harrier assured him. The radio snapped to silence. Harrier turned to his Imperfects, and their backup. Three squads of four footsoldiers already had their back. Forty-eight more troops would join them by nightfall tomorrow.

"The Avatar will recognize our uniforms and our vehicles," The Harrier explained. "We go in silently and undercover. We do nothing until we have visual on the Avatar or his immediate allies. Do not intimidate civilians or harass them in an attempt to gain information. We do nothing that would tip off the Avatar to our presence and give him a chance to run."

The four Imperfects nodded. The Harrier legitimately believed the stealth approach was the best option, but he also wanted to keep the brutal Imperfects in check. They would be all too glad to wound civilians if they thought it was necessary.

"Do this right, and the Avatar is ours by this time tomorrow."


	32. Book 2 Ch17: Imperfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos erupts in Gai Zhu as Harrier and the Imperfects battle the Avatar's allies, setting a devious plan into motion. Meanwhile on Hayao's Island, Sen tells Miyani he is the Avatar.

Suda and Ada ate their lunch on a park bench, far from prying eyes. With their departure from Gai Zhu coming closer, it was time for them to discuss some sensitive issues.

"We should make sure our tracks are covered," Ada said.

"Sorikami's a massive loose end," Suda said. They had not seen or heard from the swordswoman since she had stabbed Ada. She knew Sen was the Avatar, and she hated all of them, so she represented a significant security risk. "There's not much we can do about her, though."

"I don't know that she'll be a problem," Ada replied. "She wasn't any friend to the Energybender. It wouldn't be rational for her to sell us out."

"Look at your arm," Suda said. Ada looked at the still-healing wound on her left forearm.

"Do rational people stab kids?"

"I'm hardly a kid," Ada said, trying to change the subject. "I'm seventeen."

"I thought you were sixteen."

"I was sixteen when we met. I turned seventeen a few months ago."

"Wait, seriously? Why didn't we have a party?"

"I didn't want a party," Ada said. "We need to get back on topic. We can't really do anything about Sorikami, so I don't see the point in discussing her."

"Okay, yeah. Sorikami's a dead end. What else have we got to deal with?"

"My concern is Nura," Ada said. "If Nura doesn't know why we need to be secretive, she might accidentally leak information."

"Well what do we do about that?"

"I guess we just accept the risk," Ada said with a shrug.

"Or," Suda began. "We could just tell her what's going on."

Suda was significantly more trusting of Nura than anyone else was. Ada doubted that Nura would be brave enough to handle the stress of being the Avatar's ally. They were still being hunted, after all.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Ada sighed.

The park was lively at this time of day. People paced by on either side, and they briefly stopped their conversation. A very large, hairy man walked by, with a giggling woman clinging to his arm far too tightly. Suda watched an old man hobble by on a cane before resuming the conversation.

"So, what, you don't trust her?"

"I trust her to an extent," Ada said. "I wouldn't put my life in her hands, at any rate."

"You really think she'd sell us out? I mean, Nura? She likes us all well enough."

"She's friendly, Suda, and I like her, but I think that if she was faced with a choice between her own safety and ours, she'd choose her own."

Suda looked at the ground. He knew that Nura wasn't the bravest person, but he still believed she could be trusted. If Ada didn't agree, though, he wouldn't tell her. They could hardly spend the whole day arguing over this, after all. Suda moved on to another loose end.

"What about Miyani, then?"

"I was going to leave that up to Sen," Ada said. "He knows her better than we do. It'll be his decision to trust her or not."

"I think she should come with us," Suda said. "It'd do them both good to stay together, and Sen could use a teacher to keep up his firebending practice."

"I wish I agreed, Suda, but I don't know how much she has to offer. She and Sen both agree that Sen's surpassed her ability to teach him, and she doesn't have many skills that could help us on the road."

"I suppose we do have to be practical," Suda sighed. In the long run, Miyani wouldn't do much but take up space in the Avatarmobile.

"It's not up to us, at any rate. Sen will be the one to decide whether to invite her, or even to tell her if he's the Avatar. We'll abide by his decision."

"Then I guess we'll leave it to him. That leaves us to decide on transportation."

"Luan and Zouf could probably arrange something for us," Suda suggested. "Sen's duel with Druk probably means we won't be able to hire any more pirates."

Ada nodded. They had made an enemy of the criminal element on Tahu Island, but Luan and Zouf still had connections with the Fire Nation monarchy. It would probably be easy for them to arrange a covert transport.

Suda and Ada proceeded down their checklist of preparations. A greasy looking man set up a picnic blanket nearby, and they started to talk quieter. An increasingly large crowd of park-goers made it harder and harder for them to carry on this conversation.

"Why are we talking about this in the middle of a crowded park, anyway?"

A slimy looking man with a chain of beads around his neck walked by, far too close for comfort. They paused their conversation until he was gone.

"Nura called this morning, said she wanted to meet us here."

"Did she say why?"

"Nah, she sounded like she was in a hurry."

Ada frowned slightly, but went back to business. The park was getting more and more crowded.

An old woman pushed a cart up next to their table. It was filled with a massive container of some kind, and hundreds of disposable cups. The people of the park seemed to recognize it, and started clustering around. A handsome man snagged a spot at Suda and Ada's table and staked a claim on it. The old lady started dispensing some kind of drink from her container.

"Tea time," The man at their table explained. "Old lady does this every day, apparently. Free tea for everyone."

"How sweet," Ada said.

"Unsweetened, actually," The handsome man at their table said jokingly. He took a sip of his tea. He put it down and began to hand the other three their free tea. They thanked him and enjoyed the tea. Ada looked at the new guest at their table. He had a very intense look, like he could see a storm brewing on the horizon.

"Ah, but you'd probably like her to set up a little farther away," The man said. "It's getting crowded here."

"No, really, it's alright," Ada insisted.

The stranger turned to the old lady and her makeshift tea cart and insisted that she move slightly further away. Ada did not hear what he said, but something about his words made sweat appear on the old woman's forehead. The bitter tea began to taste like ash in Suda's mouth.

"I hate crowds," their strange guest said. The tea-seekers retreated as the tea-cart moved away. It suddenly became deathly silent again.

"Finish your tea."

The stranger took a final drink from his disposable cup. The collar of his shirt shifted. A silver necklace chain was visible. The charred skulls of harrier hawks hung from the chain. He put down his cup and turned to look at his company at the table.

"Suda, Ada," He said, looking at each of them in turn. "I'd like to talk."

Suda finished his tea.

The metal frame of the park bench unwound and wrapped itself around Harrier's leg. Imprisoned by the metal, Harrier was sent flying as Suda launched the metal far away. Bystanders screamed as Suda stood up and called up shards of broken metal, preparing himself for further attack.

Ada drew one of her swords, just in time to slice through a rope being launched at her. Two heavy metal beads weighted down each end; they were bolas, meant to entangle prey being hunted. Ada's left arm had yet to heal fully, so she sliced the bola apart with the blade in her right hand and went on guard for another attack.

The park around them was quickly abandoned, screaming citizens scattering to the breeze in a panicked mob. The Harrier freed himself from the metal bond and joined the Imperfects in encircling their prey. Duga, Huel, and Paz all slowly closed in on Suda and Ada.

"I said I wanted to talk," Harrier said angrily. "Is this how you negotiate?"

"It's all I've got to say," Suda threatened. He grabbed what metal was left in the area and held it in the air, ready to strike at a moments notice.

The circle closed tightly around them. Ada examined their opponents. The airbender was holding bola's, which explained where that attack had come from. The other two clearly represented earth and fire, though what they were capable of remained unknown. Ada noticed a strange gap in their group. No waterbender. Something felt wrong.

"Which one of you wants to die for him this time," The Harrier taunted. "How many times does he get to live by sacrificing someone else?"

Ada and Suda shared a glance. Hanjo had chosen to sacrifice himself. They would insult his memory if they were willing to do anything less.

Fortunately, it seemed that it would not be necessary today. While there had been no cavalry to rescue Hanjo, Suda and Ada had a heroic rescue in the form of Luan and Zouf. Harrier nodded when he saw the two agents emerge. They needed to be able to keep track of all the Avatar's allies for this to work. Even one rogue element could ruin the whole plan.

"Ada," Zouf shouted. "Go warn the Avatar!"

Ada knew that, wounded as she was, she would be the least useful in this fight. The best thing she could do was give Sen a warning about what was to come. She slipped through the gap created by Luan and Zouf's distraction and bolted towards the docks. Harrier could not allow that.

"Duga! Go after her!"

The bola-wielding airbender immediately bolted off after Ada. Suda hoped Ada would be able to deal with that one on her own. He and the Agents would likely have their hands full here.

"Huel, Paz, you two deal with these clowns," The Harrier said. "I'm going after Duga."

"Got it, Harrier."

"Focus on your targets, no civilians," Harrier shouted. "And remember the plan!"

Harrier had some misgivings about leaving any of the Imperfects to operate on their own, but even someone as stupid as Huel could handle an old-fashioned brawl. All they had to do was hit things, and Huel was very good at hitting things. Huel demonstrated this talent immediately.

Huel's intelligence ranged somewhere between a poorly-trained dog and a toddler, but he was respected for his power. He flexed his arms and pulled upwards, sending massive cracks through the loose soil of the park. A massive chunk of terrain, nearly the size of a house, tore itself out of the ground. Suda was impressed at the sheer size of the earth he could move. Most people struggled to lift a stone any larger than themselves.

Suda was no pushover himself, though. Huel usually relied on the sheer size of his constructs to overwhelm his opponents, so he was unprepared for Suda to break open the rock and completely deflect it from himself and the agents. When the rock was cleared, Zouf saw that the Harrier was already well on his way to following Ada and Duga.

"Suda! We need to take down the ringleader. Can you handle these guys?"

"Leave it to me," Suda grunted. Zouf and Luan nodded in acknowledgement and then took off after the Harrier.

The last time they'd thrown down with the Energybender's men, Suda had been wounded, limiting his usefulness in combat. He hadn't been able to operate to his full potential. Now it was time to let these fools know why he was the Avatar's master.

Demonstrating the universal symbol for "it's on", Suda removed his shirt. The scar on his shoulder served as a reminder of long-healed wounds, and the broad curves of his muscular frame intimidated one enemy and had a more…unique effect on the other.

"Oh, can you say swoon," Paz whistled. She took a brief moment to appreciate Suda's physique before she set about trying to kill him.

Like all of the Imperfects, Paz had a gimmick all her own. She held out her hand and created a small sphere of flame, lobbing it at Suda. Suda quickly sidestepped the attack. That had been a little too easy. Paz had a clever smirk on her face.

Paz spun her fingers in the air. The fireball swerved around rapidly, striking Suda in the back. The blow was painful, but not too damaging. Suda retaliated, stomping his feet to raise spikes of earth from the ground. Paz and Huel jumped away from the rising stalagmites.

Suda already had a plan forming in his head already. Huel's attacks were massive and potentially devastating, but very slow. He could keep the earthbender off balance enough to keep him from calling up another titanic boulder, if not for Paz's attacks. Her fireballs could strike from any angle, meaning Suda had to be on guard in all directions.

Paz launched a pair of flaming spheres at Suda. He kicked up two shields of loose earth to extinguish the flame in mid-air, but the time spent defending himself was time not breaking up Huel's focus. With a little room to maneuver, the bull-headed bender managed to raise up another one of his gigantic stones. It wasn't quite as big as the first, but it would still crush Suda if it was a direct hit.

Suda bolted away from the massive impact of the stone, barely escaping the edge of the heavy stone. Paz capitalized on his retreat and one of her fireballs managed to strike him in the leg, briefly knocking him off balance. Suda quickly warped the earth beneath his feet to right himself again.

The soil of the park was laden with small, rounded stones, and Suda focused on these for his next attack. Hopefully Huel's focus on large-scale attacks would make him less effective at countering the smaller ones.

Launching a rapid flurry of strikes with the small pebbles, Suda was satisfied to see Paz and Huel lose ground. As he had anticipated, Huel was unable to handle the smaller, more focused attacks. That was the problem with "gimmick" bending; it turned you into a one-trick pony. The real masters always used the basics as well as the fancy tricks.

As Suda began to capitalize on his newfound advantage, Duga finally gained ground on the fleeing Ada. She narrowly avoided another set of bolas, and the weapons wrapped themselves around a nearby streetpole.

Ada realized that continuing to run would only lead Duga directly to Sen, so she turned to stand her ground. Her left arm hadn't fully recovered, but she was still more than capable of fighting one on one. Duga watched her ready her sword with his usual sadistic smile.

Duga grabbed another set of his bolas. Creating a small cyclone between his two hands, he set the weighted strands to spinning at incredible speeds, and then launched them at Ada. Her quick reflexes made it fairly simple to slice right through the middle of the ropes. She recognized that technique. Avatar Aang had invented it as a way to spin beads in mid-air.

"That was meant to be a toy," Ada shouted accusingly.

"I'm having fun," Duga grunted happily. He spun another set of bolas and launched them at Ada's feet. She quickly rolled to the side and the weighted beads clattered against the street. Duga immediately prepared another set and launched them. Ada attempted to slice through the ropes again, but the swift rotation made it difficult. One of the heavy beads clattered against her sword, and the weight on the other end spun and slammed into her other arm. She wasn't entangled, but the impact still hurt.

After that incident, Ada began to focus more on evasion than destruction. Duga's attacks were rapid, but his aim was terrible, and Ada found it relatively easy to dodge his offensive. Unfortunately, it got harder and harder to evade as she tried to get closer, forcing her to keep her distance from Duga. She was trapped in a stalemate for now.

The Harrier briefly observed this stalemate. He was glad that Ada had decided to stand her ground. He doubted Duga;s ability to keep her away from the docks long enough for their plan to come to fruition. He almost considered getting involved in the fight, but a small part of him knew it wouldn't accomplish anything, and a large part of him wanted Ada to stab Duga. He left the fight alone.

The local authorities had finally started responding to the chaotic scenario. A large battalion of police firebenders were charging towards the park. As he was not wearing his Energybender uniform, Harrier did not attract their attention. He played the part of a terrified civilian and the Gai Zhu police force ran right by. He smiled to himself and went about his business. Unfortunately, not all law enforcement was so incompetent.

A bolt of fire struck Harrier in the back, knocking him forward. He quickly regained his footing and turned to face his opponents. A matching set of Fire Nation agents dove out of the alleyway, badges flashing on their chest. He had apparently been followed from the park. The Harrier nodded to himself. If he had to fight someone, he'd rather battle with adults than children.

The two agents focused their efforts entirely on Harrier. That was good. So long as they were focused on him, they wouldn't be thinking too hard about the situation at large. They wouldn't see what was coming until it was too late.

Seizing on a temporary break in their attack, the Harrier launched a retaliatory strike. He swept his hands in broad, slow, motions, generating lightning with the classic technique. Luan saw the attack coming and placed himself directly in front of the Harrier, fingertips extended. The Harrier struck.

Luan caught the bolt on his fingertips. Briefly glowing blue, Luan directed the surge of energy through his stomach, then vented it through the fingertips of his opposing hand. The Harrier was forced to take cover behind a satomobile as his own attack was redirected back at him.

Luan shook his head. Redirecting lightning was harmless if you knew the technique, but no matter how well you did it, it still left a tingling sensation all down your spine. Luan would be twitching for a few days after that.

"You picked a real bad guy to cross," Zouf boasted.

Luan launched a concentrated bolt of fire at the satomobile the Harrier was taking cover behind. The intense flame melted right through the metal chassis and nearly struck Harrier in the arm. Melting solid metal was impressive enough, the speed at which it was done was another thing entirely. The Harrier ran out from behind his metal cover and hid behind a stone wall. Stone was much harder to burn through.

"Luan didn't get this job for no reason," Zouf continued. "As of the last census, Luan is the sixth most powerful firebender in the world."

Luan flexed his arms. The Harrier laughed slightly.

"I've been operating in secret for a while," The Harrier retaliated. "You should probably bump yourself down to seventh."

"Ow. You going to take that, Luan?"

"Not a chance, Zouf."

"Then let's get this guy."

Luan led the attack with a furious inferno. The Harrier traded blows with the secret agents, barely managing to hold his ground against Luan. The Harrier gained little ground in the fight. Luan was obviously the better firebender, and he had Zouf to back him up. He restrained himself from using his quick lightning for his owns reasons. They had a plan, after all.

Three simultaneous battles across the city were locked in stalemate. The Gai Zhu police had engaged the Energybender's footsoldiers in combat, preventing either side from receiving any kind of backup.

Ada was causing a surprisingly large amount of trouble. Even wounded, she was still a vicious opponent, and Duga was being pushed to his limits to evade her attacks. After the momentary stalemate, Ada had analyzed Duga;s technique enough to know how to attack him properly. She was fast and agile enough to dodge his attacks and retaliate in kind. His airbending gave him an advantage of mobility, but that was his only saving grace. Ada wondered where he had been trained to airbend. She thought very little on that subject, though. She didn't really think straight in a fight.

"You should try running, girl," Duga taunted. He had begun to run low on bola's and had ceased launching them aimlessly. He was now striking out with bursts of air. Ada dodged one such a blast, and the rushing wind broke a window behind her. She heard people screaming from behind the shattered glass. She had nearly forgotten the risk to civilians.

Duga had not forgotten, but he didn't care. Noticing her concern for innocent lives, he launched another crude attack. Airbending wasn't potent enough to cause much damage to the bystanders, but the broken windows could certainly scare them. Hopefully that'd put his opponent off guard.

"This is between you and me," Ada shouted at him.

"Don't flatter yourself," Duga cried back. "I'm here for the Avatar."

"I'll never let you have him," Ada declared.

"It isn't really up to you," Duga grunted. He chuckled to himself slightly. She was falling for the Harrier's gambit quite admirably.

At that moment, a radio on Duga's waist crackled to life. He used a sudden cyclone to propel himself to a rooftop, far above Ada's reach, and listened.

"Hey, job's done," The Eel hissed through the radio. "Stop playing with the kids and get a move on."

Duga laughed and jumped back down to the ground. Ada prepared for an attack, and Duga only continued to laugh as she lunged forward. He launched a set of bola's spinning through the air. Ada tried to evade, but a sudden change in air currents caused the bola's the change paths, tangling around her legs. Before she even had time to fall to the ground, another pair caught her and bound her left arm to her chest. She fell over, dropping her swords to the ground.

"Been fun, shortstuff," Duga grunted. "But we have an Avatar to kill."

Duga rushed down the sidestreets of Gai Zhu. Ada, still entangled in the ropes, managed to grab a hold of one of her swords and began cutting through the binding bola's. She didn't understand what had just happened. Duga had defeated her easily, and by all appearances he could have done so at any time. Why had he waited?

The battle in the middle of the park was going much better for Suda. Neither Paz nor Huel had expected a single earthbender to put up this much of a fight. Suda was doing very well, but he was beginning to get sick of having to repeat the same tactics over and over. Paz and Huel had one trick that they reused over and over again, making the fight a tedious exercise. He needed something to change the game.

Huel surprised Suda by changing his methods suddenly. Raising up a shield of earth to guard Paz from the worst of Suda's barrage gave her some time to prepare her own counterattack. Paz launched a dozen of her homing fireballs at once, forcing Suda to halt his offensive and deflect the attacks. They had received a message on the radio, the same that Duga had received.

"Should we join them," Huel said.

"If we run now he'll just follow us, and that'll blow the whole thing," Paz said. "Keep him distracted. I'll go on the offensive."

"I know what to do," Huel shouted. He planted his feet firmly and pulled his arms upwards. Suda readied himself. He was a better earthbender than Huel by miles.

Unfortunately, the attack was not aimed at Suda. Huel sent the boulder flying out of the park's forested field, sending it hurtling towards a building. Suda heard innocent people screaming and rushed to follow the path of the boulder, with Paz's fireballs hot on his tail.

Throwing himself between the boulder and the building, Suda was forced to endure multiple hits from Paz's fire as he focused on saving innocent lives. The boulder crumbled and Suda finally took some time to defend himself from Paz's attacks.

Huel launched another building-sized boulder at Suda. Suda split the mountainous stone into small chunks and had the rocks rain down on his enemies, giving him a second of free time. He'd been mulling over a certain idea for a few minutes. He decided it was time to give it a shot. Suda deflected another pair of fireballs from Paz and then slammed his foot on the ground.

All these months, Suda had been Gun's primary caretaker. He hoped that the badgermole had bonded with him enough to come to his rescue. Gun was a vicious predator and a powerful earthbender, more than enough to shift the odds in Suda's favor.

Responding to the footsteps of his second-favorite person, Gun emerged from the ground casually, closing his tunnel behind him and sitting down on the ground. Paz and Huel were distracted by the sudden appearance of the badgermole, but Gun's arrival had little effect otherwise. Apparently he didn't feel like fighting. Gun examined his surroundings and yawned lazily, settling down into a comfortable sitting position.

Huel laughed at the badgermole sitting lazily on the ground. Their reports from Shen's Post had said that the badgermole was a vicious monster and a brutal defender of the Avatar. The only thing Gun was doing right now was scratching his ear. Huel ripped a stone out of the ground and sent it flying at the beast. The boulder impacted Gun's head.

It immediately shattered into dust. Gun had grown up a lot, but he had not outgrown a certain instinctive reaction. For a young badgermole, being hit in the head with a rock was a challenge. Gun was not one to back down from a challenge. He bared his fangs and zeroed in on Huel.

"Now you done did it," Paz said. Huel almost had time to respond before several thousand pounds of badgermole began barreling towards him. Huel vanished into the city with a raging Gun hot on his tail, leaving Paz and Suda alone.

"You know, its guys like you that make a girl want to switch sides," Paz said flirtatiously. She was well aware that without Huel backing her up, she was highly outmatched, and she was looking for a way out.

"You aren't my type," Suda stated.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how flexible I can be," Paz mewled. "What's your type, big man?"

"Conscious."

Suda clapped his hands. Two rocks emerged from the ground on either side of Paz and slammed into her temples. She fell to the ground. She would wake up with a splitting headache, but she'd live. There wasn't much in her head to begin with anyway.

Suda listened for the sounds of Gun's rampage in the distance, and was satisfied to hear Huel screaming. He set out to help the rest of his friends with their fight. Huel and Paz would eventually shake off their injuries and rejoin their comrades as well.

Luan and Zouf were taking a break from trading blows with The Harrier to discuss strategy and take a breath, and they were taking cover behind the wall of a building to do so. Zouf sighed and shook his head.

"We better get a big bonus after this, Luan."

"And vacation time, Zouf."

"Yeah. Spend some time with the wife and kids, right?"

They nodded to one another, took one last breath, and then returned to the fray. The Harrier had been taking a break of his own, but he was more than ready to retaliate. His initial lightning strike was expected, and Zouf managed to evade it, and then the battle resumed as it had before.

The Harrier was glad to hear the radio on his waist crackle to life. The plan was now complete. This distraction had gone on long enough.

The Harrier removed himself from cover, standing in plain view before the agents. They hesitated slightly, but figured they could handle any trap the Harrier set for them. They were wrong.

With no further need to delay the agents, Harrier held nothing back. Bracing his fingers against his shoulder, the Harrier unleashed a frenzied attack of lightning, far faster than Luan or Zouf could fully prepare for. The first bolt hit Zouf in the arm, blasting him sideways and sending sparks crackling through his body. Luan attempted to redirect the second bolt, but with little time to execute the technique properly, he could not fully change the course of the lightning. It burned in his stomach and he fell to the ground in a heap of pain.

The Harrier stepped forward, looking over the fallen agents. Zouf was still breathing, if only barely. Luan was racked with pain, but still conscious. The Harrier looked him over. His fingertips still crackled with lethal blue sparks. With Luan incapacitated by pain, it would be simple enough to put a permanent end to this fight.

"Wife and children, hm?"

Luan nodded slightly. The Harrier set his jaw. Slowly, he turned away, walking away from the battle without another word. Luan breathed a shuddering sigh of relief.

Ada, having finally cut herself free of the ropes, was the first to find her way to the docks. It seemed that most of the city had found its way here as well, and there was a massive mob of people crowding her path. She had to find a boat, they had to reach Sen. Ada broke her way through to the front of the crowd and looked out at the waters,

"Oh no."

The docks had been reduced to shattered pieces of wood and metal. Every ship, from the massive fishing vessels to the smallest rowboats, had been shattered into splinters and sunk beneath the waves. Prows of sunken vessels stuck out above the waves, and shattered hulls drifted in the tide idly. The dock was a graveyard, but for one massive vessel. A single ship, just barely leaving the dock, bearing the Energybender's men.

Ada ran forward, diving off the end of the dock and into the ocean. The boat had only just left; it's engines were not fully active yet, and it was moving slowly. If she acted quickly she could still catch it. Swimming as fast as she was able, Ada managed to grab hold of the boat's anchor chain and hold tight.

No sooner had she grabbed it, though, than the chain seemed to come to life, wrapping around her wrist and pulling her upwards. The chain writhed to life, entangling more and more of her limbs, until she was completely immobilized, and finally the entangling chain lifted her to the edge of the ship. The Harrier stared at her disdainfully.

"Why are you people so intent on dying," He wondered aloud. "I go through all that trouble of baiting you away from the docks, making sure we can't be followed, because I want to keep you safe!"

Ada could see the ship's deck. There were dozens of troops loaded onto the vessel, all fully equipped and battle ready. The Harrier's feint had been a massive success; the bulk of his forces had completely evaded the confrontation and been able to sabotage the docks. Led by the Eel, they had managed to disable every ship, ensuring the Harrier could not be followed.

"A little bird told me all about you, your Avatar, his island hideaway, and his friend with the scars. I know everything, Ada. I've been in control since the minute I walked into Gai Zhu. You never had a chance."

Ada struggled against the chains, to no avail. The Harrier shook his head. Why they were so intent on fighting this pointless battle, he had no idea.

"Put her back in the ocean," Harrier commanded. The chains unraveled, and Ada plummeted back into the sea. By the time she swam to the surface and reoriented herself, the ship was already too far gone to find again. It was moving at full clip now; there would be no catching up to it. Reluctantly, Ada began the long swim back to shore.

While Ada had been occupying herself trying to catch up the Harrier, Suda had likewise found his way to the docks. He saw the devastated ships and realized there was no way to follow the Harrier across the open seas. Suda's mind raced, trying to find any way out of this situation. He looked at the prow of the sunken vessel before them. From what he could see just beneath the surface of the water, the vessel didn't seem too damaged. He could probably repair it with metalbending, if they only had a way to get all the water out of the hull.

"Nura!"

She was a waterbender. Nura could be the key to saving the Avatar. With her and Suda working together, they might be ale to repair a ship and catch up to the Harrier in time to make a difference. Suda rushed off into the city.

Ada finally reached the shore and crawled up to the docks. Finally able to breathe easily again, she laid on the rough wood of the docks and thought about where everything had gone so wrong. The Harrier had known everything about them, even about Luan and Zouf. A part of her blamed herself. She had seen this coming and done nothing to prevent it.

There was only one person who could've told the Harrier everything about Sen, Hayao's Island, and Miyani.

Suda had found what he thought he'd been looking for. She turned out to be something very different.

"You sold us out," Suda shouted angrily. Nura had never even bothered to hide her betrayal. She was staring Suda down with cold hatred in her eyes. "You sent us in to a trap!"

"I never wanted to be a part of this," She screamed back. "They kill people who help you, Suda!"

The Harrier had come to her with an offer; tell them everything, or die. How they had found her, she didn't know, and didn't care. She had never hesitated to tell them everything they needed to know. She had even helped them set a trap for Suda and Ada by telling them to meet her in the park.

"They told me everything, Suda," Nura hissed. "How you're a bandit, Ada's some kind of spy, Sen's the Avatar! You've been lying through your teeth the entire time! And you got me involved! I could have been killed!"

"Don't pretend you're any better than me! Sen and Miyani might die because of what you've done!"

"Better them than me," Nura said.

Suda clenched his fists and stared her down. She never blinked. Suda's fists trembled slightly, weighted by anger, but he relented. Fighting her more would accomplish nothing. Nura was a traitor, she'd never help him. He'd have to find another way to save Sen.

Driven by rage, Suda made a barreling charge towards the dock. Nura shouted something after him, something about never wanting to see him again, but Suda neither listened nor cared. He was done with her. His furious stampede took him back to where Ada was nervously waiting.

"Suda, did Nura-"

"Forget about her! The beach, we need to go to the beach."

Ada almost asked why, but Suda quickly took a deep breath and elaborated further.

"The rocks. When Sen used to sneak away from the island, he would cross the rocks. We can get to Hayao's island that way."

"But Suda, that would take hours," Ada said.

"We can get there in hours, or we can not get there at all! Come on!"

Suda led the way. It was a slim hope, but their last hope. They had to cling to every shred they could find at a time like this. Every glimmer of hope was precious, in a time when the Avatar, and the world, seemed doomed.

***

In the morning, before all the violence had even begun, Sen and Miyani had begun their day as they would any other. They pried themselves off the uncomfortable stone floor and went about eating a bland breakfast. At least they had something interesting to talk about this morning. Suda's birthday party had been an exciting time for Miyani. She could barely stop gabbing about how interesting it had been. Sen was slightly less enthused about the conversation.

Miyani eventually noticed Sen's reluctance and slowed down her conversation. Eventually the lopsidedness became unbearable.

"Is something wrong, Sen?"

"No, no," Sen assured her. "I'm just having a hard time thinking how I want to say this."

Sen toyed with something in his hands that Miyani couldn't see. Her heart started to pound. Sen eventually gave up on thinking and simply placed the object on the table.

It was a pair of rectangular stone bricks, each about an inch long and half an inch wide. There were circular pegs on the top of each brick and a matching slot on the bottom. Miyani recognized them. She'd spent years mulling their design over in her head.

"The bricks I came up with," She mumbled. She picked up the pair and slotted them together in various ways. She had envisioned them being made of plastic, but they worked just as she had imagined them otherwise. It was intensely satisfying to see her idea come to life.

"You must have been up all night making these," She said. "These are solid rock."

She passed them back to Sen. He didn't seem to be able to look her in the eye. She wondered why.

"Thank you, Sen," She said. She didn't know what was troubling him, but he needed to know that she appreciated what he'd done. The fact that he even remembered that silly conversation was touching enough. It had just been idle chatter on a fishing trip, but he had somehow remembered it all in exact detail. The bricks were everything Miyani had ever imagined.

"Oh, it's not a big deal," Sen mumbled. "It's easy for an earthbender."

"Ah, did you get Suda to help you? That'd explain it."

"No, Miyani."

Sen held his hand up. The pair of bricks gently drifted off the table and landed softly in his outstretched hand. Miyani stared in awestruck silence as she processed the sight before her. Sen persevered through the tense silence.

"I'm the Avatar, Miyani," He said.

Miyani was quiet. It certainly made sense. It explained why Sen's given backstory had sometimes been inconsistent, and why the Fire Lord had been so interested in him. It also finally answered the burning question of why Hayao had partnered Sen and Miyani in the first place. There was still one more thing Miyani needed to know.

"Sen, why? Why would you tell me at all? Why would you-"

Miyani didn't know the word she wanted to say next. Why would he tell her something like that? He had nothing to gain. It was a dangerous, powerful secret. Something like that should have been kept hidden, even from her. Some secrets were meant to be kept hidden away forever, weren't they?

"I just wanted you to know," Sen said. "I wanted you to know why I've been acting the way I have, why we've been partners, and why I have to leave. I wanted you to know that you can trust me."

Miyani's fingers drifted to her forehead, and she diverted her eyes from Sen. Sen being the Avatar was not the source of her confusion; that much she understood and accepted. The fact that Sen trusted her so much, that Sen was willing to be so bold, put a strange pain in her heart. Did she trust him the same way? Could she be that brave? She plucked nervously at the strands of fabric that hid her forehead.

"Sen, I'm not mad, I mean I'm happy, I guess, but, I don't know," She started stammering out excuses, trying to put her confused feelings into words. She failed. "I don't know. I need time to think about this. Please."

Sen nodded and left the cave. Miyani stayed behind, nervously tracing a pattern on her forehead. Sen found his way to the coastline, and sat cross-legged in the shadow of the volcano, watching the sun rise slowly over through the fog-shrouded sky. The volcanic mist was especially thick today. The sunlight barely pierced the murky haze.

Sen hoped that he hadn't messed things up. His and Miyani's friendship was still a tenuous thing, and something as drastic as him being the Avatar might be too much. Still, even if it put an end to their friendship, it was the right thing to do. Miyani deserved to know.

Sen realized that that was the first time he'd ever told someone he was the Avatar. Some who knew had been told by others, some had figured it out, some had already known, but Sen himself had never looked someone in the eyes and said "I'm the Avatar."

It felt right to say it out loud. Sen smiled to himself.

Distracted by his thoughts, Sen didn't notice the approaching vessel until it was already ashore.


	33. Book 2 Ch18: Detonation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Harrier faces an Avatar that is stranded on an island, cut off from his allies, and massively outnumbered, but the Avatar's only ally, Miyani, may prove to be more powerful than anyone realized.

Miyani had only just began to wrap her mind around the idea of Sen being the Avatar when the man himself came bolting into the cavern. He was breathing heavily, looking around in a panic. The moment Sen spotted her, he dashed over to her side.

"You have to go," he gasped. "Leave! The Energybender's men, they're here!"

He was a bit too worn out and afraid to properly articulate himself, but Miyani certainly got the picture.

"On the island? Are they at the cave?"

"No, you still have time," Sen said. He was being as abrupt as possible. "Lost in the fog. Should be a while. But you have to go now!"

"But where are they right now? Can we get to the-"

"Not we, you. They're here for me. I can handle them."

Sen was not going to let anyone else in the line of fire. The Energybender's men were here for him, not Miyani. There was no reason to get her involved. It would only end in her getting hurt.

"Are you sure?" Miyani asked.

"Yeah, I can handle it. It's just a few," Sen lied. He had counted at least three dozen, and there were probably many more. That wasn't Miyani's problem, though. If she knew about the huge force amassing on the island, she might insist on staying. Sen needed her out of the way.

"Sen, if there's not that many, I can help, I'm not completely-"

"I know, I know," Sen said. Miyani was probably going to try and speak in defense of her firebending skills, but they both knew she couldn't really hold her own in a fight. Sen grabbed her bandaged shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"I need you to be safe more than I need your help," Sen said. "I can't lose another friend, Miyani."

Sen forced himself to smile despite the stressful situation he was in. Miyani found the grin oddly reassuring. It would take more than that to make her stop worrying, but he did seem certain that he could win the battle he was facing. Miyani held on to that hope.

"I should get, well, Hayao and the other monks, they should get out of the way as well."

"Right, do that," Sen said. "I think I can take the fight to the other end of the island…I'm going to go."

"Sen, just-"

Sen waited for Miyani to finish. They were running low on time, but if she had something to say he wanted to hear it. She ran a nervous finger along her bandages.

"Just be careful," She finally said, releasing her bandages. "And good luck."

"I don't need luck," Sen said. "I'm the Avatar."

He couldn't waste any more time. Leaving her on that hopeful note, Sen charged back towards the enemy. As he approached, he slowed his pace, quieting his footsteps and slowly creeping in, observing them from a distance.

They were only visible as a blank mass of shadowy figures in the fog, but Sen had other ways to see. Through the ground he could feel a horde of footsteps; sixty-five pairs of feet stomped across the volcanic stone. They were in loose formations; someone was trying to keep order, but the fog was blinding them and making them wander aimlessly. Some of them were heading for the cave entrance.

Sen crept up the slope of the volcanic mountain a little. He had to do something to drive them the other way. He didn't want to expose himself quite yet, though. He still had more to learn about the enemy.

Sen's seismic sense was disturbed slightly by the presence of a lava vein just below the volcano's rocky surface. That could probably help. Sen placed his palm flat against the stone and felt his way through the earth, finding how much rock was between the lava and the open air. After a moment, Sen slammed his palm against the ground.

A small hole opened up, and lava poured out, hissing loudly as the molten stone touched the open air. The figure at the head of the search party turned rapidly toward the sudden noise, situated just a few feet from Sen's hiding place.

The fog glowed with a cold blue light as a bolt of lightning crackled through the air, striking near the site of Sen's distraction. Sen crept backwards rapidly. He'd never fought a lightning bender before. That was one more problem to face.

"It was just the lava, boss," One of the soldiers grunted.

"I'm aware," the lightning bender shouted. "But you can't be too careful. This island has too much cover. The Avatar could be hiding anywhere."

Sen nodded to himself. The rock he was hiding behind right now wasn't even that big. If it weren't for the fog, Sen would be easily visible.

"If you airbenders could actually do something about the fog, this would be easy," A woman complained loudly. Her voice echoed slightly. Sen listened to the echoes. If she were speaking much louder, it would be almost impossible to tell which direction her voice was coming from.

"Look, it's too thick, right," Someone grunted in response. "We push it away, and more just comes from above. There's nothing we can do about the fog."

That was exactly what Sen needed to hear. He could see his way through the fog thanks to his extrasensory abilities, but they could not. That could be the advantage that won him this fight.

"You never should have come here," Sen shouted. His voice bounced off of thick stone, making it impossible to track. The Energybender's soldiers looked around in a panic. All but one.

"Avatar, good to hear from you," The leader began, clearly unimpressed by the echoing shouts. "You can call me the Harrier. I'd like to speak to you."

"You don't have anything to say worth hearing," Sen shouted back. He moved to the east, slightly further from the cave. When this fight started, he wanted it to start as far away from Miyani as possible.

"Well that's just rude," Harrier called back. "I've come all this way, and fought so hard, and you won't even talk to me?"

Sen didn't respond. He was trying to get himself in a good position. He could start off with a devastating attack, if only he was in the right place.

"You should know your friends are all safe," Harrier said. He wanted to get this off on the right foot. If he had his way, this would be a negotiation, not a brawl. They'd done enough fighting today. "Some of them are burned and bruised, but they're all right. All of them."

Sen paused. There was something strange in the Harrier's tone. He knew something Sen didn't.

"If you keep fighting, we may have to hurt one of them. I can't say for certain which one. Suda, maybe, or Ada."

The Harrier paused. The Avatar didn't respond. Time to bring out the ace up his sleeve.

"Maybe even Hanjo."

Sen's breathing stopped for a just a moment. He focused forward. The Harrier's heartbeat was steady, his Sound chakra was flowing fine. He was telling the truth.

Hanjo was alive.

"We had no reason to hurt him until now," The Harrier continued. "That might change today. You can surrender now, and he'll go free. If not…"

Sen turned away from the horde of enemies, and rested against a block of stone. Hanjo was alive. He had to think. He'd spent so much time thinking about this, hoping for it, but he still didn't know what to say. Losing Hanjo had changed everything, it had been the worst mistake he'd ever made.

No. Not a mistake. It had been Hanjo's choice. The right choice. Without Hanjo's sacrifice, Sen's journey might have ended then and there in Tunuk Bay. Sen was alive today because of what Hanjo had done. Hanjo had made that choice once; Sen could certainly make it a second time, even if it meant losing Hanjo all over again.

With a loud roar, Sen rolled out of cover and slammed his fists against the ground. The island stone began to crack and crumble under his blow, exposing the massive pit of lava that waited just below. The foggy air boiled with a sudden upsurge of heat, and the Energybender's men were forced backwards.

Sen seized the moment of surprise he had had created and unleashed on his enemy. Falling stones and lances of fire roared through the air and crashed into his enemies, forcing them to the ground. Those that fell were imprisoned in bonds of stone as they hit the ground, preventing them from rising or retaliating again. This, combined with the sudden rush of lava, managed to disable many of the Energybender's men, though not all, and not for long. Once they realized that the lava was no longer advancing, many found a way to retaliate. Sen was forced back into cover by the onslaught.

With Sen back in hiding and the Energybender troops in disarray, they seemed to be right back where they had started. Sen moved cautiously through the fog.

"I'm sure Hanjo will be glad to know you chose to kill him twice," The Harrier shouted. This battle could be won in the mind just as easily as through violence. "We'll be sure to tell him what you've done before he dies."

"Only if you make it off this island," Sen retorted.

Sending up a wall of flame on their east flank as a distraction, Sen charged out from their western side and attacked with flying stones. As they all looked towards the sudden surge of fire, Sen struck and managed to incapacitate a few more of the soldiers. Their shouts and cries attracted attention, though, and Sen was forced back into the fog.

Sen took cover again and waited. He had to keep them on their toes. He could only ambush them so many ways, and he wasn't taking out enough soldiers when he attacked. They would catch on to his tricks eventually.

"Our Avatar thinks he can still hide in the shadows," Harrier said. "Tear the island apart. Give him nowhere to hide."

The Imperfects were all too happy to oblige. They had been longing for some good old-fashioned indiscriminate destruction. Huel gripped the earth and raised one of the massive stones that were his trademark. Sen saw the rising shadow and retreated from the massive blow. The stone collided with the earth in a meteoric impact that shook the entire island.

Miyani could feel the earth move from her place in the cavern. She was beginning to think that Sen had not been entirely honest about how easy his fight would be. The monks that inhabited this place had almost all fled already. The only one left was Hayao. Miyani steeled her nerves and entered the chamber.

Sen nearly slipped and fell as the earth quaked. Any such misstep could be disastrous in this situation. He was the only one he could count on right now. So far as he knew there would be no rescue, no cavalry coming over the hill. If the Energybender's men had made it this far, it most likely meant that Suda and Ada had no way to reach him. He was on his own, so he had to make every step count.

A wave of water lapped at his feet, just barely missing Sen as it crawled up the side of the mountain. He glanced over his shoulder. They didn't seem to know he was there. They were attacking indiscriminately now, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Sen crawled a bit further up and avoided a sudden hailstorm of small rocks falling from the sky.

"Keep pushing," The Harrier said quietly. He wanted to make sure the Avatar wouldn't be overhearing anything. "Force him upwards."

They would never get anything done in the fog. They had to force the Avatar up the mountain slope, towards the caldera, where the fog thinned and eventually vanished. In the open air they had the advantage of sheer numbers, far more than a half-trained Avatar could hope to contend with.

Sen began to feel the pressure as more and more attacks began to strike just below his heels. He tried to move to the side, but the enemy forces had spread themselves to cover a wide area. If he moved straight sideways he would be caught up in the storm of attacks. He knew that moving upwards was a bad idea, but it was his only option. He had more tricks than they knew about anyway. Even if he lost the fog, he wouldn't be completely helpless.

Miyani could feel the earth shake as stone and water and fire rained down on the mountainside. The volcano was shuddering under the brutal onslaught. She feared for what would become of Sen, if the enemy could do this much damage to a mountain. Sen could not be her only concern at the moment, however. There were others at risk.

"You need to move," She told Hayao. She was not expecting much from the robed master. He had never moved in all the years Miyani had seen him. Maybe he couldn't move. It didn't matter. She still had to warn him.

"Why?"

At least he was talking, Miyani thought. There had been a time where she'd wanted more than anything to hear him speak, but that time was long past.

"Sen's enemies are here," Miyani informed him. She had the uncanny feeling that he already knew. The shaking earth was unmistakable, at least.

"Sen's enemies are not my enemies," Hayao said. "I have nothing to fear."

"His enemies will use people to-"

"To instill fear in him, yes. Cowards are always quick to try and make others afraid. I doubt it will matter to Sen. After all I've done, I don't think he's very fond of me."

Miyani actually couldn't argue that. Sen obviously wouldn't be happy to see anyone come to harm, but Hayao would not bother him less than others. He did not like being manipulated, and Hayao had done a lot of that.

"The one he's most worried about is you," Hayao said to Miyani. "And we both know that you are in no danger."

Hayao's skull-mask observed her with cold black eyes. Miyani tried to step to the side, but the empty eyes seemed to follow her, even though Hayao did not turn his head. She toyed with the bandages around her wrists.

"I know. Sen can win-"

"Your feigned ignorance does you no favors. You and I both know what you are. But, I wonder, does he?"

Miyani said nothing, and that told Hayao everything.

"Hmm. How lopsided friendships can be. He trusts you, and yet you do not-"

"Shut up!"

For once there was real anger on Miyani's face. Hayao had never been so happy to be interrupted. He was finally making progress.

"He doesn't need to know," Miyani countered. "It's different for me! I'm not like him."

"Do you really think you're so different? That he does not know what it is like to grow up alone, abused, forced to be afraid of his own identity because of others? Do you really think your struggle is that unique?"

"He's the Avatar," Miyani snapped. "There are people who love him. There are statues, parks, entire cities named after Avatar's. There's no statues for people like me! It's just death, and fear, and-"

Miyani paused and wrapped her arms around herself. She sank to the floor sadly. Hayao felt pity for her. Even after all this time, all her courage, she had not completely shaken off the fear that had been forced upon her.

"You know you are not what they say you are, Miyani. Why do you let their fear rule you?"

"I don't want people to hate me," Miyani said. "Not anyone. And especially not him."

Miyani looked at her hands. Her palms were hidden, as always, by the snow-white bandages. She had almost forgotten what her hands looked like by now. She'd been hiding for so long. She looked up at Hayao.

"You've spent far too long asking yourselves what others think you should do," Hayao said. "Do not concern yourself with my thoughts, or Sen's or anyone else's. We do not define who you are. It is time for you to ask yourself who you are, and what you want."

Miyani stayed silent for longer than Hayao would like, quietly watching the flickering light of the candles. Even after all this, there was no certainty that she would make the right choice, and she would not get a second chance. She had spent far too long hiding already. There could be no happy ending with her living in the shadows. She had so much more potential.

The earth above shook. Sen's battle continued. Hayao did not know if it was one the Avatar could win alone. He needed more power. He needed Miyani.

"How do I know he'll understand?"

"You cannot know," Hayao said. "You can only trust."

The cavern trembled, and Miyani recalled the danger Sen faced. The danger he was facing for her sake. He could have easily run away, but he stayed to fight, because he believed in protecting her, and the rest of the world. He had every reason to fear the Energybender. He had been raised terrified of the Avatar, and now he embraced his identity without hesitation. Miyani could not live with herself if she could not do the same.

Hayao's heart swelled with pride as Miyani rose. She went slowly, but inevitably, to her destiny. She had set her course. There was no going back.

Sen also found himself unable to turn back, but in a far less philosophical sense. He was quite literally being prevented from turning around by a large wall of fire at his heels. The firebenders among the Energybender's soldiers had joined forces to create a large wall of flame pushing up the hill. Sen sprinted uphill, barely keeping ahead of the pressing inferno.

The fog was getting thinner now, and Sen knew he was dangerously close to the summit. The volcanic caldera at the peak would cost him one advantage, but gain him another. While the lava chambers near the base of the mountain made for a few good tricks, solid stone had its advantages as well.

A strong wind blew by, and Sen could see the fog beginning to strip away. Soon they would be in the open air. Hopefully the wall of flame behind him would keep him out of his enemies line of sight long enough to get cover.

Sen heard an all too familiar crackling noise. Acting on instinct, Sen lunged forward.

He was just slightly faster than the Harrier's attempt to correct his aim, and the bolt of lightning was just barely off course. Sen avoided taking the entire hit, but several arcing currents crossed path with his left leg. Sen felt intense pain, followed by a pervasive numbness throughout his entire lower body. He could barely get his legs to work. He stumbled forward slightly, then fell forward.

The Harrier smiled to himself. He had expected the Avatar to try and use the wall of fire as cover. By placing himself just in front of it, he'd been able to see the Avatar as soon as the fog cleared. The attack had been purposefully weak; the Energybender didn't want the Avatar dead quite yet, after all, so the Harrier had restrained himself enough to merely paralyze Sen. The loss of sensation in his legs wasn't quite enough to stall the Avatar completely, though.

Sen pressed his palms against the ground and pushed upwards, dragging the earth beneath him upwards. It was slower going, but he still had a head start on the Harrier and his men. Watching angrily as the Avatar slid away, the Harrier called off their progressive assault and ordered a full pursuit of the Avatar. They nearly caught up to him when Sen reached the lip of the caldera. Seeing little other option for a speedy descent, Sen simply rolled over the side and plummeted down the slope. Harrier and the Imperfects were almost amused by the sight of the Avatar rolling down the hill.

With his undignified descent completed, Sen found himself a bit battered but overall none the worse for wear. Moving as quickly as his numbed legs would allow, Sen crawled to a large stone in the center of the crater and hid from sight. The Harrier kept a close eye on it.

"Half of you stay up here on the rim," he ordered. "Keep an eye on this entire valley. The rest of you are with me."

Thirty of the men fanned out over the rim of the caldera, while the remaining thirty, plus the Imperfects, followed Harrier into the center of the valley.

"We got him now," Duga grunted.

"I'll believe it when I've got the little snot in my hands," Paz growled. She was still very upset about Suda knocking her out earlier, and she wanted a little revenge.

"She's right," Harrier said, though he was loathe to agree with one of the Imperfects. "This isn't done until we deliver the Avatar to the Energybender."

"Child's play," Huel bellowed. He was one of the first to reach the stone Sen had hidden behind. "He's right behind here!"

Huel lifted the boulder, and there was not a single Avatar to be found. Huel sighed and dropped the stone on his own foot. The pain, if it reached his brain at all, did not seem to affect him.

"Alright, we have a missing Avatar," Harrier sighed. He had never expected this to be easy.

As he spoke, a bolt of fire came dangerously close to his head. The Harrier ducked low and turned towards the source. The Avatar had somehow snuck around and bunkered himself up behind a hastily constructed barricade. He thought he was safe behind the wall he'd made. How cute.

"Paz, do your thing," Harrier commanded. Paz was all too happy to oblige. Sen saw the attack coming and crouched down as fireballs sailed overhead. His sense of security did not last long. The fireballs quickly swerved around and struck Sen in the back. Sen fell forward as the fire burned through his shirt and scorched his skin.

The Harrier's men wasted no time seizing their advantage. Sen's barricade was swiftly torn apart. Sen used his bending to retaliate as best he could, to give himself more cover, but it was nearly impossible. The enemy outnumbered him, and even if he hit one, there were dozens more still attacking him. A sharp stone pelted him in the shoulder, and he turned away from the enemies, recoiling in pain.

This wasn't working. He couldn't stand and fight. Sen kicked up a wall of stone to hide himself from view. The Energybender's men tore it down, and once again found that the Avatar had vanished. The Harrier stepped forward to examine the ground where the Avatar had once been.

A moment just like this would prove to be where the deceased bandit Ronan might have left a major mark on history. Had Harrier interrogated the bandit more thoroughly, he would have learned a secret which no one else outside the Avatar's closest allies knew; Sen was very good at tunneling.

Buried underneath the soil, Sen crawled his way to relative safety. He needed time to rest and plan. A straight-out brawl would never work out. He needed some kind of plan. Maybe he could just stall for backup. Suda and Ada had to know he would be here; they would arrive eventually. It was only a question of how long. Maybe that would be the way to go. Sen sighed and stopped crawling. He needed to rest. He had bitten off more than he could chew. There were dozens of them, and he was just a half-trained Avatar.

He could feel the entire island thrumming beneath him. Lava chambers and caverns and solid rock stretched out beneath him for miles. He couldn't feel Hayao's cavern from this far above. He wondered if Miyani had gotten to safety yet.

Sen sighed. There was only one way for him to guarantee her safety. He had to win this fight. He steeled his resolve. This fight was not a mistake. It wasn't even a choice, not in the real sense. He was doing this because he had to. He had to win, for everyone's sake. His own, Hanjo's, Miyani's- everything rested on him winning, today and every day forward. Victories he would never accomplish hiding under rocks. Sen pulled himself upwards.

Attacking from below gave him an element of surprise that he certainly did not waste. He led his renewed attack by opening a massive chasm beneath the feet of his opponents. Some fell downwards, others clung to the walls of the newly created chasm, and others jumped to the side at the last minute. Sen lunged out of the ground and launched a quick volley of stone and fire, trying to disorient his opponents more than hurt them.

A cold crackling ran through the air, and Sen lunged to the side. This time he managed to avoid the lightning completely, but not the stones that followed it. The Harrier was not taking chances. Quantity over quality was the strategy now. He had all his troops on full attack, barraging the Avatar with attacks of every element. There was no room to dodge, no way to take cover. Sen raised a temporary shield of earth that was quickly battered into fragments by the barrage.

The Avatar returned to the shelter of the tunnels, but the Harrier was prepared for him now. He had tipped his hand just a moment too soon.

"Huel! Dig him up!"

The lumbering earthbender planted his feet and raised up a massive chunk of the caldera's surface. Sen felt a moment too late as the earth began to rise. He slid out of his tunnel just to land open and exposed on the surface. Spotting his prey, Huel began to drop the stone forward. Sen crawled away as rock collided with rock and burst into sharp splinters of stone. Sen felt jagged rocks collide with his skin as the stones shattered.

Sen kept his forward movement going. The caldera was not the place for this battle. The enemy could manipulate stone, but they could do nothing about fog. Sen charged for the rim of the volcanic crater. He could feel Harrier's men in pursuit, a horde of pounding footsteps behind him. There was a single pair of footsteps in front as well. Had someone flanked him?

No. The figure ahead became clearer as he got closer. He would know that heartbeat anywhere.

Sen's charge to safety came to a dead halt as Miyani stepped over the rim of the caldera. She walked down the stone slope with a cold determination to her every step.

The Harrier was not happy at all to see her. The waterbender girl had told him of the scarred girl that was occasionally seen with the Avatar, but he had been hoping to avoid hurting too many bystanders. The Avatar was nearly in his grasp now, though. Whatever guilt he might feel later was irrelevant anyway. He could not allow anything to slow him down. With that thought in mind, Harrier held his fingertips to his shoulder.

"Miyani!"

Sen ran towards her, hoping to push her out of the way, or get between her and the lightning if he had to. He actually would have succeeded, but Miyani herself interfered. She pushed Sen aside, out of the way, and stepped forward, holding her right fist out as if she meant to catch the lightning.

The Harrier loosed his deadly attack, and the surge of electrical power raced forward to meet Miyani's outstretched hand. The blue sparks hit her palm and the bandages wrapped around her hand burst into flames immediately as the intense voltage passed through the fabric and into her skin. Sen had a horrifyingly clear view as the lethal energy surged through her body.

Yet she stood. The lightning ran its course through her veins and Miyani remained standing. She was breathing heavily, and it was clear that the lightning had caused her no small amount of pain, but she was still standing. As the pain began to fade, she actually smiled. Miyani had been afraid of pain like that for so long. It seemed foolish now. Even the Harrier's lightning stung less than the pain of rejecting herself. She looked to a dumbfounded Sen.

"I'm tougher than I look," She explained.

The Harrier was speechless. That had not been a stunning blow; he had fully intended to end the girl's life. He'd seen people survive his lightning on occasion, some even kept fighting after, but he had never once seen anyone take the full brunt of his wrath and barely even flinch. Something was very wrong.

"I won't hold back next time, girl," He said, lying through his teeth. He needed to have fear on his side. "You should run while you can."

Miyani looked at her hand. The bandages had burned to ash, slightly singing her wrist. She examined the bare skin. She hadn't seen her own hands in so long. She began to unwrap the bandages on her left hand as well. Sen was confused. She had told him once that the bandages had covered deep, painful scars, but there were no such wounds. Though there were shallow scars on her hands, they seemed no different than those that marked the rest of her skin. What, then, had she been hiding under the bandages?

Miyani began to unwrap the bandages on her shoulder, and slowly she lost her patience. She was sick of the bandages. She would not hide behind them anymore. She had been using them as a mask for too long. She stopped unwrapping them and started tearing them, shredding the fabric on her shoulder into tatters.

"You want me to run?"

She dug her hands into the bandages wrapped around her forehead, taking a firm hold of the wrappings. There was a manic excitement in her eyes; she was close now, close to finally shedding the last obstacle to her true life.

"You're the ones who should be running!"

She tore the bandages to shreds, and the sight of her sent a deathly chill through her enemies. The Harrier gave a bellowing howl of terror, and the Energybender's soldiers ran for cover, hiding themselves in bunkers of stone as Miyani stood uncovered. What had once been the source of her fear was now the source of theirs, and it was a justified fear indeed. On her forehead was inscribed a blood-red, angular tattoo; the mark of a Combustion Bender.

Miyani took a single deep breath, and then unleashed.

A white blade of energy cut the sky in half, roaring like a dragon's rage as it split the air and burned the sky. It moved faster than lightning, driving forward with the weight of an unstoppable power behind it. The beam impacted the stone hiding places of the cowering enemy and unfolded upon itself, blossoming like a flower of death in waves of fire and explosive fury. Solid walls of earth were shattered into dust, annihilated by the sheer destructive power at Miyani's command.

As quickly as it had been unleashed, the destructive blast vanished. The pounding shockwaves ceased and the burning fire drifted into ash and smoke on the breeze. Soon all that remained was a wide, blackened crater, and the scattered and broken remnants of what had once been a small army. The Harrier's forces were in complete disarray; those that had not been disabled by the explosion were paralyzed in fear.

Above the ruined battlefield, Miyani stood like a monolith, observing the destruction she had wrought. The jagged mark of the third eye burned on her forehead, and the bandages that had once concealed it now hung in tatters around her neck. This, combined with her imposing height, made her cut a terrifying figure to all those scattered beneath.

Their first instinct was to hide. The earthbenders called up thick walls of stone, trying to build a bunker against Miyani's attacks. They failed. Miyani struck again, piercing the air with a white-hot lance of energy. The burning spear impacted the bunkers and hiding places of her enemies, shattering them like a hammer shatters glass. The air was filled with fire and choking ash as the blast expanded and consumed all who tried to hide.

For those that remained, their next instinct was to run. Miyani watched them flee, and though she felt some small manner of satisfaction in their terror, she knew she could not allow them to escape. As fast as they ran, her wrath travelled faster. Fire-bursts cut off every avenue of escape, collapsing stone walls and turning the volcanic crater into an inescapable pit.

The Harrier clawed his way out of a pile of rubble, gasping for breath in the ashen air. He had lost track of all his forces. All his soldiers, even the Imperfects, had either been scattered or buried by the furious explosive barrage. Even now he could hear the flaming bursts and feel the shockwaves shake the mountainside.

All his planning, all his courage, all his strength, had been for nothing. This battle had been lost before it had even begun. They had no power that could compare with the wrath of a combustion bender. He could see her now, through the air that was filled with fire and dust. He watched as her head turned, and all three eyes came to focus on the Harrier.

One final beam of white light cut the sky, impacting the ground a few yards in front of the Harrier. As the blast expanded outwards, the Harrier realized she wasn't even landing direct hits. She was pulling her punches, and it was still enough to decimate a small army.

The world turned white as the shockwave sent Harrier flying through the air, and then it all faded to black.

***

He felt himself shaking, and the Harrier suddenly jolted back to consciousness. His first instinct was to strike out at something, but his hands were held in place, as were his legs. He gradually came to his sense as he realized that he was completely restrained. He wasn't going to be able to move in the slightest. He could hear grunts and groans around him that said many of his soldiers were in the same situation.

"I suppose this is where the interrogation happens," He mumbled. He didn't need to look around to know that the Avatar and the combustion bender were nearby.

"I'll start by asking nicely, of course," Sen said. He wasn't interested in hurting anyone more than they'd already been hurt.

"How nice of you," Harrier said sarcastically. He coughed up a lungful of ash, and then continued. "Are my men alright?"

"I wouldn't say they're alright," Sen said, looking around at the broken soldiers. "But they're all alive."

Many of them had severe burns, broken bones, and other wounds, but nobody was in any real danger. Miyani had tried to restrain herself as much as possible, but explosions were a dangerous thing, difficult to control. Miyani felt little guilt over it all. These men had tried to hurt Sen; they deserved every burn and broken bone they got.

The Harrier sighed. He had really been hoping that the Imperfects could've died. With that out of the way, Harrier got down to business.

"I can't tell you anything about your friend," He began. "I don't remember where he is."

Sen leaned forward. So far as he could tell, The Harrier was telling the truth. Something seemed wrong, though. There was a strange shadow in his face.

"You don't know anything?"

"I told you," The Harrier said, almost mockingly. "I don't remember."

Sen's eyes narrowed. He had the strangest feeling that there was something else at work here. It wasn't as if the Harrier could forget things on purpose. Still, Sen had his suspicions. He decided to leave them for another time. Hanjo was the only thing that interested him. That wouldn't stop the Harrier from trying to say more, though.

"Even if I did know it wouldn't matter," Harrier taunted. "You can't save him."

Sen was hardly even paying attention. He had been expecting the Harrier to start a monologue. He had more important things on his mind anyway. Sen took a step away from the Harrier and looked over Miyani. She stared right back. Sen looked deeply into the red eye on her forehead, and then shrugged.

"I think we have a lot talk about."

"I think you're right."

"Go on, talk to your pet monster," The Harrier shouted. Sen turned an angry eye towards the captured lightning bender. "It can't save you from-"

The Harrier flinched as Sen raised his hand. Whatever Sen intended to do never got done, however. Miyani caught his hand and gently lowered his fist back to his side.

Then she stepped forward and punched the Harrier in the face herself.

"Now," She said, rubbing her sore knuckles. "Where were we?"


	34. Book 2 Ch19: Miyani

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar isn't the only one with the power to change the world. Miyani's history is explained, and her future is decided.

Long before Sen's journey had even begun, the greatest threat facing the world was the conflict between the Seventh Kingdom revolutionaries and the United Coalition forces. The greatest threat facing the United Coalition was the Seventh Kingdoms de facto leader, Gohrman. The Seventh Kingdom's military structure was based on personal power and bending ability, and Gohrman, as a combustion bender, was by far the mightiest of them all. As such, he stood above all his peers, high atop an iron tower, watching the battle unfold below.

Occasionally Gohrman loosed a bolt of fiery death into the ranks of the United Coalition, laughing as he watched the explosions decimate their forces. The Coalition had marched against him in full force, and yet they made no progress. He had heard so many rumors of their mighty leaders, but the bulk of the Coalition had yet to pierce his walls.

The mighty combustion bender removed himself from his place of observation, ceasing his barrage of explosions on the Coalition forces. It would not do to give his soldiers too easy of a time. Those who were too weak would be culled by the conflict, leaving only the strong behind. That was the way of the Seventh Kingdom.

The sound of conflict from far away drowned out the sound of conflict nearby. The legendary reputation of a certain Coalition leader had not been exaggerated. He simply preferred to take matters into his own hands.

General Rahm drove his sword through another of Gohrman's personal guard. Rahm had been expecting a better fight than this. Hopefully the combustion bender would prove to be a better challenge. The guardsmen weren't even a match for Rahm's followers.

One of Rahm's newest soldiers, a young man named Dahaka, swept yet another guard away with a surging wave of water. Several guards had been frozen to a wall already, and their fellow soon joined them. Rahm disapproved of Dahaka's obnoxious habit of non-lethal fighting, but he was skillful despite his restraint. Rahm would accept it this one time, but they would not fight side by side again if Rahm had anything to say about it. He had no need for mercy.

"This is the top floor, metal man," Dahaka joked. Rahm's habit of wearing full body armor had inspired a few nicknames. Dahaka was one of few people brave enough to use those nicknames to Rahm's face.

"Then Gohrman will be here," Rahm grunted.

"I'd say wait for backup, but-"

Rahm slammed open the heavy doors of Gohrman's chamber. Dahaka shrugged and stood guard outside. Combustion benders were above his pay grade.

"Rahm" Gohrman said, finally satisfied. The mightiest General of the Coalition had come to see him at last. The heavily armored metalbender stepped through the shattered door, his sword still red and dripping. Rahm was as efficient as he was talented. He took no time to pause and look over his next adversary, never paused in fear of Gohrman's third eye. The massive warrior stormed forward towards his foe.

"Come Rahm, are we not men of honor? You have no words to share with me?"

"Hawks have no words for mice," Rahm said, brandishing his infamous sword. Many of Gohrman's fellows had met their end at that blade.

With his prized dignity suitably insulted, Gohrman unleashed his rage on Rahm. Rahm never flinched in the face of the explosive onslaught. Every time Gohrman attacked, Rahm intercepted the lance of energy with a small shard of metal, stopping the blast too short. Gohrman unleashed burst after burst of lethal combustions. Rahm never blinked.

Gohrman was used to seeing people run and hide in fear. Even those who served him had fear in their eyes. Not Rahm. As the legendary warrior came closer and closer, it became clearer and clearer. Gohrman began to understand how the General had acquired his reputation. There was no fear, no uncertainty, and no hesitation in his heart; only murderous anger.

Their battle shattered sky and steel as it tore through the tower. Bursts of flame and steel clashed in a cataclysmic duel high above the battlefield. Rahm's metalbending was more than a match for Gohrman's twisted combustion bending. Every bolt that Gohrman loosed was dodged or intercepted; Rahm never felt the burning fires of Gohrman's blasts.

The ineffectiveness of his attacks drove Gohrman further and further into rage. His anger manifested as a certain kind of carelessness. Rahm saw his opportunity. Rage was a powerful weapon for some, but a glaring weakness in others.

With Gohrman's next attack, Rahm shattered his metal armor into a cloud of fragments and sent them all flying towards Gohrman's third eye. Carelessly, Gohrman unleashed his combustive power anyway. The bolt struck the metal shards just in front of Gohrman's own face and detonated at point-blank range. As ever, combustion benders were destroyed by their own power.

Rahm examined the carnage in disappointment. The legendary power of combustion benders was spoken of in fearful tales, but Gohrman had disappointed. Rahm had hardly broken a sweat. The General reassembled his armor and moved to his radio.

"Gohrman is dead," He declared. His words travelled between radios all across Whale Tail Island, bolstering the morale of the Coalition forces.

"Once the Kingdom troops hear he's gone, this battle will be a wash," his lieutenant said. Lieutenant Sorikami was currently occupied in a battle several miles away. "We'll have to find a way to spread the word among the enemy."

"I am handling the announcement personally," Rahm said.

The morale of the Seventh Kingdom soldiers below was broken as Gohrman's body was sent plummeting from his tower and crashing into the midst of their ranks.

***

As Sorikami had predicted, the battle had gone swiftly in their favor after Gohrman's defeat. Without their mutated super-soldier at their backs, the courage of the Seventh Kingdom was broken. Gohrman's chief advisor, a firebender named Lokus, was still unaccounted for, but he had yet to take charge of the remaining forces. Rahm casually strolled through Gohrman's former residence. The combustion bender had acquired numerous trophies of war. Rahm admired the skull of a dragon until he was approached by one of his men.

"General, you'll want to see this," he said. His name was Tan Lung; he was a good soldier, obedient and skilled in combat, if not particularly clever. Rahm trusted his judgment enough to follow him into the bowels of Gohrman's tower, accompanied only by Dahaka. Here in the deepest reaches, the castle became a dungeon. There only seemed to be one cell; a labyrinthine construction designed with several layers of security.

"What was he keeping here," Rahm pondered.

"It's some kind of prison," Tan Lung said. He handed a journal that he had located to Dahaka. The waterbender read it aloud.

"Combustion benders are usually reclusive and difficult to study. It is a blessing that Gohrman is willing to co-operate with my examinations. His persistence has taught us how to identify others with latent combustion bender talents."

Rahm's eyes narrowed, and they proceeded into the depths of the labyrinth. Dahaka continued reading the journal.

"The third eye mutation focuses their nervous system towards the forehead; creates a glaring weakness, but makes the rest of the body more resistant to pain. Worthwhile trade. Focusing the mutation through the tattoo increases the effect."

The next few pages of the journal were all a description of combustion benders and their unique physiology. Dahaka skipped a few pages until they got back to actual journal entries.

"Lost two fingers to an accidental blast last week. Pinky and index, thankfully on non-dominant hand. Power manifesting at this stage is a good sign. Might be even stronger than Gohrman once we give it the tattoo."

Rahm began to walk faster, and soon they were at the heart of the prison, faced with a massive door, closed tight with elaborate locks. The construction of the locks was sturdy, but they all gave way to Rahm's metalbending. He, Tan Lung, and Dahaka penetrated several layers of iron walls and traps. Whatever Gohrman was hiding, or keeping imprisoned, was of unbelievable value. Tan Lung admired the workmanship of the elaborate prison.

The center of the convoluted prison was a small prison chamber, with simple iron bars. Rahm could see through them easily enough. Dahaka read the last journal entry.

"The preparations are complete. Miyani will be our greatest weapon."

Dahaka closed the journal and looked into the cage. Huddled in the corner, small, weak, and covered in a mix of scabs and scars, a little girl cowered in the shadows. A small child, barely older than one of Dahaka's own daughters.

"Rahm, get her out of there," Dahaka pleaded. Rahm hesitated.

"Hold a moment," Rahm said. Something felt wrong. "Child. Come."

Hesitantly, the girl stumbled towards the bars and came towards the light. Tan Lung took a few steps back. Amidst the wounds on her forehead, a blood red tattoo was visible, unique in its design, but still a clear mark of a combustion bender.

"Another combustion bender," Rahm muttered. The little girl took a few steps back in fear. Rahm flicked his wrist, and the bars slipped aside. The girl retreated into the depths of the cell. Rahm stepped forward, and drew his sword.

"Rahm," Dahaka called. Rahm did not hesitate. Tan Lung averted his eyes. Rahm's sword swung in a swift arc towards Miyani's neck. The young girl felt a cold chill on her spine.

Rahm's blade was trapped in ice, frozen in place just barely separated from Miyani's throat. The ice that encased her throat was the only thing keeping her alive. Rahm pulled his blade back, violently shattering the ice, and looked to a defiant Dahaka.

"She's just a girl!"

"And Gohrman was once just a boy," Rahm declared. "You saw the fire he rained down on our brothers today."

"She had nothing to do with that," Dahaka objected. "You can't do this to her!"

"And what would you propose we do, Dahaka," Tan Lung asked. Rahm's sword still stood ready. "Would you be willing to take her as your own? Would you feel safe at night knowing that a monster slept in your own home?"

Dahaka looked away. He could hear the young combustion bender whimpering behind his back.

"I have a daughter her age," He said. "I can't just let you do this."

"I'm waiting on an alternative," Rahm said. "Don't be a fool, Dahaka. You can raise a dragon however you like, it will still grow fangs."

Dahaka clenched his teeth. Dragons.

***

The circle had been kept very small on this secret. Dahaka, Tan Lung, and Rahm had shared the secret of the combustion bender child with the Fire Nation royal family and no one else. The Fire Lord's son, Goto, had agreed to Dahaka's proposal, and the young prince had escorted the three to Dragon Roost island. The entire operation had been swept off the record. As far as anyone else was concerned, Rahm, Dahaka, and Tan Lung had never even met.

The official spokesman to outsiders in Dragon Roost was a young Sun Warrior named Zorotl. He and his dragon Kalatal waited for the small entourage. Kalatal began to snarl and snap as the four approached. Rahm stared the dragon down. He had long wished to test his strength against a dragon. Unfortunately, they were too rare for him to get away with it. Much to Rahm's satisfaction, the vicious dragon rapidly withered under his piercing gaze. Zorotl noticed how the dragon cowered. Few people alive had such an effect on dragons.

"Zorotl," Prince Goto began. His father was a close friend to the Sun Warriors, but Goto was on less friendly terms. "I have a challenge for your people."

Goto beckoned the combustion bender girl forward. Her wounds had healed remarkably well. The bandages around her injuries were as much to hide her tattoo as they were to hide the scabs. At his command, she removed the wrappings around her forehead, revealing the third eye mark. Zorotl took a few steps back. Kalatal gave a thunderous growl as the mutant bender stepped forward. Dragons were keen to sense aberrant benders, and combustion benders were among the worst. The young girl retreated backwards a few steps as the dragon bared its fearsome fangs.

"Not a chance," Zorotl said. "We don't deal with monsters."

"She's named Miyani, actually," Goto said indignantly.

Miyani clutched at Prince Goto's robes, but he pushed her away. He had little desire to deal with her. He wanted to make sure she wouldn't grow up to be a threat, and that was the end of his interest in the girl. Gohrman and his assistant, Lokus, had been grooming this girl to become a new weapon for the Seventh Kingdom. He would not allow her to become a threat to innocent people.

"You people can tame a dragon, why not one of them," Goto challenged.

"She's not normal," Zorotl protested. Miyani's small, scarred face drooped with sadness. "What are we supposed to do with her?"

"Figure something out," Goto commanded. "Despite what you may think, she's only a small child. I doubt she poses that much of a challenge to dragon tamers."

Zorotl set his jaw stubbornly. He would have to consult with the priests. A combustion bender posed a great challenge, but raising dragons was no small feat either. Perhaps it was possible. He summoned several elders and discussed the situation. They were hesitant about welcoming a combustion bender into their midst, but they agreed that they had an obligation to try.

The girl was handed over. Miyani gave a lingering look to Dahaka as she was escorted away. Dahaka did not look her in the eye.

"Now, I believe we still have a war on," Tan Lung said. He had welcomed the break from fighting. War was beginning to tire him. He was growing impatient with the constant conflicts of men.

"That we do," Rahm said. Rahm was quite the opposite of his subordinate. He had spent too long away from the fight, and was eager to get back to the chaos and violence of war. "I had hoped the combustion bender might attract some worthwhile attention. We should get back while there are still enemies yet to be slain."

"I've heard talk that the Seventh might surrender, actually," Dahaka mumbled. Rahm laughed disdainfully.

"There is victory and there is death," Rahm scolded. "All else is cowardice."

The three soldiers boarded the ship that would carry them back to the last battles of the Seventh Kingdom Uprising. Rahm's eyes flitted judgmentally between the island and Dahaka.

"Whatever that girl becomes is on your head, boy," Rahm said.

"I'm not worried," Dahaka said, though to tell the truth he was uncertain. "The dragon tamers can handle her."

****

Goto examined the shattered wall of the building. Miyani had, indeed, blown a hole right through the wall of her home. Zorotl was trying to use that as an excuse to get rid of her. Goto knew there was a missing piece.

"So, she just blew up the wall one day," he said suspiciously.

"Yeah, blew it right up," Zorotl said. Goto didn't need to be a truth-seer to tell he was lying. There was an audible shake to his voice.

Miyani was cowering in a corner of the courtyard, being watched over by Sun Warriors wielding heavy blades. Every time she moved, they twitched nervously. She had noticed that, and had tried to stop moving entirely. They had given her a thick cloak to wear, and she wrapped it tighter around herself, trying to hide from the Sun Warriors and their blades.

Goto glanced quickly between Zorotl and Miyani. Zorotl's nervousness became more and more apparent. Goto walked through the wall of Sun Warriors and examined Miyani. As he got closer, she tried to withdraw more and more into her cloak.

"Miyani? Why did you blow up the house?"

Miyani reached her absolute limit of how tight she could draw the cloak around her, and she just began to shudder nervously. Goto rolled his eyes, and pulled the cloak away from her. She let out a sharp scream of fear and wrapped her hands tightly around her neck. Goto raised an eyebrow. Why her neck, of all places?

"Miyani, let go of your neck."

The young combustion bender did not cooperate. Goto raised his voice.

"Miyani!"

Miyani's hands quickly snapped away. Her neck was bruised a deep purple. That kind of bruising could not happen on accident.

"You people," Goto said disdainfully. He turned to the Sun Warriors. "Which one of you did this?"

Not one of them spoke up. Goto repeated himself, once again to no answer. He snorted derisively. He doubted he would get an answer. The Sun Warriors would not sell out one of their own.

"I'm disappointed in all of you," He said.

"What are we supposed to do," Zorotl protested.

"You were supposed to take care of her," Goto shouted. "And you've done the exact opposite!"

"She's a monster, Goto," Zorotl said.

"And you think strangling her will fix that? It'll only make her hate you, you idiot!"

"I didn't-"

"You didn't do a lot of things," Goto said. "Thinking being first among them."

Goto smiled wickedly. Even in tense moments like this, there was time for some witty insults. Zorotl actually looked guilty now. He seemed to be thinking of something.

"Hayao," He said.

"What?"

"Hayao. He's a wise man, a master. He lives off the coast of Gai Zhu. He can help her."

Goto's father had told him of the master under the mountain, but Goto had never thought much of the story. Old men sitting on rocks did not appeal to him. He preferred men of action. But if Hayao could keep this combustion bender out of trouble, to Hayao he would go.

Goto was done here. He grabbed Miyani by the wrist and forcibly pulled her to her feet, leading her away from the Sun Warriors. Being away from them did nothing to improve her mood, and as Goto took her to the boat, she remained just as withdrawn and quiet. Goto eventually took some measure of pity on her.

"I know you didn't mean to do that, Miyani."

She actually looked up for a moment, though she remained deathly silent. Goto continued.

"You were scared, and you did something on accident. But you have to be careful. You're dangerous, and doing things like that will only make people more afraid of you."

Miyani rested her head in her hands, and Goto got the feeling that he'd only made things worse.

***

Goto was thoroughly unimpressed with Hayao's mountain. It was caged in a thick, unpleasant fog that made navigating the island a chore. Despite the handicap, Goto eventually found his way into the cavern, through the quiet chambers and past the curtain. Hayao sat ever vigilant and ever motionless in the midst of the chamber, surrounded by dim candles.

"Master Hayao," Goto said, with feigned respect.

"I am no master," Hayao said. "How may I be of service to you, Prince Goto?"

Goto ignored the fact that Hayao already knew who he was dealing with. Mysterious old farts like him knew everything; that was a given. Goto pushed Miyani forward, forcing her to stand before the robed master. The white mask of the ancient Fire Nation soldiers observed her with lifeless eyes. She shrank away in fear of the skeletal visage.

"Can you take care of her?"

Hayao looked over the girl in silence for a moment. He could feel an intense fear in her heart, but it was not a fear of Goto, or even Hayao. She was afraid of herself.

"No," He said finally. "The lesson she must learn is not one I can teach."

"Ah, let me rephrase that," Goto said. "I could care less about how she feels. Can you keep her from hurting innocent people?"

Hayao was silent for a moment. He could see the way Goto's words stung Miyani's heart. Hayao sighed loudly.

"Yes."

"Then she's your problem now."

Without so much as a goodbye, Goto turned on his heel and left the cave. Hayao and Miyani looked at one another for a moment. The more Miyani looked into the black eyeholes of Hayao's mask, the more fear rose in her heart. Hayao decided it was time to show a little compassion.

"What's your name?"

Miyani hesitated a moment. Her fingers tapped nervously against her skin. Her scars and scabs no longer hurt as much, but they were still present, a reminder that it had not been so long ago that she'd been in the cage of the Seventh Kingdom. She supposed that anything was an improvement.

"My name is Miyani," She said quietly.

"Miyani," Hayao repeated. "I'm Hayao. I'll be taking care of you now."

Miyani flinched. The last people who'd tried to take care of her had ended up trying to choke her. Hayao saw her fear and moved to reassure her.

"I will teach you as much as I can," Hayao said. "I hope that I can bring you safety…and peace."

Hayao doubted his own ability. The red mark on Miyani's forehead marked her as a different breed, a being of great power. That kind of life was not one that Hayao had ever lived. Hayao hoped that he could overcome the distance between their lives and bring Miyani peace.

In the back of his mind, he knew it was a fool's hope.

***

Miyani spent most of her days fishing.

She'd been with Hayao a few years now. Life was boring, but she had a bit of freedom, and nobody tried to kill her, which made it better than any other home she'd ever known. The boredom could be cured with pastimes like fishing, at least.

She was on a sandbar not far from the island; it would probably be anyone's first choice if looking for a place to fish. It was just far enough away that it was possible to walk rather than swimming, which worked well for Miyani. She hadn't yet learned to swim, so the waters were still dangerous for her.

Miyani saw a ship sail by, and she pulled her hat as far down on her forehead as she could. It was the middle of the commercial fishing season, so large fishing ships came by often. None of them came this close to the island, as it was surrounded by rocky shoals and sandbars, but the sight of them always frightened Miyani. She dreaded the day one of them got too close.

Her fears would become real today. Though the larger vessels avoided the shallow waters around the island, a few smaller ships came closer to the island. Miyani clenched her fishing rod tighter and tried to stare at the ground. It was only a matter of time before one of them got too close.

"Hey, girl, what are you doing out here," Someone shouted. Their ship sailed dangerously close to her sandbar and watched her from the shore. Miyani let go of her fishing rod completely and clutched her hat tightly to her head.

"Are you alright?"

The fishermen were worried about her, naturally. They were hours away from any kind of civilization, and as far as they knew, she was just a little girl. They actually wanted to help.

"Where are your parents?"

Their ship pulled up the sandbar and went aground. A few of the fishermen stepped onto the land and looked at her. She wanted them to go away. She could only hide herself from them for so long.

"I live on the island," Miyani said quickly. "Please leave me alone."

"Nobody lives on that island," One of the fishermen said. Few people knew of Hayao's secluded refuge. They thought the volcanic island was completely uninhabitable.

"Did you run away from home?"

Miyani shook her head. One of the fishermen popped up with another theory.

"Look at how she's hiding. Did somebody hurt you, girl?"

"Just leave me alone," Miyani begged.

"We're trying to help you, so why don't you just tell us what's happening," One fisherman said. As he spoke, he reached down, placed one hand on Miyani's shoulder, and used the other to pull her hat off.

Miyani tried to cover her forehead with her hands, but she wasn't quick enough. The fishermen saw the red mark on her forehead, and their mood changed completely. Where there had once been compassion and concern there was now only terror. Some ran backwards, some screamed. One remained oddly calm. Miyani shuddered as they all recoiled in fear.

After the frightened fishermen had all panicked sufficiently, there was a hasty debate on what should be done now. They seemed to realize that Miyani was not trying to hurt them -for now, one said- and that something had to be done about this.

The fisherman who'd remained calm earlier was the first to step forward. He held his hand out to Miyani.

"Don't worry, I understand," He said. He was calm, but oddly cold. "I'll just take you back where you belong."

Miyani did not take his hand, but she did follow him forward, towards the boat. The two of them departed alone, heading out into the waters. Miyani just wanted this horrible experience to be over. The sooner they got back to the island, the better. Miyani rested her head in her hands and waited.

"Do you know how to swim," The calm fisherman asked. Miyani shook her head.

"You should learn," He advised. "It's not safe to be out on the ocean when you can't swim."

Miyani looked up, to see if they were any closer to home. They actually seemed to be farther away. They were getting far from everything, actually, even the other fishing boats. Miyani felt the cold chill of fear, and then a hand around her neck, in a grip just tight enough to keep her from screaming. The fisherman grabbed her by the neck and pulled her upwards from her seat. Dragging her painfully, he forced her to the side of the ship, giving her just a moment to look at the black waters below, and then pushed her over.

Miyani panicked and flailed as she began to sink into the dark depths. Eventually, through the fear and confusion, she managed to right herself and claw her way upwards to the surface, just barely in time to avoid drowning. She tried to tread water and keep herself afloat, but panic and a lack of experience made it difficult to keep her head above the water. Between desperate breaths of air, she begged for help. The only person around to hear her pleas didn't care.

"You monsters killed my brother in the war," The fisherman shouted back at her. "This is what you deserve!"

As Miyani struggled to stay above the black water, that thought weighed her down. That she somehow deserved this. It filled her mind like the water filled her throat whenever she sank beneath the waves.

After a long, desperate, painful struggle, Miyani clawed her way to a small outcropping of stone above the waters. Every muscle in her body burned with the pain of exhaustion. She coughed up the saltwater that was stinging like acid in her lungs, and remained there, clinging to the stone, wondering why this had happened to her.

***

She found her way back the island eventually. She didn't go back to Hayao right away, though.

The island had a room for supplies; food, clothing and medicine, things like that. Some wealthy student of Hayao's donated it all. Miyani dug through the myriad supplies to find what she was looking for.

Hayao had been expecting to see her sooner. From the moment she had stepped into his cavern, he could feel that something terrible had happened to her. When she reappeared, though, it was in a far different state than Hayao had expected.

Around her hands, shoulder, and her tattooed forehead, she wore white bandages, as if she were covering some extensive wounds. Hayao could see that she was not injured, at least not in that way. What was she trying to accomplish, then?

"What are you doing, Miyani?"

"I just want people to stop hurting me," She said. There was a profound hollowness in her voice. She had been hurt one too many times; she didn't feel safe, even here.

"And what do the bandages have to do with that?"

"I can…hide. When people see the tattoo, they try to hurt me. But when they think I'm just weak, and hurt, they don't- They leave me alone."

"But you're not weak," Hayao told her. "You're stronger than any of them."

"I don't want to be," Miyani said. She seemed on the verge of tears now. "I don't want to be a monster."

Behind his skull mask, hidden from view, Hayao closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He had been afraid of this.

"I am sorry, Miyani," He said apologetically. "No words of mine can make you understand."

Hayao stopped speaking then, and it would be years before he spoke to her again. Hayao was a monk, a man of quiet meditation. Miyani walked a very different path, one he could not guide her on. It would take someone else, someone who knew her pain, to guide her. Hayao watched Miyani for many years after that day, in silence, but every day he prayed that the guide she needed would find her.

Many years later, a young man walked through the door of his cavern. A boy who had only just lost his best friend. Behind his mask, Hayao smiled. Sometimes prayers were answered in the best possible way.

***

"And that's my story," Miyani concluded. "At least until you showed up, that is."

It had been a long story, and not a particularly happy one, but it was her story. The next time she told it, it would have a much happier ending.

"Any questions?" She asked.

"Just one," Sen said. "When did you learn to swim?"

Miyani looked at him quietly for a while.

"That's what you want to know?"

"Well, you didn't know in that last bit, but when we went fishing, you did know. When did you learn?"

"I taught myself," Miyani said. "I didn't want to drown again."

"Well, that makes sense."

Sen stood up and stretched his legs. They had been sitting around in Hayao's cavern for about an hour now. After his fight with the Harrier, Sen had been eager to rest, but now his legs were getting a little stiff. He stretched out and looked around.

Sen had already shared his side of the story. It had been refreshing to tell Miyani the whole truth about himself; everything about Hanjo, his story, and his journey as the Avatar. Retelling it now felt climactic, in a way. He felt he had taken a great step forwards in his journey to become a full Avatar. Not just because he had learned firebending, but because he had learned how to embrace his identity.

The sound of muffled voices interrupted his thoughts, and he turned towards the entrance. He thought he'd gotten all the Energybender forces imprisoned, but somebody outside was shouting loudly. Sen's worry turned to happiness as the voices got closer, and he recognized them.

"Suda, Ada, I'm in here," He shouted. The cavern walls magnified his voice, carrying it out to the island coast. "Everything's fine."

Quickly, he turned and whispered something to Miyani. She smiled and nodded eagerly. Miyani walked away from the caves entrance as the sounds of Suda and Ada rapidly running down the cavern chambers got louder.

Suda burst through the curtain at full tilt, his eyes locking in on Sen immediately. With an overjoyed shout, Suda rushed towards the Avatar and grabbed him in a massive bear hug.

"You're alright!"

Suda was practically dancing. As amusing as it was to be lifted into the air by his gargantuan friend, Sen was actually in no small amount of pain right now. Suda's massive arms were pressing against nearly every injury he'd received during his fight. Sen voiced his concerns, and Suda gingerly placed him back on the ground.

Ada stepped towards Sen, her eyes filled with more disbelief than concern. Ada examined the injuries that covered Sen's body; a few burns, a bruise here and there, and a few cuts. Far less than she had expected. A part of her had doubted Sen's ability to fight more than sixty soldiers. She could hardly believe it.

"How? How did you beat them all?'

That was Miyani's cue. She stepped forward, sneaking up behind Suda and Ada.

"He didn't," She said. They began to turn around. "I did."

Suda took one look at the mark on her forehead and froze completely. Ada was a little more dramatic. She let out a short yelp of fear and jumped backwards, her hair standing on end like a frightened cat. Miyani smiled wickedly. Ada's fear was intense, but it passed quickly. Just yesterday she had seen Miyani reduced to tears by a piece of spicy pork. With that memory in her head, it was hard to be afraid of her, even with a blood-red mark of explosive destruction on her forehead.

"You- Well, that is….something, certainly-"

Suda unfroze and pointed at Miyani's forehead.

"Sparky-sparky-boom!" He shouted. Miyani looked confused. Suda began to hop up and down like an overly excited child.

"Do the thing," He demanded.

"No, don't," Ada said quickly. "Not here, please, not in a very small cave."

"I wasn't going to," Miyani assured her. Ada looked visibly relieved. Suda, visibly disappointed.

"You'll have plenty of time to watch her," Sen said reassuringly. He stepped up to Miyani's side. "We're going to do a lot together. I think it's time we took the fight to the enemy."

"I'm with you all the way," Miyani said, clenching her fists. She'd been playing the victim most of her life; playing hero would be a nice change of pace.

"Oh man, count me in," Suda said eagerly. Ada found herself getting into the idea as well. A combustion bender was a massive shift in the balance of power. Even one was worth an entire army. With Miyani on their side, they might have enough strength to rally the world against the Energybender.

"It pains me to have to play devil's advocate," Hayao interrupted. "But were you not hiding for a reason, Sen?"

"Well yeah, I had to," Sen said. "But with Miyani-"

"Think clearly, Sen. Temper your courage with caution."

Hayao's words of caution put a slow end to the eager energy in the room. Miyani was quick to come to her conclusions.

"I'm powerful," She said. "But I don't know if I'm stronger than the Energybender."

"We don't know enough about him," Ada said. "There's still risks, even with Miyani on our side."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, we shouldn't move until Sen's as strong as he can be."

Suda kicked the dirt. He'd really been looking forward to seeing some explosions. Miyani stared sadly at the ground.

"But I can't hide," She said. "I mean, not the way you guys can. The only useful thing I can do is cause massive explosions."

"Not really very good for sneaking around," Ada admitted. Sen looked around at them all. He couldn't believe the turn this conversation had taken.

"Come on," He begged. "We can't just go back to running and hiding! The Energybender's only going to get more violent the more I run away from him. I can't keep sneaking around in the shadows while people are getting hurt."

Miyani took a deep breath, nodded to herself, and smiled.

"I know what to do."

She turned Sen to face her and placed her hands on his shoulders. Sen felt very small compared to her. The dim candlelight cast a very gentle glow on her face, even on the brutal-looking tattoo resting above her eyes.

"You can't fight, and I can't hide," She said. "So I'll go out in the world and fight for you. I'll be your sword, fighting the battles you can't."

Miyani removed her hands from his shoulders and crossed them defiantly across her chest. Sen looked at her for a while, his head swirling with too many thoughts to count. He didn't want to leave Miyani, not after all of this. But sometimes the right decision wasn't always the easy one.

Sen took a single step forward and wrapped his arms around Miyani. She felt a brief moment of surprise; this was a first for her. It quickly passed, and she returned the embrace. That was all that needed to be said. Goodbyes were useless at this point; few words could articulate what they both wanted to say. Their time together, however short, had been life-changing.

"One day I'm going to be done hiding," Sen said as he released her. "When that happens, I want you there."

"Believe me, there's nowhere I'd rather be," Miyani replied. "But in the meantime, who knows? While I'm out there fighting, I might even find Hanjo."

"Hanjo's alive?" Two voices shouted at once.

"Oh yeah. Maybe we should have led with that."

***

Once Sen had explained the situation with Hanjo's survival, Suda and Ada were even more eager to set out. They found the ship that the Energybender troops had brought to the island and hijacked it quickly, heading back for the mainland. They had a few loose ends to wrap up anyway. After saying their goodbyes to Miyani, they set out. Their first task would be to gather Gun; the badgermole would be rather upset about having been left alone all this time. After that, they would have to get the authorities to collect the soldiers trapped on Hayao's island.

Ada was taking charge of steering the ship, leaving Suda to sit around on the ship's deck and think about what had happened. He'd had a busy couple of days. Yesterday he had turned twenty-one, and today he his ex-girlfriend had nearly gotten them killed, he'd gotten in a fight with terrorists, and he'd met a girl who could blow things up with her mind.

As far as birthdays went, it was one to remember.

Suda wandered to the rear of the ship. Sen was looking back at the island sadly, toying with something in his hands.

"You getting along all right?" He asked.

"I'm okay," Sen said. He could be better, but he wasn't that bad. Suda sat down next to him. They watched the fog-shrouded island fade in to the distance for a while.

"Did I show you her parting gift?"

Sen turned around and held out his hand. It was one of the two rectangular bricks he'd made for Miyani just this morning. Miyani had the other. She had given it to him just before they left. Suda, of course, knew nothing about Miyani's bricks or Sen's confession to her, so all he saw was an oddly shaped rock. He figured it was important to Sen, though, and he had an idea.

Flicking his fingers quickly, Suda pulled a piece of metal from the ships walls and wrapped it into a thin metal band. With another quick gesture, the metal band gripped onto the small brick, and then coiled itself around Sen's wrist, covering the pink scar.

"I got no idea what to say or do about all this," Suda said. "But I know how to wrap up your wrist."

Sen stared blankly at Suda for a while. He remembered those words. Suda had said them long ago, on a much different boat ride, after Hanjo's presumed death.

"Why would you say that?"

"It's called bookending," Suda said defensively. "It's when you- oh nevermind."

Suda crossed his arms stubbornly. Sen smiled. He supposed it was much different this time around. This time the wrap on his wrist was a gift, not a bandage to cover a wound.

"Hey, you should turn around," Sen advised Suda. "I'm not the only one who gets a parting gift."

Suda turned to look over his shoulder at the island. Sen set a small flare of fire streaming up in the air.

In response, a white pillar of light rose from the coast of Hayao's island, soaring high into the air, before bursting into a mighty conflagration of fire and explosive force. Suda jumped to his feet and shouted with excitement as the explosion unfolded. Sen chuckled to himself, and looked forward.

**END OF BOOK 2**


	35. Book 3 Ch1: Republic Retrospective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter begins for the Avatar, but it begins with a look back. After journeying to Republic City and meeting the Airbenders, Ada gets in touch with home, and Sen views a message from his past life.

Sen had insisted on being first behind the wheel. Nobody tried to argue.

It felt good for them all to be on the open road again. Their time in the Fire Nation had been very exciting, but it had all happened in once place. Suda, Ada, and Sen were glad to be travelling once again, watching the scenery sail by as they drove along in the Avatarmobile. The empty seat that Hanjo had once occupied no longer felt quite as hollow now that they knew he was alive.

The skyscrapers came into view hours before they reached the city itself. Republic City was the crown jewel of the world; its towers soared to the heavens and parted the clouds. Not even Zaofu's gleaming pillars could surpass them. As they drove closer, the roads became more crowded, and for the first time, the Avatarmobile wasn't the fanciest satomobile on the road. It actually felt rather outdated compared to some of the vehicles they drove alongside.

Entering the city was a complete change of pace. Traffic was impossible to deal with. The trio resolved to park as soon as possible and continue on foot. After an hour of slogging through Republic City traffic, they came to a halt. Sen put one foot on the ground and was nearly overwhelmed.

Cities like Gai Zhu were lively, but Republic City was truly alive. The ground thrummed with a million footsteps at once, along with the rumble of engines and the shaking of subways. He could feel it through the soil: this city had a pulse. There was a constant vibration through the ground, emanating from the spirit portal at the city's center. The spiraling beam of light shone brightly even during the daytime, marking the location of the beating heart of the city.

"So, you're the city girl," Suda said to Ada. "Feel at home yet?"

"Not even close," Ada mumbled. The sheer amount of lights and sounds was overwhelming. Zaofu had a concrete identity; most everyone who lived there shared common goals, ideals, and dreams. Republic City was a clashing maelstrom of competing ideas. Architecture varied wildly from building to building. Five story apartments sat next to seventy story skyscrapers. Every person was wearing different fashions and walking different directions.

"I could get used to this," Suda said. He'd always felt he was destined for something big, and there was nothing bigger than Republic City.

Sen grabbed them both by the shoulders and dragged them down to earth. He had been taking charge much more often since they'd left Hayao's island. He had stepped into the role of Avatar very well, but since he was still hidden from most of the world, that mostly meant bossing Suda and Ada around.

"Eyes forward," Sen joked. "We're here for a reason."

Suda and Ada nodded and headed for the coast. The Central Air Temple was the hub of all airbender activity, and it was their best shot at finding Sen an airbending master. Ada was also hoping to get some answers about the Energybender's airbender troops. The Air Nation should have been keeping better track of their airbenders.

Travelling by foot wasn't much easier than travelling by satomobile in the big city. People were walking shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalks, and none of the group was used to such crowded walkways. Ada got lost in the crowd a few times, owing to her being the shortest of them all. Luckily Sen could sense his friends using his seismic sense, and they were quickly reunited.

It got a little easier to move when they got closer to the coast. Suda spotted the old pro-bending arena, and fell oddly quiet. It was a reminder of Bolin, but also a reminder of Nura. Suda looked away from the arena and found something else to distract himself.

The statue of Avatar Aang dominated the coastline. Sen gave it a long, lingering look, and felt little. Remnants of Korra's life filled him with an odd sense of nostalgia, but looking at Aang, he felt nothing. That connection was gone, severed by Vaatu. Sen led his friends towards the island that sat in the shadow of Aang.

Getting to the island was easy enough; there was a ferry that carried tourists and other visitors back and forth. Suda tapped his feet nervously on the boat ride over. They hadn't really thought of a plan yet. They didn't know how to ask for an airbending teacher without attracting undue attention. Sen was confident that they could work something out, though.

They were guided out into a small alcove and an airbender guide began to give some sort of speech. Several people were separated from the main group immediately, and rushed into the waiting arms of loved ones who lived on the island. Some of the old airbender traditions had been cast aside, and air apprentices were allowed to remain in contact with their families. Other members of the tourist group were guided along by airbenders to various parts of the island. One such airbender guide greeted Sen and his friends with a knowing smile.

"You three must be here to see Jung," An airbender said. He winked at Sen. Sen looked at Suda smugly. He'd known this would be easy.

The winking airbender led them to a side building away from the group. He waited until they were in a long, narrow passage before he began explaining himself.

"It is truly an honor to meet you, Avatar," He began. The airbender was giddy with excitement. "We have been preparing for your arrival for quite some time."

"How did you recognize us so quickly?"

"I am afraid only Master Jung can answer that," the airbender said. "I am told very little. The Air Nation is quite concerned about its security. Your adversary has many airbenders on his side, and we worry about who we can trust."

Ada nodded. It was good that they were taking precautions. The unnamed airbender led them to the end of the passage, to a door that only an airbender could open. Their guide unlocked the door and then bid them a quick goodbye. Sen proceeded into the hidden chamber. A monk sat waiting. He bore the arrow tattoo of an airbending master. The master stood and bowed deeply to his guest.

"Avatar Sen," He said.

"Master Jung, I presume," Sen said, returning the bow. Sen sat cross-legged on a nearby cushion, and his friends followed suit.

"It is my great honor to greet you," Jung said. "The four Nomad Masters have spent many years preparing us for you, in honor of their bond with your predecessors."

The four living descendants of Aang now travelled between the old air temples, constantly journeying the world. It was how they honored the history of the long-dead Air Nomads while simultaneously involving themselves in the new Air Nation and its peacekeeping activities.

Jung stood up and retrieved a very dusty looking wooden box. He held it out to Sen.

"It was hoped that we would find you in more peaceful circumstances, so we are not fully equipped to help you with the challenge you face, but we have many resources to aid you in your training and your spiritual growth."

Sen opened the wooden box. The first thing he saw was familiar in a strange way. It was a simple cloth band, marked with a triangular blue and white design. It was the armband that Korra had worn for most of her adventures, or a very good duplicate.

"A memento of a past Avatar can help link you with your past life," Jung explained. Every one of the air temples had a similar relic.

Sen tried to place the band around his arm, pulling it past the metal bracelet on his wrist, and was a bit embarrassed at how loosely it fit. He wasn't quite as muscular as Korra, apparently. He rolled up his sleeve and managed to get the band to stay in place around his bicep. It was still a bit loose, but it felt right.

Sen examined the dusty wooden box further, and found a second panel. Pushing the compartment aside, he found an old film reel.

"What's this?"

"A message," Jung said. "Korra recorded it many years ago. It was to be viewed if you had not yet connected to her spiritually."

Jung gave Sen an expectant look. Sen shook his head. Jung nodded and rubbed his hands together.

"Then we had best get you a projector, hm," Jung said playfully. He opened up a door and called for assistance. Sen was quickly hurried away to a film viewing chamber. For some reason, Jung asked Ada and Suda to stay.

"Now, I'd appreciate it if you two could fill me in on certain things. There have been rumors of the Avatar spreading. The information I've received from Ko Rin has been-"

"You know Ko Rin?"

"Ah yes, I should have mentioned that," Jung said. "This is how we know you. Your master's efforts extend beyond Zaofu, young Ada."

"Do you have a way to contact him," Ada asked. Suda could see a gleam in her eyes as she dreamed of home. Jung nodded his head.

"I do, I do. I suppose it would be better to have you deliver the report to him, hm? Your friend here can give me the briefing."

Jung pointed over to a phone hidden behind a panel in the wall. Suda explained the events that had happened in Gai Zhu while Ada tried to call home. It took a few tries for the phone to be answered.

"Master Jung, I trust you have good news," Ko Rin's voice declared.

"You could say that," Ada said. Her heart raced just to hear Ko Rin's voice again. She'd spent too much time cut off from home.

"Ada! You've made it to the temple already," Ko Rin said. He didn't seem to believe it.

"Yes, we're in very good shape," Ada said. "Sen's learned firebending, we've found out that his friend Hanjo is alive…We even seem to have recruited a combustion bender along the way."

"I'd heard rumors," Ko Rin said slowly. "They're true, then? A combustion bender?"

Curious tales had been spreading from Gai Zhu. Fire Lord Goto had been expecting an attack on Gai Zhu in reprisal for the Avatar's escape, and had stationed a full garrison there- but the attack never came. Sometime later, travelers to Gai Zhu would tell the story of a massive battle further up the highways; an entire military convoy, filled with the Energybender's men, reduced to nothing more than wreckage and smoking craters. Rumors of a combustion bender had been spreading wildly since then.

"Her name is Miyani," Ada said. "She's not travelling with us now, but she's most certainly an ally."

Maybe a little more than an "ally" for Sen, but that was neither here nor there. Ada could almost hear Ko Rin's head shaking through the phone.

"The Avatar never ceases to surprise. Tell me as much as you can about this combustion bender. Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada rubbed her eye. She suddenly felt an itch at the back of her head, tucked away behind her eye. The feeling quickly passed.

"I'm sorry, sir," She said. "I really can't tell you more. I don't know where she's going or what she's doing."

Ko Rin sighed.

"Well, that is unfortunate, but it is good to have someone like her on our side. I think you would like to know that we have addressed the security breach in our network. We are no longer compromised."

The security breach was closed, then. That meant it would be safe for her to contact Zaofu in the future. Ada didn't exactly know how to phrase what she was going to say next, so she cleared her throat. Ko Rin gave a resigned sigh.

"Yes, you may speak to Canto," He sighed.

Ada barely contained an excited giggle. Suda and Jung were fifteen feet away, discussing the state of world politics. They didn't need to hear a teenage girl's romantic fit. She managed to keep her voice down. Ada and Canto burned through a few minutes of romantic pleasantries before they started to talk like sensible humans again.

"We had a few fights. I'm fine, but I've been through some tough times. I got stabbed."

"Stabbed?"

"Yeah. By Master Sorikami, I probably told you about her before," Ada said.

"I probably wasn't listening," Canto joked. "I never liked swords as much as you did."

"No one likes swords as much as I do," Ada said. Canto laughed.

"But you're okay, right? One-hundred percent?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Ada assured him. The wound on her arm was little more than a scar and an unpleasant memory now. "But how have things been going? It's been nearly a year since I was home…Are my parents alright?"

"They're doing great. They have me over for dinner a lot, which is actually a little annoying, but they're doing fine. They're on the other side of town right now, though. I mean, I could get them for you-"

"No, no, it's alright. I should probably just leave them be. Let them know I'm safe, though. Don't mention me getting stabbed."

"No stabbing, got it. Anything else I should mention?"

"The usual. Love you, miss you, be home as soon as I can, etcetera. You're good at this kind of thing."

Canto agreed, and they resumed idle romantic chitchat. It had been far too long since they'd had the opportunity to flirt shamelessly, and they made up for lost time.

In a separate room of the temple, Sen was struggling to work with a mover projector. The dusty film reel he'd received wasn't fitting in place right. Sen had never been one for machines, even though technology had been stagnant since long before he was born. Sen adjusted his glasses and shoved as hard as he could, and the mover finally clicked into place. Sen followed the instruction manual for the next few steps, and everything finally started rolling. Sen took a seat in the empty room. Whatever Korra's message was, it was apparently for him and him alone. He sat in silence as the film began to play.

The first few minutes of the reel were occupied by fragmented bits of dialogue and poorly filmed shots of a table. In the midst of the sudden whiteouts and full-stops, Sen could hear fragments of dialogue that mostly consisted of strange voices yelling about how to operate the camera. Apparently Korra was as bad at using machines as Sen was. That was comforting, at least.

After the failed startups finally ended, the camera stabilized, a table came into focus, and Korra herself stepped into frame.

It was clear that this had been filmed several years after her most famous adventures had ended. Korra's hair was tied back in a long, winding braid that reached nearly down to her waist. Her outfit was mostly the same, though, right down to the cloth armband that was now wrapped around Sen's bicep.

"Uh, hello," Korra began awkwardly. "If you're watching this, we probably haven't been introduced. I guess we never will be, really. I'm dead."

There was an awkward pause.

"Well, I will be, when you're watching this. Alright…"

Korra rubbed her hands together and thought for a second. The film flickered.

"I've done a lot lately, and in the past few years, I started to think about what my legacy would be. The kind of world I'd leave behind when I'm gone. I started to think about you, specifically. The Avatar who'll come after me. I think I've done a good job, that I've made the world a better place…But I've made my share of mistakes too, and I'm afraid you might have to face the consequences."

Korra looked away from the camera in shame. Her shoulders seemed to be dragged down by the weight of regret.

"When I fought Vaatu, when I lost, I broke the connection to all the past Avatars. Thinking about all that wisdom, lost forever…It isn't fair for you to lose so much because of me."

Korra seemed to perk up a little, and she returned her eyes to the camera.

"I've been lucky enough to know a lot of amazing people, who've helped me overcome so many challenges. I can't give you back the old Avatars, but I can give you some of the wisdom that's helped me through all of my battles. I'll, um, let them talk, all in the order I met them."

Korra stood up and walked out of screen, apparently taking up a position behind the camera. An elderly water tribe couple stepped onto screen, probably Tonraq and Senna. Sen had a brief moment where he thought 'they didn't get involved until Korra's second adventure' but then remembered that they were her parents and were, logically, there at her birth. Sen wasn't really used to having parents, so he forgave himself for the mistake.

"Hello, um, future Earth Avatar," Tonraq said. It was clear that he was slightly confused by this video. Talking to a person you'd never meet had to be strange. "Since Korra asked us about this…project, we've been doing a lot of thinking about what we'd say."

"It's hard for us to come up with anything," Senna said with a chuckle. "We don't know what your time is going to be like, where you'll be born, whether you'll be a boy or a girl, or even your name. It's strange to think about."

"But we did come to realize that, in a way, you're family. Almost like a grandchild. Since we apparently aren't getting any from Korra."

"Dad no," Korra pleaded from off screen. Senna slapped Tonraq on the shoulder.

"The point is," Senna continued. She had a certain bitter-sweet look in her eyes. "You're family, and we care about you, as much as we care about our own daughter. We may never get the chance to hold you in our arms, but we love you."

"No matter what you do, or how dark things get, always remember that," Tonraq concluded.

Sen leaned forward. That hit him right in the heart. He had his friends and his allies, but he didn't really have a family. No one had ever told Sen they loved him. Sen sighed and shook his head heavily. Somebody else was getting on camera anyway. He moved his attention forward, focusing on the new person. It was Tenzin. The years had turned his beard white at the point this was filmed.

"Greetings, Avatar," He said firmly. "You've been born into a position of great power and responsibility. Often it may come to feel overwhelming, especially given the legacy you'll directly inherit. It'll be easy for you to feel pressured to live up to the past generations. Don't try to compare yourself to Korra or my father. Never forget that you are your own person, and your own Avatar."

Tenzin bowed to the camera and walked off screen. Korra's attention was apparently caught by something just off screen.

"Hey, single file, no shoving."

Four children of various ages quickly moved into view. Three of them looked rather resentful, but the youngest was quite energetic.

"Hi, I'm Rohan, and these guys are Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo. I didn't get to go on any of Korra's adventures, so dad said I get to say the message."

"Which is totally unfair," Meelo whined.

"Stop whining," Jinora scolded. "I'm the airbending master, I should get to say it."

"Hey, dad says I can get my tattoo's next month, so I have just as much right to-"

"Quiet," Rohan shouted loudly. The camera shook slightly. The three siblings fell silent. Rohan smiled at the camera.

"Always remember to cooperate and be understanding to your friends and family," Rohan said.

"And crush your enemies," Meelo shouted.

Jinora and Ikki grabbed Meelo by the collar and dragged him out of frame. After an awkward pause, and the sound of an off-screen lecture from Tenzin, the video proceeded.

The children were quickly replaced by a rather grumpy looking Lin Beifong. She wasn't wearing her police uniform. Apparently this was filmed after her retirement.

"Avatar. There are going to be a lot of people who look up to you and follow your example. Invest in a nice outfit and learn how to give a speech. If you're going to be a role model, you should be a darn good one. That's that."

"Thank you for those moving words, Lin," Korra said sarcastically from behind the camera. Her attention was quickly diverted by something happening off screen. Korra started talking before the next people came into view.

"Opal, what are you doing?"

"I'm with Bolin," Said a female voice from off-screen.

"No you aren't. I didn't meet you until later."

"But she's my wife," Bolin said. His voice was slightly different in his youth, but Sen still recognized it.

"Yeah, I know that, I officiated your wedding," Korra's voice said. "But we're doing this in order. If I let her go first, then I've got to let Suyin go up because she's Lin's sister, you get the picture. Just do it in order."

"Fine," Bolin grumbled. By the time he got on screen, any frustration on his face was gone. He was an actor, after all. He gestured and posed dramatically while he spoke.

"Hey, it's Bolin, but you already knew that," Bolin said, demonstrating some very odd foresight. "So, you're the Avatar. If I know the Avatar, and I do, that means you're going to face some weird stuff. Probably some really scary things too. But if I also know the Avatar, it means you're going to do some really amazing things, and meet some amazing people. So, just keep moving forward, and always remember that things are going to get better. And this is the part where I'd kiss my beautiful wife. If she were here."

Bolin stared accusingly at someone behind the camera.

"Get over it," Korra chided. Bolin pouted and walked off camera. His brother Mako walked on screen. His left hand was scarred a deep red from exposure to spirit energy. In his right hand, he held a few small pieces of paper, which he was examining quite thoroughly.

"Notecards? Seriously, Mako?"

"This is for posterity," Mako objected, looking up from his notes.

"This kind of stuff is why you don't have a girlfriend," Bolin's voice explained. Mako glared off-screen and then sat down at the table. He emphasized the action of tucking his notecards into his pocket as he glared in Bolin's direction.

"Now, Future Earth Avatar. In life, it's easy to take things at face value. Don't do that. You get on an airship thinking it'll be a nice field trip, and then a few weeks later you cross paths with a woman who shoots explosions out of her forehead."

Sen raised his eyebrows. He'd be quite glad to get a surprise visit from Miyani.

"Always expect the unexpected," Mako warned. Then he nodded and stood up. He was quickly replaced by Asami Sato. She was beautiful, as expected, but there was something off about her appearance. The shadows on her face seemed a little darker, and her eyes looked tired. Despite that, she had a very upbeat attitude.

"Hello. It's hard for me to fit all the things I've learned from Korra into just a few sentences, but I think I can try."

Asami smiled warmly and continued.

"Always be open to new things, and to changes in the old ones. If you let yourself be blinded by what you have, or what you've lost, you shut yourself off to a lot of life's joy. Be brave, and never hesitate to try something new, or to retry something old. You can be surprised how things change."

Sen thought about that. After he'd "lost" Hanjo, Sen had shut himself off the from the world. If he hadn't learned to look past what he'd lost, he'd never have become friends with Miyani. There was a lot of wisdom in what Asami said. That train of thought was distracted, though, by the sound of a kiss from behind the camera, and the arrival of the next person on screen. The next two people, specifically.

Zhu Li walked on screen first, followed closely by Varrick. They both seemed to have the same shadow effect around their faces that Asami had. Maybe the camera was just broken. Varrick was carrying something by a long handle, and he placed it on the floor before sitting down.

"Alright, listen up, mister or misses Earth Avatar," Varrick began. He pointed accusingly at the camera. "You are going to be one lucky son or daughter of a gun. You are going to meet some absolutely amazing people. Never, ever take them for granted. If you don't wake up every morning and say to yourself, 'I will do absolutely everything in my power to earn the trust and respect these people give me', you don't deserve them!"

Zhu Li looked legitimately surprised by Varrick's passionate lecture. Her face was flushed red.

"That was beautiful, Varrick."

"I know, right? Took me two whole days to come up with it. Anywho, look what Zhu Li made!"

Sen was expecting some kind of invention, maybe an early prototype of the TeleVarrick, but what he got instead was a very confused looking baby.

"Ta-da! We named him after me. I figured you should get to know him, because unlike the rest of us, this little vomit-machine probably won't be dead by the time you're around!"

"Varrick!"

"What," Varrick pleaded. "Look at us, sweetheart, we just don't have that youthful zing anymore."

Zhu Li grabbed Varrick by the ear and dragged him off screen with their baby in tow. Suyin Beifong was the next one to sit down. She cleared her throat before speaking. Unlike the last few people, there were no odd shadows on Su's face. Apparently it wasn't a camera malfunction.

"Don't let yourself get tied down by old rules and ideals," Suyin advised. "Be a pioneer, make new rules, set new standards. Don't be chained down by societies expectations."

"Please stop making the Avatar into an anarchist," Lin's voice said.

"Lin, it's Suyin's turn," Korra said.

"No, she has a point," Suyin admitted. "Break the rules in moderation, I suppose. Decide for yourself what to follow and what to break. There's a time for chaos and a time for order."

Sen shook his head. He was not exactly eager to embrace chaos any time soon. Suyin stepped away, and was awkwardly replaced by Opal.

"Uh, hi, Avatar," She mumbled. "I suppose you already know I was supposed to be with Bolin, so I don't really have something planned…Umm, always have a backup plan?"

Opal smiled awkwardly and walked off screen.

Watching her go, Sen was struck by the sudden realization that it was over. Almost everyone he had seen on this film was dead. Opal, Tenzin, Mako, and the others- all of them were gone. This might be the last time their voices were ever heard for the first time, the last time they would contribute something new to the world. Everything after this would just be a rerun, a repetition of some old sentence or action that had already been heard or seen before. Sen felt a cold chill in his heart.

Korra returned to view and sat down. She had a somber look on her face. Maybe she had been contemplating mortality the same way Sen was now.

"These aren't all the people I've known, of course, but we only have so much film," Korra tried to joke. It fell a little flat. "That's it from us, I guess. Hopefully, I'll see you soon, but from all of us, from this era…goodbye."

The roll of film flickered, clattered, and then stopped, leaving only a blank white wall and dark room. Sen closed his eyes. He focused on the lingering memories, on the sound of familiar voices and actions, and he opened his eyes.

The screen seemed to have flickered to life again, but it wasn't playing the same film. It was a shaky, incoherent mess, a rapid fluttering image of various faces and places. He saw white masks, great red things, and battles fought with earth, air, fire, and water. Sen was watching someone else's life flash before his eyes.

"Hi, Korra," He said.

The flickering memories of a life that wasn't his own clattered to a halt, and the glowing light reshaped itself into a new image. Avatar Korra, appearing just as she had in the mover, stood before him.

"Hey, Sen," she mumbled. Korra's form was lit in pale blue, wreathed in ethereal smoke. Behind her stretched a great black void, as if there was meant to be an army behind her, but there was only darkness. Korra looked over her shoulder.

"So that's what this is like," She said to herself.

"What now," Sen asked. "Do you have something to say?"

"Only that I have nothing to say," Korra said. "The past will always be there. But what the future will be- that depends on you. I'll be here, when you call. But for now, you need to look away from the past, and shape your future."

Sen looked to the side. Korra faded from sight as quickly as she appeared, and Sen found himself sitting alone in the dark theater once again. He felt different now, though, stronger. The armband he wore was no longer quite as loose. Sen stopped mourning the past and stood. That era was over. Sen was the Avatar now, and he had a mission.

***

The Energybender sat in silence and darkness. Considering the sheer amount of people around him, it seemed odd that nobody was willing to speak up. Though, he supposed that after the example he'd made of the last failure in his organization, it was no surprise they were unwilling to speak.

"No need to be afraid," Howler assured them. "The failure rests entirely with the Harrier, and he, by all accounts, is out of my reach. I merely seek information."

Dei Sensheng gathered the courage to speak.

"Those accounts are accurate. Our sources confirm that Harrier and all his forces, including the Imperfects, were captured. Beyond that, we don't know."

In a normal organization, there might be the risk of an intelligence leak, but that was no concern for the Energybender. One of his assets made sure that none of the captured men would remember enough about their operation to jeopardize it. Many often wondered how he accomplished that, but they would never know. It was the literal nature of the beast.

The shadows crept silently across the floor. The Energybender continued his search for information.

"And what of this combustion bender? Sensheng, you believed it was a cover for the Avatar's presence on the island. Have you confirmed?"

"Actually, I've confirmed the opposite," Dei said nervously. "You recall Tan Lung, the veteran you've put in charge of our prison? It seems he encountered that same combustion bender many years ago. Liberated her, alongside Rahm. He considered her for recruitment, but her trail had gone cold by the time he joined up with us."

"And now she is in the Avatar's hands," The Energybender mused. It was a dangerous combination. Combustion benders had proven to be dangerous enemies even for Avatars; what they could accomplish working together was unthinkable.

"Actually, it would seem they've parted ways. The girl is very distinctive, and all sightings of her have her travelling alone."

The Energybender rubbed his chin. If she was really distinctive, it might have been better if she'd travelled with the Avatar. That way they'd be able to tail him more easily. As such, the Avatar was able to travel more stealthily, but he had abandoned a powerful asset.

"Should we pursue her?"

"No," The Energybender said. Even he, with his mastery of Energybending, was loathe to face a combustion bender. "Better to focus all our efforts on the Avatar, and capture him before they have a chance to reunite."

"Well, sir, unfortunately we have no leads on his location. We assume he's headed to one of five air temples, most likely Republic City…But it will be very easy to lose his tail once he arrives. Between Sky Bison and Spirit Portals, he is very maneuverable."

The Energybender stood up, and his associates flinched briefly. Howler tucked his hands behind his back to assuage their fears.

"Gentlemen, we are going to Kabuz Province."

Dei narrowed his eyes. Kabuz Province was one of the provinces of the United Earth Kingdom. It bordered the United Republic, but was actually quite far from Republic City itself. They had many supporters there, but there was little appeal to the province otherwise. The only notable resource they had was a telecommunications company called the Kimani Corporation.

"You are right, Sensheng. The Avatar can outmaneuver us. For the past year we have played the shadow game, and he has been winning."

Howler turned his back and proceeded to the window.

"It's time to play a new game," He declared.


	36. Book 3 Ch2: Republic Renegade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen and Ada journey to the slums of Republic City to track down a rogue airbending master.

Sen had shared the news of his new connection with Korra, and had then quickly turned their attention to business. Jung assured them that they had a plan in place, but Ada wasn't quite so sure it would work.

"One of the apprentices on this island, Sang Lug, will be your master. We have hesitated giving him his tattoos, that he might travel in obscurity, but I assure you he is quite talented."

Sang Lug had been one of several airbenders brought up to one day be a master for the Avatar. Of all the candidates, barring one who had vanished before completing their training, Sang Lug was the most qualified. He was an airbending master in his own right, even though Jung had kept him from getting his tattoos. The blue arrows of a Master made them very easy for the Energybender to track.

"Okay, so we recruit Sang Lug. Then what?"

"Then you travel by Sky Bison, cycling between the four old temples, always on the move and avoiding attention."

"Sky Bison? We'd have to leave Gun behind," Sen said. He didn't like the sound of that, and he doubted Gun would like it either. Suda explained the Gun situation to Jung. The old master agreed that it was regrettable, but he saw no alternatives.

"I don't like the idea of moving around so much," Ada said. "It just increases our risk of exposure to the infiltrators among the Air Nation."

"Ada! Our nation is sacrosanct. There are no 'infiltrators' among us."

"Then explain where Howler's airbenders are coming from," Ada accused. "We fought no less than sixteen at Gai Zhu, many of them well-trained, and we have every reason to believe there are dozens, if not hundreds more."

Jung hung his head in shame.

"We know this," Jung said. "We cannot explain it, but it is not our fault. Our records of the airbenders are meticulous."

"There are independent airbenders, right? The ones in the pro-bending leagues and such."

Membership in the Air Nation was not mandatory. Many airbenders lived their lives as independent citizens, mostly in the United Republic, but also in very small numbers throughout the other five nations. Even so, the Air Nation kept close track of them, to ensure they were properly trained and to potentially recruit their descendants.

"We have records of them as well," Jung said. "We have checked and double-checked our records on the days of attacks on Gai Zhu and Shen's Post, and even submitted many to truth-seer interrogation. They are not involved with the Energybender."

"Surely you've lost track of some airbenders in all these years," Ada said.

"Since Harmonic Convergence, only seven airbenders have been truly lost. Four of them were lost more than fifty years ago, too long ago for them to still be serving the Energybender. Of the remaining three, only one has been lost in the past few years."

Jung seemed oddly sad as he spoke. Perhaps the lost airbender was a friend or a student. As sad as the thought was, Sen couldn't concern himself with a single missing airbender.

"Then the only possibility is that some airbenders escaped notice in the days after Harmonic Convergence," Ada sighed. It was a remote possibility, but there had to be at least a few airbenders who had followed Zaheer's path and completely rejected the new Air Nation. Their descendants had come to serve the Energybender through some coincidence. It was not a sound theory, but it was the only one they had left.

"I'm still not sure I trust the air temples," Sen said. "The Energybender has to know I'm done with firebending thanks to our fight at Gai Zhu. He'll be watching the airbenders now, and the population is small enough that it'll be very easy for him to track them all."

"I think it's a risk we have to take," Suda sighed. "It's not like we can recruit someone off the streets. There aren't any bandit airbenders."

Through the ground, Sen felt Jung's pulse change. Sen stared the elderly airbending master down. Jung averted his gaze, perhaps aware that Sen had caught on to something.

"Are there bandit airbenders?"

"No, there are not."

"Don't lie to me," Sen commanded. Jung shook his head.

"I am sorry, Avatar. There is one. But I implore you, do not seek him out."

"I'm keeping an open mind," Sen said. "Suda was a bandit once too. People can change."

"If you must know, then seek out Sang Lug. I will not speak of that renegade."

Jung resisted further inquiries, for reasons of "modesty". Sen got frustrated and started looking for his would-be master. Sang Lug was apparently occupying himself in the courtyard.

They found the young bender at a table in the courtyard, seated at a table opposite a fellow airbending student. He was playing a game called Pagu-Pagu. It involved a board of nine playing cards with black and white sides. The side playing black attempted to make all the cards face up black, and the white side did the opposite. There were a variety of "play" cards that could be used to flip a card as well as a certain pattern of adjacent cards. The game was popular among airbenders because, if both sides played correctly, the game would always end in a stalemate. They used it as a metaphor for good and evil.

"Ah, honored guests," Sang Lug began. He stood up and took a bow. Sang Lug had apparently been kept in the dark about his appointed destiny as the Avatar's teacher. He didn't recognize Sen.

"Pardon our interruption," Sen said. He was going to use this opportunity to size up Sang Lug as well. If the renegade airbender didn't pan out, Sang Lug would be their only option. "We're told you know about the renegade airbender."

Great anger boiled in Sang Lug's heart, and he excused himself from the game of Pagu-Pagu. He led Sen to the edge of the courtyard.

"Calling him a renegade is an insult to our Nation. He has never been a member, nor will he ever be. He lurks in the slums of Republic City, preying on the innocent."

Sen could see frustration and anger in Sang Lug, an unreasonable amount, in fact. Sang Lug seemed oddly fixated on the renegade.

"I've sought to bring him to justice several times, but he cowers and hides."

Perhaps Sang Lug saw capturing the renegade as his way to earn his tattoos. Jung apparently regarded the boy highly, but Sang Lug did not know that. Without knowledge of the Avatar, he had no idea why he was being denied the mark of a master.

"What exactly are his crimes," Sen asked. Sang Lug shook his head.

"He is- He's a pickpocket. A common thief," Sang Lug declared. "But he distracts his victims, by, well- He uses airbending to manipulate women's garments. It's indecent."

Sen stared blankly forward. Ada crossed her arms across her chest.

"Well, that's not…I mean, it's not really bad, I guess?"

"I did worse," Suda admitted. As far as crime went, pickpocketing and a bit of public exposure was not particularly evil. It certainly wasn't beyond redemption.

"Can you tell us how to find him?"

"He lurks in the Copper Slums," Sang Lug advised them. "He goes by the alias Whistler. I warn you, though, that he will not be found easily. Despite his petty crimes, he is a powerful airbender. We should be thankful he wastes his talent on such nonviolent activity."

Sen bowed to Sang Lug and retreated. He conferred with his allies a small distance away.

"So, he's evasive, he's off the radar, he's very talented," Suda said. "Sounds like a good candidate."

"I object to this," Ada said.

"You wear pants anyway," Sen said. "Just don't start wearing skirts and we should get along swimmingly."

Ada shook her head, but she played along as they journeyed towards the Copper Slums.

The center of the area was the eponymous copper refinery. The structure had once been nearly two miles out of the city center, but after Kuvira's colossus had wiped out most of downtown, the area had rapidly been expanded into. Quick, shoddy housing had been built to temporarily house the displaced residents, and as the refugees were moved back into the reconstructed city center, the vacant housing had been sold at a steep discount to the poor and underclass citizens. Now the area was riddled with poverty and crime. Suda kept an eye on his wallet with every step. This was the exact kind of neighborhood he would have loved in his bandit days.

As they reached the shoddy district of the city, Ada took a brief detour into a clothing store. She emerged wearing, of all things, a skirt.

"Isn't that the exact opposite thing I told you to do," Sen said.

"It's called bait," Ada explained. "Besides, I just rolled up my trousers."

She hiked up the hem of her skirt to reveal rolled up pant legs. Several bystanders looked away, quite disappointed. Her swords were also concealed by the flowing skirt, which made her seem an even more appealing target.

"Now, Suda, I hate to say this, but I think you should turn back now."

"Nah, I get it," Suda said. He flexed his muscles jokingly. "I am rather large and intimidating."

"Exactly," Ada said. Pickpockets and thieves generally favored smaller, weaker targets. Ada patted him on his massive bicep and said goodbye. They would reunite at air temple island later. Now it was just Ada and Sen. They walked side by side into the depths of the Copper Slums.

As they got further into the shambles of the city, Sen's mood got worse. Ada noticed the frown on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"This place. It reminds me of ho- the place I'm from. Beaker Hall, the orphanage."

"How so?"

"There's no hope here," Sen said. He looked around at squalid buildings and grime-covered streets. The few people who walked the roads wore dingy clothes and sour looks. It was a place without love or hope, without any heart at all. There was just half-hearted will to stay alive; nothing else. The people were empty. Sen remembered the days before meeting Hanjo, before discovering he was the Avatar, when he had felt the same way.

"I don't like it," Sen said.

The copper refinery at the center of this district filled the air with a peculiar metallic stench. Ledges and other unreachable places were all coated in a thin layer of metallic dust. Some of the residents wore masks around their faces to keep from inhaling the airborne pollution. It was a very sad state of affairs.

"The conditions in this part of town are awful," Ada said. "It's only going to get exponentially worse as time goes on."

"Expo-what?"

"Exponentially. Like, it doubles over time. Two to four to eight to sixteen. That kind of thing."

Sen thought about it for a second. He'd never heard of that kind of math before, but he got the hang of it fairly quickly.

"Okay, I get. It's going to get twice as bad, and then twice as bad as that."

"Did you really not know what exponents are?"

"It's not my fault. All we had at the orphanage was a few Aang-era history books and some biography called My Cabbages: From Cart to Corp. Nothing about math."

Ada nodded. Sometimes she forgot that Sen had never really been to school. There were a lot of things he didn't know, a lot of things he'd never done. Sen was thinking about a particular topic he had no experience on.

"So, you've been to the Spirit World before, right? Do you think we should go that to get to the Poles?"

"I can't recommend it, honestly. There's no day or night in the Spirit World, so there's no way to track time, and even the most well-travelled roads still have hidden dangers. Not to mention that satomobiles just flat out don't work. Travelling that way would be confusing, dangerous, and tedious."

"I'll keep it in mind," Sen said. Hanjo had suggested travelling through the Spirit World once, long ago. Sen had an urge to go to the Spirit World, but he had to keep the opinions of his friends in mind as well.

They talked about the travel options for a while. Sen kept an eye on the flow of chi around him. Hayao had taught him to identify benders based on the energy in the chakras, and since there was supposedly only one airbender in this area, he should be easy to identify. Sen spread his focus, reading the energy across a wide area.

He got the first sign of his target on a rooftop some distance away. A massive spiral surge of energy spiraled through the heart, a sure sign of airbending potential. The energy vanished before reappearing once again. Sen subtly alerted Ada. She grinned slyly to herself. She had prepared a surprise for Whistler.

Some minutes later, their target finally closed in. Ada felt a rush of air around her ankles. The cheap skirt quickly fluttered upwards. The only things exposed were Ada's trousers, her swords, and a paper note attached to her rear that simply said "Gotcha!"

"Ah, crud," Whistler muttered to himself.

The renegade airbender beat a hasty retreat as Sen and Ada pursued. Whistler's airbending made him surprisingly agile, but Sen was just as maneuverable. These slums had been hastily constructed by earthbending, so every possible surface was made of solid stone and was, as such, a potential tool for Sen. Sen made himself ramps, handholds, and other transportation tools as he made his pursuit. He managed to keep close on Whistler's heels. Surprisingly, Ada was actually managing to keep ahead of Sen, despite the advantage provided by his earthbending.

She was astoundingly agile. To keep pace along the walls and rooftops, she was performing acrobatic maneuvers Sen couldn't even dream of doing. She had shed her skirt and was using the enhanced maneuverability to perform all kinds of tricks. She vaulted over a terrace wall and leapt gracefully over a gap between buildings.

"Since when can you do this stuff," Sen shouted across the rooftops. He had always known she was acrobatic, but he'd never actually seen her do a backflip until today.

"I never had an opportunity," she bragged.

Ada grabbed a flagpole and used it to vault herself ever closer to the fleeing Whistler. Sen resolved to close the gap, and he pushed his earthbending further, manipulating the buildings around him to create a clear path. The residents would be slightly inconvenienced by the rearrangement, but the fate of the world was at stake. They would forgive some redecorating.

They approached a sharp drop-off in the rooftops. Ada began to hesitate slightly. She suspected that Whistler was running this way for a reason. Her suspicions were confirmed when Whistler drew a small metal pole and telescoped it into a long staff. With a flick of his wrist, Whistler's staff expanded into a glider. If he made it to the edge of the buildings and glided away, that was the end of the chase, and their chances of ever recruiting Whistler. He would never fall into the same trap twice.

"Ada, brace yourself," Sen shouted. She weighed much less than Sen, so she was the best option for what Sen had in mind.

As they drew dangerously close to the buildings edge, Whistler took hold of his glider and prepared to make the jump. Sen focused on Ada and stomped his foot.

The stone beneath Ada's feet aggressively burst out of the ground, sending Ada catapulting forward. Just as Whistler went airborne, the impromptu projectile that was Ada slammed into the back of his glider. She hastily grabbed on and held tight as they careened over the edge of the building.

Whistler managed to stabilize the plummeting glider and bring it on a steady glide to the ground. With Ada weighing him down, he would never get very far, but he also couldn't let go of his glider to try and remove her. He resigned himself to a continued chase. Sen constructed a ramp for himself and quickly surfed downwards on a slab of stone, heading for Whistler's landing site.

Whistler landed as awkwardly as possible, jostling Ada off the glider and destabilizing her. While Ada was briefly disoriented from the landing, Whistler spun his staff and sent Ada flying with a burst of air. She was prepared for that, and took hold of the ground to keep herself from flying away. She drew a single sword and lunged towards Whistler.

She didn't want to fight him, but Whistler clearly wanted to fight her. Ada blocked a heavy, swinging blow from his staff and retaliated in kind. Whistler took a spinning leap away, and then spun back towards Ada, swinging his staff to generate gusts of air. Ada leapt to the side, away from the concussive gusts.

Ada had studied the way Airbender's fought, and she'd fought many of the energybender's minions herself, but she was surprised at the way Whistler fought. It wasn't like the brutal, offensive airbending of the Energybender troops, but it wasn't quite like traditional airbending either. Whistler favored circular motions, as the old Air Nomads did, but unlike the Air Nomad technique of circling to give evasion and maneuverability, Whistler circled towards his enemy, giving his blows weight and inertia.

Whistler spun his staff towards Ada, and a circular blade of air followed through, striking Ada in the stomach and knocking her backwards. Sen closed the distance as Ada was pushed away.

With Whistler briefly on the ground, Sen could finally get a good look at him. He had deep black hair that hung raggedly around his face, obscuring his eyes. The ragged look was further substantiated by baggy, rugged clothing and a layer of dirt on the boys face. Whistler paused for a moment, meeting Sen's eyes for a brief second, and then the renegade airbender turned and ran.

Whistler headed for the wall of a nearby tall building. He used airbending to push bystanders out of his path, giving him a clear shot to freedom. As Whistler reached the wall, he dashed upwards along the vertical surface. This normally difficult feat was made easy by Whistler's potent airbending. Sang Lug had not been exaggerating when he'd spoken of the renegade's talent. That just made Sen's chase even harder.

Sen reached the wall and used a chunk of earth to pull himself upwards along the walls surface. Whistler had the head start, so he quickly vanished over the roof edge, but Sen was very close behind. By the time Sen reached the roof, though, the only person in view was a very shocked-looking girl.

"He went that way," She cried, pointing to the left. Sen raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, crud," Whistler mumbled.

Sen trapped the renegades feet in earthen prisons, holding him to the ground. It was a very convincing disguise, but Sen was more observational than most people. It had been easy to read the chakra's in Whistler's body and see who he really was.

"Well, that always works," Whistler said. He was intent on maintaining the girl disguise, apparently. His voice was rather high-pitched. "Good show. How'd you see past the disguise?"

"I can see things," Sen said. That had sounded better in his head.

"Alright, so you got me," Whistler said. He relaxed as much as he possibly could while his feet were locked in stone. "What's your deal? If you're the police then they have seriously lowered their recruiting standards, and if you're from a gang they're probably, like, the worst gang ever. So what's your deal?"

"I have an offer for you, Whistler."

"I don't do teamwork," Whistler said with a shake of his head. "I am a lone wolf on the prowl, buddy. One woman versus the world."

"One man," Sen tried to correct.

Whistler seemed very amused. He grabbed Sen's arm by the wrist and placed it forcefully on his chest. Sen was not particularly well acquainted with the characteristics of the fairer sex, but some things were obvious even to him. He drew his hand back quickly.

"You're a woman?"

"Yup," She replied. "Perfect crime, right? That's how I make all my great escapes. Drop the men's clothes and suddenly I'm a whole different person."

Whistler smiled playfully at Sen. The Avatar rubbed his hands together as if he were trying to clean them.

Now that he was looking with the right mindset, Sen could see that Whistler really was a young girl. She had square, boyish features that made it easy for her to cross-dress convincingly, but now that she had shed that disguise, her femininity was showing through.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I can tell from your reaction to grabbing my fun bits that you're too much of a good guy to do anything to hurt me," Whistler boasted. "Now save us both some time and get me out of these dumb ankle locks. I'm chafing."

Sen shook his head. Whistler looked disappointed. She had been expecting this to be easier.

"Look pal, I ain't interested in anything you're selling," Whistler said. "Unless it's cookies, in which case I'll take ten."

"I'm saving the world," Sen declared. "You might be my best chance of doing that. I need your help."

Whistler put a hand on her chin. Now that was an offer she hadn't heard before. She decided to hear the guy out. Sen didn't really like Whistler's attitude, but he needed an airbending master, and he was sure he could convince her to change her ways.

"My name is Sen. I'm the Avatar. I need an airbending master, someone who can travel with me and teach me in secret. I think you're meant to be that master."

Sen demonstrated his point by generating a small fireball. Whistler was quite intrigued. But not intrigued enough.

"Nah," she grunted.

"What?"

"I said no, Avatar," Whistler continued. "Not me. Nope. Nuh-uh."

"But, no, Whistler, this is your chance to redeem-"

"Do I look like I want to be redeemed," Whistler shouted, suddenly much more hostile. "I do what I do because I like it, and because I'm good at it. I like doing this stuff, and I'm going to keep doing it, whether you're in charge of the world or Howler is."

"You can't be serious," Sen said. "Howler's destroying entire cities!"

"He ain't destroying me," Whistler said. "I could give two cents about the rest of the world."

Sen was at a loss for words. He'd never met someone so supremely selfish before. Sure he'd met a lot of evil people, but they'd at least had the decency to have an ulterior motive. Whistler was just bad.

"Whistler, listen to me," Sen pleaded. "If there's any part of you-"

"Oh, heard this one before," Whister groaned. "You try to appeal to my basic human nature, right."

Whistler leaned forward and looked deeply into Sen's eyes.

"The only reason I don't use bending to suck the air right out of your lungs right now is because it would get me in too much trouble," Whistler threatened. Sen could see she was telling the truth. She wasn't a petty criminal because she was unwilling to hurt people; only unwilling to deal with the trouble it would cause her. Whistler leaned back.

"Now, I do not particularly care about you," Whistler said. "But I don't particularly care about Howler neither. So, you let me go right now, and you can consider your secret safe with me. You try and take me in, and I tell all the police and all the jury and all the prisoners I meet about your little secret."

"And what'll you do if I let you go?"

"I go right back to doing what I love," Whistler boasted. "Breaking things and hurting people. But not too bad, I promise."

Sen stomped his foot, and the bindings disappeared. He didn't really have a choice. Whistler retrieved her staff and headed for the edge of the roof.

"Been fun, Avatar."

"You disgust me," Sen grumbled.

Whistler stuck her tongue out at Sen, then leapt off the edge of the roof and glided through the alleyways and across rooftops. She was gone.

Sen returned to ground level and retrieved Ada. She seemed surprised that Whistler had glided away.

"He didn't accept your offer?"

"She," Sen corrected. "The male outfit was a disguise. And no, she didn't, and I wouldn't have taken her anyway. She was selfish and despicable."

"That's unfortunate," Ada said. "I suppose we have no choice but to work with Sang Lug now."

Sen grunted and headed back towards Air Temple island. The whole ordeal had put him in a foul mood. Ada saw the look on his face and suggested a distraction.

"Or, instead, I heard the Kimani Corporation is putting on some kind of display today. Maybe we can go find a screen somewhere and watch the show."

"I guess that sounds fun," Sen mumbled. Ada led the way out of the slums. Crowds were already gathering around massive screens that the Kimani corporation had put up across the city. They were apparently planning the first full-color TeleVarrick broadcast. The broadcast would reach the capital city of every country in the world.

That was precisely why the Energybender now stood in the Kimani Corporations broadcast studio, ready to deliver his message to the world.


	37. Book 3 Ch3: Republic Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle lines are drawn, allegiances change, and chaos erupts when the mysterious Energybender finally reveals his plan.

Sen gathered his friends and waited in the Council Square of Republic City. The Kimani Corporation had erected a massive screen on the wall of a building just for the purpose of this demonstration. It would apparently be left up afterwards to run advertisements. Council Square was one of the most heavily trafficked areas in Republic City, so it made sense to advertise there. Sen kept a close eye on the screen.

Some distance away, on a large balcony, an oddly large number of police officers had gathered. Sen wondered what was going on.

"Probably President Dahaka," Ada suggested. Many world leaders had been invited to view the mysterious broadcast. The Kimani Corporation was promising something that would change the world. Dahaka would not be one to miss such a sight, even if he hadn't been invited. Sen stared at the balcony. Miyani had mentioned someone named Dahaka in her life story.

"Yeah, I think it's the same guy too," Suda said. President Dahaka had used his service in the Seventh Kingdom Uprising to catapult his political career forward. That combined with his natural charisma had given him a landslide victory in the last election.

Dahaka put his feet up on the railing of the balcony and ordered a few men to move to the right or the left. They were blocking his view.

"Sir, I'd recommend keeping the circle closed," Police Chief Dormin advised.

"Forget it," Dahaka sighed. "I'd rather get assassinated than attend that cabinet meeting anyway."

Dahaka had vastly overestimated how much fun being President would be. Most of his job was meetings and paperwork. Every now and then, though, he got a perk like this, and it almost made the whole thing worthwhile.

***

King Wu II was not particularly used to getting all dressed up. Although the United Earth Kingdom had voted to maintain the monarchy, the United Parliament had rendered the role of Earth King more like a figurehead. Prime Minister Tse held most of the real power. Wu II's responsibilities consisted of signing a few documents every day and wearing a crown on special occasions.

The Cabinet would be assembling in force today to watch the Kimani Corp.'s demonstration. As usual, Minister Raisu and Minister Rannoch Beifong would be seated some distance apart, to prevent any bickering. Raisu and his associates threatened civil war over the slightest disagreements. His Weaver's were a source of constant agitation for every province.

Things were very tense in the United Earth Kingdom. Though the Avatar had long since left their borders, all citizens of the Earth Nation were still heavily divided on the matter of what to do with the Avatar. Prime Minister Tse did his best to ensure that the provinces remained united, but it was a source of constant concern. The slightest agitation, the smallest upset in the conflict between Avatar and Energybender, could send the nation spiraling into civil war.

***

Though the Water Tribes had been divided as political nations, the adjacent Spirit Portals had, in fact, brought them closer together than ever. The Chiefs of the Northern and Southern Water Tribe attended any important political function together. Today, though, they seemed to have a third party.

"Chief Atana," The Southern Chief, Kesuk, said respectfully. "Please introduce me to your guest."

"This is Tinaaki, of the Shorewatchers," Atana said, gesturing to her companions.

Chief Kesuk bowed tersely to the new arrival. He had heard much of the Shorewatchers. They were a violent vigilante group that patrolled the North. Their methods were violent and relentless, but they kept the North safe, and for that reason they had gained much political clout. Kesuk had managed to keep them from spreading their "jurisdiction" to the South in the past, but as they gained more influence, their ruthless reach extended.

"Chief Kesuk," Tinaaki said. Kesuk noted that he did not bow to his superior. "It's my pleasure to finally speak with you face to face."

Kesuk had rejected many of Tinaaki's emissaries in the past. There was no love lost between the two.

"I'd like to introduce you to my son, Ariak," Tinaaki said. He gestured to his right. A young, cold-faced boy stood at Tinaaki's side. He had a different look about him than his father. Ariak actually bowed respectfully to the chieftain. Kesuk had heard that Tinaaki had two children. He wondered where the daughter was.

"We'll be watching today's demonstration as Chief Atana's invited guests."

Chief Atana's face said that the invitation had been very reluctant. Kesuk took a seat next to Tinaaki and resigned himself to watching today's spectacle in poor company.

***

Fire Lord Goto, uniquely among world leaders, had elected not to watch the Kimani Corporation demonstration. The events at Gai Zhu had given him a massive headache to deal with. Sixty enemy soldiers captured, the Avatar gone, and now the combustion bender was off wandering the world unrestrained. Goto had a lot on his plate. The broadcast began in the room adjacent to his office. Goto ignored the sound.

Agent Zouf slammed the door open. Luan and Zouf had retired to cushy desk jobs after the Gai Zhu incident. Zouf still had a persistent twitch from his close call with the Harrier's lightning. Goto figured that they had earned their new jobs.

"Sir, you'll need to see this."

Goto angrily removed himself from his seat, grumbling all the while. He stopped grumbling when he saw what was actually on the screen, though. Finally something interesting.

***

Sen could feel the pulse of Republic City through the ground. The city had a pounding heartbeat, a common drive that resounded through the soil of the city.

When the Energybender appeared on screen, that heartbeat stopped.

Some people screamed. Some people ran. Many others, like Sen, stood in silence, their eyes locked on the screen. For a minute, the Energybender stared blankly forward, perhaps waiting for the initial panic to subside. His eyes, shrouded in grey, stared towards the camera with indifference.

"My name is Sarin," He began. Sen glared up at the screen. Sarin. Finally, he knew the name of his enemy.

"For the past year I have pursued the Avatar. I have been forced to take extreme actions. The Avatar remains hidden still, purposefully endangering many lives."

Sen clenched his jaw. The Energybender was trying to frame him as the villain. Hopefully people wouldn't fall for this blatant ruse.

"The actions I've been forced to undertake in pursuit of my enemy has created an…incorrect, image of my ideals. The world thinks of me as a terrorist or a warmonger. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Sarin turned his head to the side, briefly lost in contemplation. There was much to be said. He decided to start at the beginning.

"I am not the first to be called Energybender. My older brother was responsible for the destruction of the White Lotus. My father was the one to rediscover the art. But it was my grandfather who set us on this path."

Sarin had never met his grandfather, but he knew the story well. It was the beginning of a story that Sarin would end.

"My grandfather was one of many who had their bending stolen by the Equalist leader, Amon, with his twisted bloodbending, and then restored, by Avatar Korra's Energybending. That incident sparked his curiosity, and over the next few years, as the battles between so-called "good" and "evil" unfolded, consuming countless lives, my grandfather began to see Energybending as the way to end these conflicts."

Sarin lowered his eyes, seeming to gaze at the crowds spread out before him. Many people had already fled the square, leaving it nearly half empty. Sen stood his ground, though.

"This power, my power, is the path to peace. True peace. An end to the ceaseless back and forth between the forces of order and chaos."

Sarin looked to the side again. This demonstration had been planned on rather short notice. His message was still slightly uncertain. He carried on, driven forward by conviction.

"After Harmonic Convergence, the existence of Raava and Vaatu, the competing spirits of Order and Chaos, became common knowledge. The twin Spirits of Conflict fuel the eternal battle between these two opposing ideals. The Avatar would have you believe that this conflict is eternal, necessary. That is untrue.

"During the Hundred Year War, Admiral Zhao killed the mortal form of Tui, the moon spirit, breaking the spiritual power of the moon. With the power of Energybending, I can unweave Raava and Vaatu from the fabric of reality."

Sarin stared forward intensely. His eyes seemed to be glaring at Sen specifically.

"Kill the moon spirit, the moon dies. Kill the Spirits of Conflict, and conflict itself dies."

The city fell silent and calm. Sarin paused as the whole world absorbed his ideals. He knew that his cause was righteous. It was time to make the rest of the world understand.

"I would create a true and lasting peace," Sarin continued. "No longer would we be subject to the anarchistic destruction of Chaos or the fascist oppression of Order. I would create a world without hatred, without violence, without fear. A world where no child would ever be orphaned by war, where no brothers would be turned against each other by petty political struggles, a world of one mind and one heart in absolute serenity."

Sarin paused again. The people crowded in Council Square began to talk amongst themselves. Many of them denounced his ideas, but there were a few who seemed to sympathize with his goals. Sen looked at Suda and Ada. They seemed confused as well, but for different reasons. They knew that Sarin was wrong, but this announcement greatly altered the nature of their journey.

"To the Avatar," Sarin began again. "I beg you to surrender. Every moment you walk this world is another moment of strife and death. Do the right thing. Put an end to the eternal conflict."

With that, Sarin vanished from the screen, and the city broke into full-scale panic. The crowd began to run and rush from side to side. Sen stood monolithic in the midst of the racing confusion. For a moment he stared up at the blank screen.

He finally knew what he was fighting for, and fighting against. For nearly a year his journey had been shrouded in confusion and mystery, as he faced an opponent he did not understand. Now he knew the Energybender's face, his name, his history, and his ideals. He wasn't fighting a mystery anymore, he was fighting a man. Men could be defeated.

Sen turned around and began a determined march to Air Temple Island.

***

President Dahaka had wasted little time in returning to his office. He didn't enjoy his job, but it came with responsibilities that he was more than ready to attend to. One such responsibility was preventing the outbreak of a full scale war.

"Dormin, I want as many officers as you can manage on the streets," Dahaka commanded. "There's going to be riots before this is over. Your first priority is ensuring order, but if you see anything even vaguely resembling Energybender activity, you have my permission to use State of Emergency protocols. Do whatever you have to do."

Dormin nodded firmly and sprinted off to confer with his men. This was going to be a very long day. Dahaka stormed forward and slammed open the doors of his office. As he had anticipated, most of his counselors and adjuncts were already gathered around his desk. Dahaka sat down and slammed his palms down on the desk.

"I want all our ambassadors in the United Earth Kingdom working overtime. If conflict starts, it's going to be there. We do everything we can to prevent that."

"What about the other nations, Sir?"

"I'll be getting in touch with Goto soon enough. I have a feeling he'll be more than ready to form a Coalition if things go south."

Dahaka had a hunch that the Fire Lord would already be preparing his armies. Hopefully they wouldn't be needed, but if the worst happened, Dahaka would be glad to have those forces on his side.

"And the Water Tribes?"

"We should give it time before we make any entreaties. They'll have their own problems."

***

"The Energybender has made a bold statement," Tinaaki declared. "You can't seriously think he'll remain in the shadows after a move like this."

"I'm not an idiot, Huntsman," Kesuk retaliated. "My nation's security forces are fully prepared to deal with any threats –without the aid of any Shorewatchers."

"We are offering assistance, Chief Kesuk," Ariak interjected. "With our help you will be able to protect more of your citizens."

"I've seen Shorewatcher protection. You're violent, you answer to no one but yourselves, and you have no respect for due process of law. The only thing you murderers will do is add more fuel to the fires in the South."

Kesuk broke away from the two Shorewatchers and turned to Chief Atana. The stress of the day bore heavily on her face. Northern military and security were woefully lacking these days; the security of her nation depended almost entirely on the Shorewatchers. If war broke out, the Shorewatchers might end up having more control over the North than the Chieftain did.

"I am truly sorry about this," Kesuk said apologetically. "I'll offer whatever assistance I can, but the Council of Elders believes you to be Tinaaki's lapdog. They'll tie my hands frequently."

Tinaaki gave Chief Kesuk a lingering glare as the Southern Chief walked out the door.

"When the fires start, make sure your people know it was you who turned down aid," Tinaaki scolded.

Kesuk did not dignify the Hunstman with a response. Tinaaki and Ariak left the chamber and began the long journey back to the Shorewatcher Lodge. There were hunters to be rallied and spears to be sharpened; there would be bloodshed before the day was done.

***

"Chaos reigns in the United Earth Kingdom today," The newscaster said. Her makeup was unfinished. It showed how desperate the news network was to be the first one to break the story.

"It's a scene out of the Red Lotus Riots in Ba Sing Se as hundreds are storming the streets in massive mobs. Clashes between rival groups have consumed some communities after Sarin, also known as the infamous Energybender, publicly announced his goals."

The screen switched to images of chaos and destruction throughout the Earth Kingdom. Tall pillars of smoke could be seen burning over Ba Sing Se.

"This reporter is forced to wonder: Where is the Avatar? In the past year since his supposed emergence, the Avatar has shown no signs that he or she is actively trying to protect us."

There was a large crowd gathered around the Televarrick. Everyone who didn't have one in their own household had come out to the electronics store to keep an eye on the situation. A tall figure at the back of the crowd seemed the least impressed with the newscasters attitude.

As the newscaster proceeded running through the events of the day, Miyani turned her back on the Televarrick and started walking towards the coast. This chain of events probably should have been stressful for her, but she actually felt some kind of relief. After defending Gai Zhu from the Energybender's retaliatory attack, she had been a bit lost about where to go, or what to do. Now she had a very clear goal. It was off to the United Earth Kingdom, to help quell the riots and attack the Energybender's allies.

As she walked, Miyani dug her hand into her pocket and removed the small stone brick that Sen had given her. She had to wonder how the Avatar was dealing with the days events.

***

Master Jung insisted that they begin right away. They had a Sky Bison prepared to travel immediately. Sen shut that down without a second though.

"Travelling to the temples would be a waste of time," Sen said. "I won't learn what I need to know there."

"That's where all the worlds airbenders are," Jung objected.

"That's not what I meant!"

Sen began to pace back and forth across the small chamber, gesturing wildly.

"For the first time in my life I know what I'm doing. The Energybender- Sarin, his plans all revolve around spirits. Around Energybending. I need to be on equal footing, I need to understand what he plans to do and how. I need to go to the Spirit World."

Jung was silent.

"I need to go the source. I can visit Wan Shi Tong's library, for starters. After that, I can seek out some of the old spirits, the ones who lived during the era of the Lion Turtles."

"Sen, the Spirit World is dangerous," Suda objected. "Even after all these years, it's barely been mapped out."

"I'm the Avatar," Sen said. "And Sarin just declared war on Raava. The spirits will be on my side. It'll be much safer for us than for him."

Ada nodded. Spirits usually avoided getting involved in mortal affairs, but this was no longer exclusively a mortal affair. Sarin was threatening to murder two of the most prominent Spirits in existence.

"I am really not a fan of this idea," Suda said. He was not fond of spirits. "But if you insist, I'll follow you."

"I'm sorry, Suda, but I am insisting. We're going to the Spirit World."

"Master Avatar, is that really the best plan? With your enemy acting so publicly, perhaps its time for you to reveal yourself. The Fire Lord and perhaps President Dahaka would certainly be willing to protect you, and without concern for your secrecy, you could train much more quickly. Maybe it's time to end the secrecy."

Jung had a point. Sen stopped planning for the Spirit World and began to debate with the airbending master. Perhaps it really was time to go public. Sarin had showed his hand, declared his identity and his goals to the whole world. Maybe Sen should do the same thing.

Oblivious to this all, Sang Lug was once again playing Pagu-Pagu. It was a suitable distraction from the events of the day. He didn't even notice their new guest. She sneered at the game board. She had always hated Pagu-Pagu. She wasn't fond of the person playing it either.

"Hey, Suck Lump, go find me the Avatar," She commanded. Sang Lug turned his head, and then jumped to his feet.

"You!"

"Yeah, me," Whistler said, clearly not amused. "Are you going to get me the Avatar or not? I can find him myself if I have to."

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face here," He declared. "You have never belonged here-"

Whistler saw an opportunity to be needlessly vindictive, and she took it. Grabbing her hair tightly in one hand, she pulled it up into a loose ponytail. She looked into Sang Lug's eyes.

"You-"

"Yeah, me."

Without her hair hanging in her face, Sang Lug could easily recognize his former partner. They had studied under Master Jung together. But she had vanished five years ago. They had thought she was lost, even dead. They had given her a funeral and everything.

"We thought you were dead! Were you just hiding from us all this time?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Whistler said dismissively. Several other airbenders were gathering, and she glared at them angrily. She hated the airbenders. They all wore the same clothes, acted the same way, played the same stupid games.

"I don't really need to talk to the Bald Brigade," Whistler shouted at them. "Somebody get me the Avatar."

"You've really been a criminal all this time?"

Whistler pulled a wallet out of her picket. It had a stranger's drivers license in the pocket.

"Pretty much, yeah. Look, if the Avatar isn't here, I'll just leave," Whistler said. She had no desire to be back on Air Temple Island. She'd left this place for a reason.

"I insist that you stay," Sang Lug said, and he took hold of Whistler's arm.

"I insist that you bite me, airhead," Whistler spat, and she tore her arm from Sang Lug's grip. Sang Lug was the first to lose his temper. The Pagu-Pagu cards went flying as air rushed through the courtyard.

The sound of screaming from outside interrupted Sen's planning. Crashing wood followed shortly after, and it became too much to ignore. Sen's first instinct was that Sarin had staged an attack, but his quick entrance to the courtyard proved that wrong. In the center of a circle of broken wood and scattered cards, Whistler swung her staff, deflecting an attack from one of the students. With a rapid spin of her aluminum staff, she sent one of several airbenders flying. Sen barely caught the poor student before he hit a wall.

"Oh hey Avatar," Whistler said casually as she saw Sen. Another one of the students tried to attack her, and she swiftly evaded the attack and retaliated in kind. Her cyclone did not miss its mark, and the burst of wind launched the student out of the courtyard. Sang Lug was the only one who had managed to evade her attacks thus far.

Jung emerged from the courtyard, taking in the scene. The sight of his former student filled him with confusion.

"Ah crud, I was really hoping you'd be dead by now," Whistler groaned. Jung took a step back. "I'm here for the Avatar. You stay out of it."

Sang Lug capitalized on Whistler's temporary distraction. She wasn't quite distracted enough. Forsaking airbending for the moment, Whistler slammed the end of her staff into Sang Lug's solar plexus, knocking the air from his lungs. He collapsed to the ground, breathless, and Whistler stepped over his prone body. Sen saw her foot hover briefly over his neck as she contemplated stomping down hard, but she decided against it and stepped forward.

"Stop this at once," Jung shouted.

"He started it," Whistler objected. "I came in peace, but he tried to fight me on account of I'm Whistler."

Jung looked even more confused than before.

"But- You disappeared, we looked for you-"

"I left, and I hid from you," Whistler said angrily. She looked around at the airbenders who had gathered to watch. "It's possible that I was bored, or maybe that I hate you all because you're hypocritical bald idiots. No, pretty sure it was the hypocritical bald idiots thing. But maybe the boredom too. A little of both."

Jung's heart sank as he heard the words of his former apprentice. Sen stepped forward.

"Enough! Why did you come here?"

"I want to renegotiate," Whistler said, looking at Sen. "I'm in."

She stared intently at Sen. He had not been expecting that. If anything, he had been expecting her to have sided with Sarin.

"You said you didn't care," Sen objected.

"That was before I found out what Howler was up to," Whistler explained. "I like being bad, and this Sarin jerk is trying to take that away. I figure you're the best chance to stop him."

"So you want to help me so you can keep being evil," Sen said mockingly. He stepped forward into the courtyard. "I'm supposed to trust you?"

"I care about the bad stuff just as much as you care about the good stuff," Whistler said. "I'm on your side, Avatar."

"Sarin is trying to destroy good and evil," Ada said. "Maybe we can trust her."

"Listen to the short chick," Whistler said. "You may not like me, and I definitely don't like you, but we're on the same side."

Jung stepped forward, shaking his head. He helped Sang Lug off the ground and began to argue against the Avatar. Whistler sneered at the elderly master.

"You do not need her! She is a renegade-"

"A renegade who just wiped the floor with some of your best students," Whistler added. "Come on, Avatar. I'm the best airbender here. I just wiped the floor with, like, four or eight of these guys."

"Four or eight," Jung said incredulously.

"Yeah, I don't know, all you bald idiots look the same to me," Whister said aggressively. "I might have just hit the same guys twice. Are you in or not, Avatar?"

"Master Avatar, I must insist! Sang Lug has been trained all his life to be your airbending master, you must go with him!"

The disoriented Sang Lug shook his head. Sen was the Avatar, and he was meant to train him? That explained why his tattoos had been kept from him. That explained so many of his problems. But Whistler was trying to take it away. His own partner had betrayed him for a life of crime, and was now trying to take his destiny away. He could not allow that. Sang Lug set his feet and flexed his hands, preparing to attack Whistler while her back was turned.

Sang Lug's feet were quickly trapped by stone and swept from under him. Sen could sense his intent to attack in advance. The Avatar would not be having any more violence today. He was very disappointed in Sang Lug. Sen turned his attention to the renegade airbender.

Suda didn't like this situation. Sure, he'd been a bandit before too, but he'd only done that to feed himself. It had been, in a way, necessary. Whistler had turned away from a home, a job, and a family to pursue a life of crime, and she showed absolutely no repentance for that. She was motivated by hatred and selfishness.

"If I take you with me," Sen began. "Can you promise me you won't hurt anyone innocent, or steal anything, or do anything else of the sort?"

"Yeah, I got self control" Whistler said. "I'm not some kind of wild animal. When I'm travelling with you, I promise to be as morally self-righteous and uptight as you are. I'll put a stick up my butt and everything."

"Avatar, please," Jung begged. "You do not need her! Did I not say it was time for you to reveal yourself?"

"Oh yeah, that's typical air-idiot," Whistler mocked. "Fall right into the bad guys trap."

Sen raised an eyebrow. Whistler elaborated.

"I'm bad," Whistler explained. She tapped her forehead lightly. "I know how bad thinks. How many times have you escaped the Energybender now? This whole announcement thing, he's trying to shake things up, make 'em different. He wants to change the game, because so far, you're winning."

She had a good point. Sen had been doing rather well so far, travelling in secret. He had little reason to change his course. Jung looked despondent as Sen resolved to travel with Whistler.

"We're going to the spirit world," Sen said. "That's alright with you?"

"Fine by me."

Sen nodded. He didn't like Whistler, but she was the best option. He was ready to finish this whole ordeal and get started, but Whistler had a few demands of her own to make.

"Now, let me make this clear. You decide where we go, and I don't get to do any criminal stuff, but other than that, you do not get to order me around. You don't tell me how to talk, how to act, and you absolutely do not tell me how to train you. You understand that? I'm following you because I want to, you are not in charge of me."

"Just don't push it," Sen cautioned.

"Same to you."

Whistler extended her hand. Sen reluctantly grabbed it and shook it. Their course was set now.

"Well, this is fun," Suda sighed. "Good and evil, teaming up to save the world."

"I'm in this to save myself, big guy. Don't get cute."

"Oh, this is going to go fabulously," Suda said.

Jung stared at the Avatar as he abandoned Air Temple Island in the company of the renegade Whistler. Sen would regret this decision, Jung knew that. One day he would regret ever meeting Whistler.


	38. Book 3 Ch4: A Missing Link

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar begins his journey into the strange world of the Spirits by making a pit-stop in the small human settlement on the other side of the Portal. An attempt at drinking tea and planning to save the world is interrupted by an attack from Sarin's men, but the aftermath of the battle reveals some of the Energybender's most dangerous powers.

Whistler was keeping herself surprisingly quiet so far. Sen had been expecting her to be more talkative.

Their strange new companion had wordlessly played along as they prepared for their journey into the Spirit World. Their first order of business was to abandon the Avatarmobile. It had served them well, but Satomobiles didn't function in the Spirit World. They took what they could carry on their backs, including Ada's secret container, and left the Avatarmobile in the care of the Airbenders. Master Jung had tried to lodge one last complaint, but a cold sneer from his former student had shut him up quite quickly.

The next stop was to get properly dressed. Ada and Suda had always been wearing clothes suited for long travel, but Sen and Whistler needed a new wardrobe. Sen dressed for utility, choosing the most serviceable outfit he could find. As a bit of flair, he chose himself a jacket made of flexible brown fabric, with a heavy collar. Whistler dressed herself haphazardly, with little regard for fashion. The only thing she seemed to care about was her hair. She meticulously combed it, then tied it up so that it flared out behind her head in spikes. Sen found it odd that she put so much care into her hair all of a sudden, but still neglected everything else.

The next step was to load up on supplies, and then they headed for the Spirit World. This area of town was fairly clear. Sarin's announcement had cleared the streets in some parts of town, and filled them in others. While the road to the Spirit Portals was empty, the path to the capitol building was completely packed. President Dahaka was not having a very good day.

"The guards around the portal should be no problem," Whistler said. "They normally don't allow criminals through, but since I'm wanted under a male identity, it shouldn't be trouble. What about him?"

Whistler nodded to Suda. Sen shook his head.

"Suda was in the Earth Kingdom, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Actually," Suda corrected. "I did do a stint in the southern reaches of the United Republic. Never came to the city, though, and that was years ago, so I doubt they have records."

"We'll see," Whistler said. "The fuzz can be surprisingly uptight about these things."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Suda said. "The whole reason I left the Republic is because the cops were too good at their jobs."

Ada seemed uncomfortable with the conversation. Sen noticed and changed the subject.

"I hope none of them are going to notice Gun," Sen said. They had come to the conclusion that Gun could probably enter the Portal by tunneling up from below, but if the Republic Police had any seismic sense users in their ranks, that would attract a lot of attention.

"Bah, the cops have had barely any dirt-watchers ever since the Beifongs stopped running the show," Whistler said. "We'll be in the clear."

Sen hoped she was right. They were nearly to the Portal now. The massive circle of entangling vines overran the crater, the ruins of several buildings, and even the untouched remnants of Kuvira's colossus. In the center of it all was the spiraling helix of light that marked the entry to the Spirit World.

Travel through the Spirit World was much lighter nowadays. Over the past decade, there had been reports of hundreds of people entering and then never leaving again. Where and how those people had disappeared had yet to be discovered, which only enhanced the fear of the Spirit World. The guard handling their entry repeated these facts to them.

"You're only kids, so be careful," he advised.

"We won't be going far," Ada lied. "Thank you for the advice, though."

Ada, Sen, and Whistler all passed through without incident. Suda nervously presented his identification papers to the guard.

"Suda, huh?"

Sen felt Suda's heart skip a beat.

"I've got an uncle with the same name," The guard laughed. "Take care now, son."

Suda crossed the barrier and joined his friends. Ada was shaking her head. That had been a very stressful two seconds.

As one group, they stepped forward into the Spirit World.

The initial few seconds were a strange time for Sen. For a brief moment he felt he was in a different time and place, and he saw green eyes looking at him. Then he was violently snapped back into reality. The plants on the ground grew thick and pink, and gnarled trees grew sporadically nearby. Perched on one of the twisted branches, a spirit eyeballed the new arrivals. Its head rotated and exposed a second face, which watched them with equal curiosity.

Sen took a moment to examine the distance. Crystalline mountains grew on the horizon, and further on there were massive, spiny ridges of stone. Massive forests of multicolored trees spanned the terrain in random clusters.

The earth shifted slightly beneath Sen's feet. He could feel Gun's massive heartbeat pounding through the soil. His hunch had proven correct after all. Gun tunneled in circles for a while, confused about the sudden change in terrain, but he soon realized the soil was to his liking and calmed down. The ground here was soft and easy to tunnel through, perfect for a badgermole.

"Well, now we're here," Suda said. He didn't exactly like it. It had been daytime back in Republic City, but it seemed like night here. There weren't any stars, either.

"We should probably start making a plan now," Ada said. They had come this far with just the general notion of "go to the Spirit World", but now they needed to actually map out their path. Ada led the way to the nearby human settlement.

Human presence in the Spirit World was fairly minimal. The ethereal dimension was a poor fit for human habitation due to the fact that it had no weather or day and night. People found it uncomfortable to not have a sunrise or sunset to mark their days by. There was a very small settlement outside each of the spirit portals, though.

The Republic settlement was the largest of three settlements, but it was still fairly tiny. None of the buildings were more than three stories, and they covered a very small area. With no satomobiles, people weren't willing to expand very far.

"There should be a teashop," Ada said. "Right over…there."

Ada pointed down the short street, towards a small, one-story building. Sen once again took the lead. A small bell rung as they entered the store. A rather bored looking young girl immediately snapped to attention at the sound of the bell.

"Ah, welcome, welcome to the White Dragon tea shop!"

The teenaged girl quickly grabbed menus and some saucers for them, and set it up rapidly. A boy in the kitchen stepped forward to look at them as the girl set up their table.

"Hello, good day, I'm Pankha, I'll be taking care of you today," She said nervously. Her eyes darted around her new customers, lingering briefly on Sen. Sen felt something in her heart change, but Ada spoke up before he had the chance to ask if anything was wrong.

"Pankha," Ada said slowly. "I remember you. Your parents were running this place the last time I visited."

"Oh, well, you must not have been here in a few years," Pankha said quietly.

Ada opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Something on Sen's face told her exactly what had happened. Better not to continue this discussion.

"So do you serve coffee here or what," Whistler said. "I don't drink leaf juice."

Pankha gave Whistler a venomous look. Apparently she took her tea very seriously. Pankha withdrew a pad of paper and wrote down the first order.

"One cup of bean juice coming right up," Pankha grumbled. Ada and Suda made their orders as well. They ordered tea, which came as a great relief to Pankha.

"I'll take mine with vanilla, if you have it," Sen said. Pankha nodded.

"Of course. That's my favorite too."

"Well, you have excellent taste," Sen said. Pankha giggled. The boy in the kitchen leaned on the counter and glared at Sen. Pankha retreated to help prepare their drinks.

"Pankha's brother doesn't seem to like you," Ada said.

"He hasn't had a chance to talk to me yet," Sen said. Pankha and her brother vanished into the kitchen. Ada pulled out a map of the known Spirit World. It was not a large map.

"Alright, there are only three major routes that are well-mapped. We've got the road from here to the Polar Portals, from here to Wan Shi Tong's library, and from the Polar Portals to the Genesis Grounds."

The Genesis Grounds were a large span of open fields that were, for some reason, sacred to the spirits and considered peaceful territory. Many important meetings between spirit and human dignitaries had taken place there, including Avatar Korra's negotiation with Wan Shi Tong to make his library open to the public.

"If we go to the Library, how easy will it be to get back on the road to the Poles?"

"Not difficult," Ada said. "Tong's Library isn't that far off the main path, all things considered."

"All the same, I'd like to stick to the mapped roads," Suda said. "This place is dangerous."

"We can't waste time doubling back to this settlement after going all the way to the Great Library," Sen said. "We'll have to take a little risk, Suda."

Suda groaned quietly as Pankha returned with the tea. Whistler greedily took her coffee and began drinking. The rest took their drinks in a more polite fashion.

"One sweet tea with lemon for you, unsweetened for the big guy, and one sweet tea with vanilla for a boy with excellent taste."

"Thank you, Pankha," Sen said, grabbing his tea from her slightly shaking hand. It tasted very close to what Korra had once enjoyed with Bolin. There was a little too much sugar, but nobody was perfect. Sen drank it quite happily.

"You know, I, well, you haven't really introduced yourself yet, sorry if that's too forward," Pankha said. "I like to get to know my customers."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Sen, this is Ada, Suda, and, uh," Sen hesitated slightly as he came to Whistler.

"My name is none of your business," Whistler said, quickly returning to her coffee. She would never admit it aloud, but it was better than any coffee she'd had in years. Slum coffee boiled in tin pots had nothing on the good stuff. Pankha barely restrained another dirty look in her direction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Pankha said happily. She looked at Sen specifically. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

Pankha returned to the kitchen. Her brother apparently had something to say to her, because he stopped glaring at Sen for a second and began talking. She seemed disappointed by his words.

"I think the tea shop girl's got the hots for you, Avatar," Whistler observed.

"Excuse me?"

"Ignore her, Sen," Suda cautioned. "Focus on the plan."

"No, I don't think he should waste this opportunity," Whistler said. She leaned forward. "Flash a few smiles, then you drop the Avatar bomb and she'll be dropping-"

"Whistler!"

Sen was just confused. Whistler was obviously talking about romance, but Ada and Suda seemed offended somehow. Whistler saw the look on his face.

"Jeesh, I didn't know he was that naïve. Sorry."

"Oh, I get it," Sen said. "This has something to do with what Suda and Nura were doing, right?"

"Just drop it, Sen," Suda grunted. He seemed even angrier now that Nura had been mentioned. Ada put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"Ah, relax, I'll tell him," Whistler said.

"No," They both shouted. Sen sighed heavily and shrugged. He was never going to get an answer about this. He looked away from the argument that was now beginning between the other three members of his team. To his surprise, Pankha was standing nearby.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you have something to say?"

"Um, if I'm not interrupting," Pankha said. She glanced sheepishly at the argument that was now in full force.

"You're not interrupting me, at any rate."

"Well, my brother Anole has stepped out of the kitchen for a bit, so if you want anything else, there may be a long wait."

"Oh, that's fine, we'll probably be leaving soon anyway. Here, I should pay you."

Ada was too busy demeaning Whistler to notice Sen remove her wallet from her pocket and count out the necessary fee and Pankha's tip. He replaced the wallet before Ada had even noticed it was gone. Pankha counted out the payment and smiled.

"Thank you very much. I hope I'll see you again soon, Sen."

Sen stepped out of the booth. Suda was starting to gesture wildly. The argument had shifted off course rapidly. Sen thought he heard something about badgermoles being shouted now. He decided he'd like to talk to Pankha for a while.

"I'm afraid I probably won't be back any time soon. My friends and I are going on a long trip."

"Oh, that's, well," Pankha began. She looked very disappointed. "That's a shame. There's not a lot of business to go around."

Sen looked around. Even after all this time, Sen and his friends were the only people in the restaurant, and Pankha and Anole seemed to be the only employees. Pankha was barely a teenager and she was already in a desperate struggle to keep her parents business afloat. That was an oddly depressing thought for Sen.

"I'm sorry. You make very good tea, Pankha. I'd come more often if I could."

"Thank you, Sen."

"Now, I'm probably not helping business by keeping these hooligans on your property," Suda said, gesturing to his arguing friends. "I may not be back soon, but I promise I will be back."

"I look forward to it," Pankha said with a smile. Sen forcefully ended the argument and dragged all his friends outside, then got them back into planning mode for the journey ahead.

"We could be doing all this inside, but you had to go and make fools of yourselves," Sen chastised. Suda and Ada looked guilty; Whistler, naturally, was unrepentant.

"We do have an idea of where we're going," Ada said. "It's not like we didn't get anything done before you dragged us out."

"Yeah, I got out a lot of real good insults," Whistler said, sounding all too proud of herself.

"We've already got our plan," Suda sighed. "Go to Wan Shi Tong's library, then double back to the main road and ride it north, unless we get distracted by some weird spirit stuff, which will inevitably happen because the Spirit World is a terrible place."

Suda's lack of enthusiasm was apparent every time he talked about their future. Just being in the Spirit World made him more nervous than Sen had ever seen him before. He wondered why that was.

"Eh, I don't know why we're wasting time planning anyway," Whistler said. "Korra travelled in the Spirit World a lot, we can just ask her for directions."

"The thought had occurred to me," Sen retaliated. "But not in the middle of a populated area. We'll get on the road and then I'll contact her when my glowing eyes won't attract attention."

"If you're worried about attracting attention, I think you're too late," Ada shouted. She pointed down the street.

A man in a green energybender uniform was barreling down the street, roaring like a beast. He raised a stone from the soil and hurled it at the Avatar. Whistler was the first to jump forward, swinging her aluminum staff to deflect the stone.

"I've been waiting for a chance to hurt someone," She shouted exuberantly. With a swing of her staff, a burst of air carried the earthbending soldier off the street and into a nearby wall, disabling him quite easily. Whistler braced herself for more fighting. She finally had an opportunity for some morally-sanctioned violence; she could hurt people and face no consequences for it. It was a dream come true.

"Alright, this isn't good," Sen began. He and his allies, barring the overly-eager Whistler, struck up a formation. "But we've got warning for the main force, and this time all of us are in good shape. We can do this!"

Sen turned to look down an alleyway. He thought he saw a target, but it was just a civilian fleeing the scene of the prior violence. Suda saw a figure appear on a rooftop and nearly struck before he realized it was a police officer arriving on the scene. Sen felt a brief moment of relief. They had the police on scene too.

Relief was once again replaced with tension as a lance of fire roared out of a side street. Sen kicked up a pillar of soil to block the flaming strike, then jumped on top of his own pillar. He struck from above with a quick hail of stones, forcing the firebending soldier back.

The lone soldier's reinforcements began to arrive en masse, flooding the streets and rooftops. The ever vigilant police force of Republic City intercepted many of the soldiers, keeping Sen and his friends from having to deal with too many soldiers, but they were still the center of attention. Ada tightened her grip on her swords.

"Sen, I'm going to need close quarters," Ada requested.

The approach was always the hardest part of combat with a bender. Ada and Sen created a shortcut by having Ada jump on top of Sen's pillar of earth. Quickly stepping down, Sen kicked off the top layer of the stone, sending Ada flying on a disk of earth into the middle of the enemy. Sen's disk crushed a few soldiers as it landed, and Ada quickly compounded their misfortune with a sudden flurry of bladed strikes.

Sen could feel Gun growing restless beneath the soil, and he quickly slammed his heel down. As helpful as Gun was in a fight, his presence would attract far too much attention. There were police officers around, and anyone who saw a badgermole would have too many questions. Gun stayed beneath the soil, though quite reluctantly.

A massive hammer of earth slammed down on dozens of the Energybender's men at once. Suda did not want this battle to go on any longer than it had to. He focused on cutting down entire swathes of the enemy at once, crushing them under massive waves of stone.

Whistler, on the other hand, was taking her time. She singled out opponents, keeping her focus on one at a time, taking special care to strike them as many times as possible before putting them down. She paid special attention to the airbenders among their forces. She knew they were nothing like the bald masters of the Air Nation, but she felt a certain kind of sadism in tossing around her rival airbenders.

The enemies were surprised to be fighting an airbender at all, much less one so peculiarly malicious as Whistler. Her attacks were a source of shame as much as pain: quick cyclical motions caused surging air to knock the soldiers off their feet, flip them upside-down, or launch them into nearby walls. Whenever an enemy soldier got too close for comfort, Whistler seemed to vanish, disappearing in a sudden surge of air and clod of dust, reappearing several feet away, ready to start over.

Sen had found himself locked in an impromptu duel with a particularly talented member of Sarin's army, perhaps a leader of some kind. The masked soldiers firebending was on par with Sen's, if not better, and Sen found himself hard pressed to gain ground on his opponent. The firebending soldier had all his attention focused on Sen, giving the Avatar little room to maneuver.

While the intense focus kept Sen on guard, it made the firebender unaware of his surroundings. He was thus caught unawares when a thin coil of metal wrapped around his waist and forcibly pulled him away from the battlefield. A metalbending police officer quickly moved in to take the firebender into custody.

The cavalry had arrived. The police force had been on full alert since Sarin's announcement, and they descended on the site of the attack with overwhelming force. Dozens, if not hundreds, of armored troopers surged through the spirit portal and into the small settlement, quickly outnumbering the small strike team and subduing them all. Sen and his friends all too happily stepped down, waiting patiently as the police took over the battle. All but one of them

Whistler would have been perfectly happy with a much longer fight. She'd had a few more airbenders left to pick off, but now they were all being wrapped up by the metalbender police. Whistler caught a glimpse of one lone figure on the outskirts of the battlefield. She strolled over to the unconscious earthbender; the one who had started this whole battle.

"Whistler, leave that for the police!"

The Republic City police turned their attention to the airbender as Whistler closed in on the energybender troop and removed his uniform mask. She seemed quite surprised by what she found beneath.

"Hey! This is tea girl's brother!"

Whistler grabbed the unconscious boys neck and turned him to face the other three. It was clearly Anole, the boy who'd been watching them from the kitchen during their meal. The police closed in and took him into custody. Pankha had overheard Whistler's cry and came running out, just in time to see her brother in chains, wearing a terrorist uniform.

"What? No, this isn't possible!"

Sen stepped forward. He was the closest thing Pankha had to a friend here. The police let him go to her as they all proceeded to secure the area and take Anole into custody. Most of Sen's friends were also escorted away, although voluntarily rather than in chains. Sen and Pankha were left behind for a moment, to let Pankha calm down.

"Pankha, I know this might be hard-"

"No, you don't understand, this can't be happening!"

"Pankha, he's wearing the uniform, he attacked us-"

"That's what's not possible, Sen," Pankha said. She seemed as confused as she did upset.

"My brother isn't a bender."

***

Police Chief Dormin didn't like being in the Spirit World, but he would always make an exception for the Energybender. Sarin and his men were public enemy number one so far as Dormin was concerned. The captured trooper was being held in the small police outpost in the Spirit World settlement.

"A few dozen apprehended, Chief, though I think half as many ran away," One of Dormin's subordinates declared. "Not a lot of property damage, though, and no major civilian injuries. I'd call it a win."

"Good to hear," Dormin said. "Get one of our secretaries preparing a statement for the press. Word of a victory like this will boost morale in the city."

"Right away, sir," The officer replied. While this battle in the Spirit settlement had been the only instance of violence so far, there was unrest stirring in the city, and Dormin knew it. This first victory could go a long way to help keep the peace.

"We've got all the soldiers prepped for interrogation, if you want to have a crack at them."

"No, these men never give up their secrets," Dormin said. Energybender troopers were surprisingly resistant to interrogation. They never seemed to know anything worth hearing. "Take me to the victims, though. Maybe finding out why he attacked them will give us some clues. Save the sister for later. I want to give her some time to process this before we push her to cooperate."

The precinct command nodded and led Dormin to the room where the four victims were staying. They had been brought to the police station to give their statement about the attacks, and to have a few police officers compliment them on their fighting skills. Dormin entered the room and raised an eyebrow.

"Suda. Isn't this familiar."

Suda sighed, but he held up his hands soon enough. His bare wrists came as a great surprise to Chief Dormin.

"Not quite. No chains this time, Officer Dormin."

"It's Chief Dormin now."

Suda nodded. Sen looked back and forth between the two.

"You two know each other?"

"Better than I'd like," Dormin laughed. "Suda ran me ragged back when he was pulling heists in the southern cities."

"Now, you could have given up at any time," Suda said. "It's not my fault you're tenacious."

"True, true," Dormin said. "Now, Suda, as much as I'd love to go over the time I finally caught you by trapping you in a dumpster-"

Whistler started laughing. Ada stifled a giggle as well. Dormin looked pleased.

"I want to know why you're involved with the Energybender. I could understand petty crime, but what have you done with terrorists?"

Suda tried to explain that he was their enemy, not their ally, but he never got the chance. Sen and Ada both jumped to his defense, though Sen was just a bit quicker.

"He's been fighting them is what. Suda's not a criminal anymore, Dormin."

Dormin stroked his moustache. He hadn't had the facial hair back when he'd been chasing Suda through the streets of the southern Republic. He actually had Suda to thank for the moustache in the first place. The young bandit had always joked that the officer would look better with a moustache. Dormin smiled. He stepped forward and put a hand on Suda's shoulder.

"Glad to hear it, son," Dormin said. "If only if it means I'll never have to cross you again. A metalbender of your talents should be doing better things."

Suda nodded. It felt oddly relieving to have Dormin acknowledge that he wasn't one of the bad guys any more. Dormin put his arms behind his back and resumed his professional demeanor.

"Still, the question stands," Dormin continued. "I need to know why you'd attract the attention of Sarin's men."

Sen looked at his feet. He'd never been good at coming up with convincing lies. That had been Hanjo's skill. He had been hoping to avoid attention, and had not come up with a cover story for his presence here.

"Sen," Suda began. "Dormin's a good man. We can trust him."

Sen nodded. If Suda vouched for him, then Dormin was a friend. Sen got out of his chair.

"Chief Dormin, I'm Sen. I'm the Avatar."

"Well, that would certainly explain why you all put up such a good fight," Dormin said. He removed his cap and bowed his head. "It's an honor, Master Avatar."

"The pleasures mine, sir," Sen continued. Dormin replaced his cap and got back to business.

"This simplifies some things, but complicates others," Dormin said. "I'll be up all night trying to cover up your involvement in this. You will want to remain secret, right?"

Sen nodded. Dormin wasn't exactly happy about the Avatar staying in hiding, but he knew the Avatar had his reasons. The police chief beckoned for the four of them to leave the questioning room. After using his radio to order some rooms and hallways cleared, Dormin led them towards the exit.

"Sir, I'd actually like to talk to Anole," Sen objected.

"I don't know why you'd want to spend your time. Anole's small time. He hardly seems so knowledgeable about the Energybender's plans.

"Something his sister said caught my attention, though," Sen said.

"I know what you mean," Dormin said. "All of Anole's paperwork lists him as a non-bender. It's clear that's false, though, the only question is how we were deceived."

"Maybe I can help," Sen suggested. "I am the Avatar, after all. I'm very perceptive."

"If you think you can figure it out, you're welcome to try."

Dormin led them to the questioning room where Anole was being kept. They stood behind a wall of one-way glass to examine their attacker. Anole was chained to the table by his arms and legs, staring blankly forward as an officer interrogated him.

"Questioning these troops never gets anywhere," Dormin said. "Even truth-seers can't get anything out of them. They always say they don't remember anything."

Deep shadows flickered across Anole's face as he was questioned. Sen stared into the darkness. It seemed to be moving. He remembered when he had asked the Harrier about Hanjo's location. He had likewise claimed he didn't remember, and there had been a similar darkness on his face.

"So what do we know about him being a bender," Ada asked. "It doesn't seem to make sense."

"I'd say that he'd been hiding it, but most bending talents emerges as early as two, and Anole was already seven by the time the Energybender made his debut. What reason would a child have to hide his bending?"

"Maybe it was the parents? They were involved with the Energybender before he went public, and they kept Anole's bending secret so he could be a stealth agent."

An officer arrived in the room, holding a very full folder. Dormin took it and began to read.

"Well, this is all the paperwork they had on file," Dormin said. "Tax records, marriage licenses, employment papers… nothing to indicate they were involved in any terrorist organizations, but that doesn't rule out-"

Dormin grabbed a particular piece of paper and examined it carefully.

"Hold the phone…"

"What, what is it?"

"This isn't possible, this doesn't make any sense. After Anole's parents died, they were returned to their homeland to be buried. Their homeland of the Southern Water Tribe!"

Sen shook his head.

"But Anole is an earthbender, we all saw that," He added. "That doesn't add up!"

"Actually, I think it makes sense," Whistler said. She looked through the glass at Anole. "If I had to guess, I'd say Anole's mother had an affair with an earthbender. Anole was born, and the mother kept his bending a secret to hide her adultery."

"That is…logical, I suppose," Dormin admitted. "Naturally we can't prove anything with the parents dead, but it seems reasonable."

Sen glared through the glass. He didn't know if he believed that theory. Something was very wrong about Anole. Sen pressed his attention forward, trying to focus on the room behind the glass. His seismic sense could reach the other room easily, but that told him very little. Sen focused his mind, trying to read the flow of chi within Anole's body. He couldn't get anything from here.

"I need to talk to him," Sen said. He needed to be face to face with Anole to get a good read on him, something he couldn't do from here. Dormin nodded and unlocked the door. Anole reacted with a smug smile as Sen and his friends walked in.

"Avatar Sen. I suppose I should be honored. I get to be one of few people who talk to you before you die."

"A dubious honor that you only share with dozens of other people, Anole," Sen said impatiently. "You're not special."

"Well, I think I am, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me."

Sen was not amused by Anole's attitude. He thought he was smarter than the Avatar. Sen would disavow him of that notion soon enough.

"I just want to get a better picture of you," Sen said. If he let Anole know that he wanted information on Anole's bending, it would only make him uncooperative. It was better to play it loose, and hope Anole let something slip on his own.

"I've been fighting people in masks too long. It'll be nice to get to know you," Sen said with a stiff smile. "I mean, it's not hard to guess that this all comes back to your parents, but-"

"Ah, the classic dogma of the self-righteous," Anole interrupted, laughing all the while. He took on a very mocking tone. "Everyone who disagrees with you must be broken. You think all you have to do is make me cry about mommy and daddy and I'll be one of the good guys again."

Anole suddenly dropped the smile from his face and began to speak very seriously.

"My parents died in a satomobile accident, Avatar. Regrettable, but accidents happen. They're not why I fight you. I fight you because you are wrong."

Sen could see and feel that Anole absolutely meant that. His heart was burning with passion –and there was something else that Sen couldn't quite put his finger on. Something was off about Anole.

"You say that," Sen replied calmly. "But last I checked I wasn't the one that demolished a city."

"Oh yes, Shen's Post," Anole said. "I had a friend fighting there, you know. He spoke in great detail about how you turned and ran while the city burned."

"Really? Did he ever talk about how he was the one doing the burning?"

Sen placed his palms flat on the table. Anole flinched slightly as Sen showed his hands.

"I've moved past blaming myself for the things you people do," Sen said. "So if you want to get to me, you're going to have to try harder."

"Then it looks like neither of us is going to get anywhere," Anole bragged. "Because you aren't going to get anything out of me."

Anole crossed his arms and leaned back. The shadows on his face shifted as he moved through the light. Sen glared intensely at him for a while. There was still something wrong here, something Sen couldn't quite see yet. Anole was too level-headed for Sen read his chi easily. If he was confused or upset or angry, this would be much easier.

"Alright, so this is a waste of time," Whistler shrugged. "Come on, Avatar, let's got to the next interrogation room. You can flirt with this guy's sister some more."

Sen had just been thinking of how much easier this would be if Anole were angry, and Anole was quite suddenly very, very, very angry. Sen managed to contain his smile.

"I normally wouldn't give Pankha the time of day," Sen said mockingly. He could feel anger bubbling in Anole's stomach. "But I think I might just give it a shot. If only because it would annoy you, Anole."

Sen's allies looked around at each other. That was oddly uncharacteristic behavior for Sen. Ada was the first to catch on to the Avatar's plan.

"I still wouldn't waste your time," Ada said. "She doesn't deserve you."

Anole's rage burned ever brighter. Sen let Ada put in a few more jabs at Pankha and watched as the anger rose in Anole. The increased energy flowing through him made it all the easier to read his chi. Sen's first instinct proved correct: there was something unnatural about the way chi flowed through his chakras.

Sen focused on the Earth chakra in Anole's stomach. It was flowing strongly, but strangely. Something about it did not match the flow of energy you found in one born with earthbending. Sen looked closer, focusing everything on Anole. Finally he realized the problem. The energy within Anole's Earth chakra wasn't flowing naturally. It had been forced. Sen's eyes snapped open in shock.

"You weren't born a bender," Sen said. "You were made one."

There was a resounding silence. The shadows in the opposite room retreated slightly, becoming a bit brighter. Anole looked around in fear as the room became visibly brighter. He knew he had given up dangerous information. The Energybender's ability to create benders was one of his most closely guarded secrets.

"After Amon, Korra used Energybending to restore bending to the people it had been taken from," Sen continued. "I think- I know Sarin's been doing something similar. He's been creating benders!"

Ada took a moment to think about it. It made sense.

"We've never seen any non-benders in the enemy ranks, and that would explain where he's been getting his airbenders," She declared. "He hasn't been recruiting them, he's been creating them!"

The theory was sound. In ancient times, Lion Turtles had gifted the art of bending to humans. Sarin had, apparently, rediscovered the technique, and was using it to build himself an army of benders, soldiers who could operate in complete secrecy, because it would normally be impossible for them to even exist.

"We need to report this to the military right away," Dormin said. "If what you say is true, then we could have an entire army sitting right under our noses!"

"You go. I need to proceed to the Great Library. If my theory is correct, then we'll need to learn a lot more about Energybending," Sen explained, his voice brimming with renewed determination.

"Understood, Avatar."

"You should also notify the airbenders," Ada suggested. "They'll be glad to know that their nation hasn't been breached."

"That they will," Dormin said. He led the way to a back exit, avoiding as many witnesses as was possible. Once Dormin made the revelation, the police officers would be far too concerned about Sarin's powers to wonder what had happened to the four kids, but it was better to keep them covert anyway.

"No, you can't!"

Anole tried to lunge at the Avatar and stop him from spreading Sarin's secrets, but he was chained to the table. They ignored the artificial earthbender's struggle and left the room. Sen prepared his allies to make a beeline for the library of Wan Shi Tong. Before they departed completely, Dormin dug through a small storage locker and handed something to Suda.

"Here. Some old zip-line gear," Dormin said. "You were always better with them than we were."

Suda tried out the metallic line. He hadn't had his hands on anything like this since he'd ditched his bandits and joined Sen. It would be good to have a familiar tool at his side as he faced the dangers of the spirit world. Suda strapped the metal reels to his back and tried out the mechanism. They were still in perfect condition.

"Good luck to all of you. I hope we'll meet again soon."

"Ah, Chief Dormin, one more thing," Sen said. "I know you're already doing a lot, but could you do one more thing for me?"

Dormin nodded. He secretly hoped it wouldn't be anything difficult, though.

"Tell Pankha I'm sorry," He said. "About all of this."

"She didn't actually hear any of those insults, Avatar."

"I meant about her brother being a terrorist and her business falling apart," Sen said. "But, yeah, I guess the insults too. I'm sorry."

"I'll take care of it."

Sen was sorry he couldn't say it himself. That poor girl's whole life was going to be turned upside-down today. Just one more innocent person who'd been hurt by Sarin's mad quest. Dormin nodded again. Sen thanked the police chief for all of his help, and he set out into the depths of the Spirit World.

***

"So, as it stands, we have to assume that the Avatar is in the Spirit World," Dei Sensheng began. Word had quickly reached his ears of the battle in the Spirit World. Those few who had escaped the battles had brought a full report to Sarin's second-in-command.

The Energybender seemed oddly calm about this news. The Spirit World was a treacherous place, and it would be difficult to track the Avatar.

"We have very few agents with experience in the Spirit World," Dei suggested. "But I can mobilize them all rather quickly. Shall I?"

"I'll handle it myself," Sarin said. He stood up and proceeded across the room, towards his private chambers. He paused briefly before retreating into his inner sanctum.

"I apologize for leaving you out of the loop, Sensheng," He said. "But there are things I keep secret even from you."

Sarin left the room, and darkness followed with him. Dei Sensheng always wondered how Sarin's shadows kept so closely to him. There was something unnatural about it, something Sensheng thought he knew, but could never quite remember.

Sarin sat down calmly by his radio. The Avatar in the Spirit World. It seemed like a disaster to most of his men. The realm of the Spirits was treacherous and inhospitable, they thought, and it would be nearly impossible to catch the Avatar while he was within it. Sarin knew otherwise.

"I'll need you as well," Sarin said to a room empty of anything but shadows. "Make sure the Avatar doesn't arrive too soon, or make sure he stays there until I can meet him. It will take the three of us, after all."

The Spirit World was exactly where he wanted the Avatar. He just needed to guide the Avatar along the right path, and Sarin knew just the perfect bait.


	39. Book 3 Ch5: Hollow Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's journey through the Spirit World comes to a confusing halt as everyone but the Avatar suddenly forgets an important event in their past.

Ada double-checked the map. There was a massive forest sprawling out in front of them, filled with towering trees and deep shadows. Somewhere in the midst of the massive trees was the inverted library of Wan Shi Tong. All they had to do was cut a path through the middle of the forest and they would have access to all the information they would ever need. They stopped in the shadow of a massive stone pillar to observe the forest for a moment.

"Alright, stop staring," Sen ordered. "But be on the lookout for landmarks. We're going to need to find our way back here, after all."

"Yeah, I suppose even with the map, navigating the jungle will be hard work."

Sen suddenly looked very confused. He turned around quickly. He had a bruise on the bridge of his nose for some reason. Ada didn't remember him getting that.

"We aren't going through the jungle," Sen said.

"Yes, we are," Ada corrected. "That's where Wan Shi Tong's library is, remember?"

"Of course I remember," Sen said. "But we're not going there until later."

"What're you talking about, that's what we agreed on," Whistler said.

"No it isn't!"

"That's how I remember it," Suda added. He could recall their discussion very clearly.

"Are you all okay?"

Sen looked around at his allies. They were all behaving very strangely. It was like they didn't remember their recent conversations at all. Neither of Sen's extra senses told him anything strange about them, though. They were perfectly normal, physically and spiritually.

"I think we all feel fine," Ada said. "Do you feel okay?"

"Of course I feel fine, you're the ones acting strange," Sen retaliated.

"Well actually, it's kind of three to one here," Whistler explained. "Logically speaking, you're the weird one."

"No, it's all you guys," Sen said. Things were getting stranger. "You don't remember any of what we talked about? Nothing about the Undying Bloom? What about Ta Jide Shui?"

"I've never heard of any of those things," Suda said. "Are you sure you're alright, Sen?"

Sen looked away and shook his head. He couldn't imagine why his friends wouldn't remember something so important. After they'd been told about Ta Jide Shui, an ancient spirit, with a memory that stretched out beyond even the era of Raava, they had all agreed to change their route to visit the immortal spirit. After all, they had personally been recommended by Sen's best friend.

Sen's head snapped up. He walked over to Ada and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"When was the last time you saw Hanjo?"

Ada's face was now locked in an expression of deep concern. Sen wasn't just acting strange now, he was acting crazy.

"Nearly a year ago. At Tunuk Bay, Sen. That was the last time any of us saw him."

Sen released Ada's shoulders and took a step back. Ada inched slightly closer to Suda. Sen was starting to scare her a little bit.

"No, no, that's not right," Sen said. He looked just as worried as Ada. "We saw Hanjo yesterday, he was here! I mean, not here, but he was meditating, you know, from the physical world. He was here, and he told us about a new place we should visit! You don't remember?"

"Sen, that didn't happen," Ada said.

"So, uh, what do we do if the Avatar goes loopy," Whistler asked. "I mean, no offense, but like, this guy is clearly not all together."

"I'm not making this up! He was here! I got so excited that I fell over and bruised my nose!"

Sen pointed to the purplish patch across the bridge of his nose. Now that Ada thought about it, the injury didn't seem to have an explanation. She couldn't remember anything Sen might have done to cause the bruise. It was like there was a piece of her memory was missing. Sen took a few steps backwards, inching out of the shadow of the stone pillar.

"I don't really remember," Suda said. He was squinting like he had a headache. "But I've kind of got déjà vu. Like what you're saying happened, but it was in a dream I had."

"It did happen, in the real world!"

Ada rubbed her temples. The more they talked about it, the more her head hurt.

"I don't have anything," Whistler said with a shrug.

"Of course not, you took a nap while we all talked to Hanjo," Sen said angrily. Whistler rolled her eyes. Suda sat down and grabbed at his aching forehead.

"Okay, okay, tell us everything," Suda said. "Maybe if you fill us in on everything we're supposed to remember, we'll actually start to remember it."

Sen and Ada joined Suda to sit in a circle and talk it out. Whistler took a page from her own book and laid down to take a nap.

It was very difficult to measure time in the Spirit World, since there was no sun or moon, but according to Sen it had been just yesterday that Hanjo had appeared. At first there'd been nothing but excitement, except of course from Whistler who had never met Hanjo before. She'd just called him a fruit and then gone to take a nap. Sen, not realizing that Hanjo was technically immaterial, had tried to hug Hanjo, and then fallen forward, bruising his nose in the process. Gun had been deeply confused by the fact that he could hear Hanjo's voice but not feel his presence through the soil.

"Ah, that reminds me," Sen said. He stomped his foot, and Gun immediately emerged from the ground. Gun had been patrolling in circles around the group, but he paused to answer his master's call. Sen had a theory.

"I'm not sure Gun will be able to help much," Ada said. "Even if he does remember, he still can't talk."

"There are other ways to communicate," Sen assured her.

Sen dragged his heel along the ground. Gun listened to the subtle vibrations of the soil and obeyed the order that only he could understand. Placing a massive paw on the ground, Gun shifted his weight slightly, sending subtle vibrations through the earth.

"He remembers," Sen said.

"How does that mean he remembers?"

"It's, um, it's- Well, it's kind of a between us thing," Sen admitted. "It'd be hard to understand without a seismic sense."

Ada shook her head. It was easy for her to forget about Gun, since he spent most of his time underground, but he and Sen were almost completely inseparable. They could always sense one another through the soil, and they were constantly exchanging subtle clues about the way they were feeling and what they were doing via the vibrations of the soil. It was a kind of communication that nobody else would ever understand.

"Thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy, buddy," Sen said. He brushed a little dirt away from Gun's snout. Gun pressed his striped head against Sen's chest and then returned to the soil. Gun began to tunnel in circles around the shadow the stone pillar cast.

"Alright, after Gun, there was a little fluffy stuff, we were all really happy to see each other, there was some crying. Not naming names."

"You were the one crying, weren't you," Suda said.

"Well a little, because of my nose," Sen admitted. "It was Hanjo, actually."

"Okay, so after the crying."

"After that, we got down to business. I told him all about what we did while he was away, Hayao's island and everything that happened. Ada told him all about Sorikami, and you actually didn't tell him anything, Suda. Ada mentioned Nura and you just clammed up."

"That doesn't sound like me," Suda said with some concern.

Ada knew he wasn't exactly telling the truth. She had noticed that Suda was avoiding talking about his disastrous relationship with Nura. He seemed aggravated by any attempts to discuss her. He was fine talking about Sorikami, or the Harrier, or anything else about Gai Zhu, so it had to be something very specific to her. She had betrayed them, yes, but even with that Suda seemed oddly sensitive about it.

"Okay, anyway, then he told us about Ta Jide Shui and the Undying Bloom. Ada, you remember back on the Stark Road, when I tried to meditate? I saw a really big glowing tree."

"Yes, I remember that much," Ada said. That had been right before they'd met Suda for the first time. She'd almost forgotten about that minor incident in all the commotion that came afterwards.

"Well, that's the Undying Bloom. Hanjo found it while he was exploring the Spirit World, he told us about it, and then we all agreed, even Whistler, that we should check it out first. If I saw it in a vision, it has to be important."

"Well, I agree with that logic," Ada said. "But, I'm still not one-hundred percent sure that any of this happened at all. Sorry."

"Yeah, I mean, this all sounds familiar, but that's it. Familiar. Not certain."

Sen put his hands on his hips. They'd both been very excited to see Hanjo again, and involved in all the conversations that came afterwards. How could they just forget it all? His only theory was that the Spirit World was doing something to mess with their heads, but he couldn't imagine how or why that would happen. Nobody had ever reported memory loss while travelling the Spirit World. Well, now that he thought about it, nobody would remember losing their memory, would they?

"Well I'm not following anybody anywhere until I get an answer to this crap," Whistler mumbled. Her nap had been made quite impossible by Sen's monologue.

"Watch your language," Ada scolded.

"Whatever," Whistler said. "My point is, you guys figure out your business, I'm going to sit on this rock."

Whistler proceeded to sit on the rock. Sen and the others got to business deciding their future course of action.

"Well, with Whistler apparently abstaining from the vote, we're tied on what to do."

"Tied? It's two-to-one," Suda said.

"Gun counts as one."

"The badgermole that only you can talk to doesn't count," Ada said. The ground beneath her feet suddenly raised at a slanted angle, causing her to fall into the dirt. Suda helped her up.

"Okay, Gun counts," Ada grunted. She brushed some dirt off her clothes. Sen could feel Gun tunnel away, quite content with himself. The badgermole resumed his circular patrol around the group once again.

"So, we're at a stalemate. Except I'm the Avatar, so I win. Off to the Bloom!"

Sen turned on his heel and took a few steps in the direction of the Undying Bloom. It did not take him long to realize that nobody but Gun was following him.

"Come on guys, just trust me," Sen said. "When have I led you wrong?"

"You've barely led us at all," Suda objected. Sen placed a hand on his heart. That was a low blow.

"Sen, I do trust you," Ada continued. "But this is a really strange situation. I'd like to know what's going on before I move forward. Find proof of what's happened, you know."

"Okay, yeah, that'll be easy."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Hanjo can meditate into the Spirit World whenever he wants. Shouldn't be long before he shows up again. If he does, it'll prove I'm right."

"Why didn't you lead with that," Whistler asked.

"I wanted to get moving as soon as possible," Sen said. "Sitting around waiting for Hanjo is a waste of time."

Ada frowned. Sen had been getting a little impatient lately. It hadn't been a problem yet, but if he kept it up, Ada could see his impatience causing trouble for him.

"Eh, we can make it work for us," Whistler said. "Why don't I run you through the basics of airbending."

Sen agreed. He had been wanting to delay airbending training until after visiting Tong's library, but since he was taking a detour to visit Ta Jide Shui and waiting here anyway, it would be better to start now. Whistler stepped out of the shadow of the stone, and Sen sat down right next to her. Whistler did not take up any traditional meditation stance, but Sen sat cross-legged all the same.

"Stop trying to meditate," Whistler immediately corrected.

"Meditating is important," Sen objected.

"It stops being important if you force yourself to do it," Whistler retaliated. "Air is freedom. Trying to imprison it in forms and stances and rules just makes it something else."

Whistler's hand clenched tight around her staff. Sen could feel a strange kind of anger in Whistler's heart. She took a deep breath, and that anger faded.

"Cross your legs if you want to, not because you think you have to. Take a moment and think about it."

Sen's hips always ached a little after having his legs crossed for so long. Slowly, he uncrossed them and sat normally.

"Good. Maybe this'll go better than I thought."

Whistler had been legitimately worried the personality differences between herself and Sen would make training him impossible. She was still very interested in having Sen beat the Energybender, though she would most certainly ditch the Avatar and go back to her old renegade ways immediately afterwards. Until then, though, Whistler was stuck with Sen.

"Alright, what's next, Master?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice when Sen said "Master", but Whistler decided to ignore it. For now. She would certainly find a way to make him suffer for it at some point.

"Well, like I said. Air is freedom. It's about mobility and reaction. It's not going to be easy for you."

"I'm a quick study," Sen boasted.

"Don't interrupt me," Whistler shot back. "You're an earthbender at your core, Sen, that's obvious. Fire was a complimentary element for you. Air runs a direct opposite to everything you've learned so far."

Sen had to admit that Whistler had a point. Sen had always leaned very heavily on his earthbending techniques to make his firebending easier. He figured he could break himself out of those habits easily regardless. He'd proven he was capable of changing and adapting rapidly during his firebending training. He had no reason to think that would change for air.

"For now, focus on separation."

"Separation?"

"What did I say about interrupting me," Whistler snapped. Sen shut his mouth. "Yes, separation. Air is immaterial, disconnected, and formless. It doesn't have substance like earth or energy like fire. Air is emptiness. Void."

Something about the word 'void' made Sen's skin crawl. He focused on the concept of separation instead. It presented an immediate problem. In both his past lessons, he had been taught to connect to the earth, or to the fire of the sun. Teaching himself to disconnect, as Whistler had expected, ran contrary to everything he'd learned.

"Take me seriously yet?"

Sen frowned. He had no idea how Whistler had picked up on his difficulty so quickly. He was supposed to be the perceptive one, not her.

"Calm down, Avatar. You've had a freaky day. Just try to let all that go."

Sen clenched his jaw and tried his best to take Whistler's advice. He had a feeling this might take a while. The fact that his friends seemed to have completely lost their memories was troubling him greatly. He tried his best to let go of that confusion and focus on developing his airbending skills.

Try as he might, he could not let go of the day's stress. The sudden forgetfulness weighed heavily on his mind. Something about it was suspicious. He remembered what Chief Dormin had said about Sarin's soldiers: whenever they were captured, they claimed they didn't remember anything about their master. They forgot everything. Sen couldn't help but think the forgetfulness of Sarin's soldiers and his friends were connected somehow.

Ada, meanwhile, tried to focus on training of her own. She needed help, though, so it was lucky that Suda was not otherwise occupied.

"Suda, you know a little bit about swordplay, don't you?"

"Just a little bit," Suda admitted. "Used to help the other bandits practice, you know, nothing serious."

"Well, I don't need an expert, just someone to do a little sparring with. I want to practice something."

Suda obliged. Ada handed over one of her swords, and the two began to have a casual practice duel. Suda didn't know much about swordplay, but Ada was slowing herself down enough that the two were evenly matched. The pace was relaxed enough that Suda had some time to ask a few questions.

"Why do you want to spar anyway," He began.

"I need to experiment," Ada said.

She tried to change the angle of her wrist for the next few strikes. When the two blades met, her wrist rolled too much with the force of the impact, dulling the strength of the blow. She shook her head and readjusted.

"When I tried to learn from Sorikami, I realized how much I was holding myself back," Ada elaborated. "I've been too focused on learning her style, or Piandao's or Sokka's. I need to have my own style."

"I got you," Suda said. "As long as you fight less like the gal who stabbed you, I like it."

"Oh yeah," Ada said confidently. "The next time she and I meet, I'm going to make her wish she was fighting someone as weak as General Rahm."

For some reason, Suda didn't like the sound of that.

The two lessons continued on and on, as everyone involved honed their skills. The only two spectators to all this contemplated what was going on.

"Oh, already on airbending," Hanjo mumbled.

Gun huffed in acknowledgement. He wasn't a fan of the idea that Sen was learning another non-earthbending skill.

"Well, might as well make my introduction," Hanjo said to himself. He wasn't really aware that Gun was listening, buried under the soil as the badgermole was.

As he was meditating into the Spirit World, Hanjo could traverse great distances instantly, and he popped right over to the group of his friends and one complete stranger. He was met with significantly less fanfare than he expected.

"Ha! I told you so," Sen said.

"Well I missed you too," Hanjo replied indignantly. He had sort of been expecting Sen to try and hug him. He might have fallen right through him and hit his face on the ground. It would've been funny.

"I saw you yesterday!"

"Enough," Ada interrupted. She explained the situation to Hanjo, after welcoming him back to the group politely. Suda gave him a warm welcome as well.

"Huh. So I've been here before," Hanjo said. That certainly explained why nobody was throwing him a party. He was quite offended, but on the bright side, he probably would've ended up crying anyway. He was a sensitive soul.

"Maybe," Whistler stressed. "Nobody here remembers."

Sen sighed. He had been hoping that Hanjo, at least, would remember, but it seemed as if all the events of his last appearance had vanished from the world completely.

"Okay, but if we really had talked before, then you'd remember-"

"That Sarin is an airbender. Yeah, you told me that. Also that you've been exploring the Spirit World, and you found the Undying Bloom, which is a large forest of trees with luminescent flowers, and at the center there's a big dead tree without any leaves, and this whole place is home to Ta Jide Shui, a spirit that never forgets anything, so you said we should got here next because he'll remember the Lionturtles and the era of Energybending."

"That is…everything I was going to say," Hanjo said. "That's very specific."

"Yeah, because it is what you said," Sen snapped back. "To me! Why does nobody remember this?"

"Well, maybe it's not that nobody remembers," Hanjo suggested. "Maybe you just…saw the future."

"But this isn't what I remember," Sen objected. "It was somewhere else, and everyone was saying different things."

"Time's a funny thing, Sen," Hanjo continued. "Maybe you talking about the future changed it."

"If it was the future, then how did I get this bruise on my nose?"

Sen pointed out the purplish mark on his nose that he'd gotten during Hanjo's first appearance. As happy as Hanjo was to think Sen had actually fallen over and hurt himself in an amusing manner, it wasn't necessarily true.

"Maybe you got it some different way, and you're trying to connect it to your so-called 'memory'."

They discussed the conflicting theories. Sen stuck to his theory that everyone else had just forgotten, and he could feel that Gun agreed, but all the others seemed to support the prophetic vision theory. Such visions weren't unheard of for the Avatar, although not in such great detail. They all assumed that the Spirit World was enhancing his spiritual abilities, leading to him having more powerful visions. Sen shook his head. He could feel that they were confused. The prophecy theory was easier for them to justify. It had to be scary for them, thinking that they'd lost their memories. Sen decided to leave it alone. Hopefully they would find some kind of proof in the future.

"Whatever the case," Sen interrupted. "I've proven my point about Ta Jide Shui. We should go to see him."

"Right," Hanjo agreed. "I can lead the way. But I can't go with you all the time-"

"Because you can only meditate for a few hours at a time before you get a killer headache right behind your left eye," Sen said. "It's not healthy to meditate across the planes for too long."

Hanjo seemed surprised to hear it repeated in such detail.

"I've heard this before," Sen grunted.

Hanjo's specter took up a strange expression. Sen sighed. He was letting all this confusion get to his head.

"Sorry," He said. Sen cracked a smile. "I'm really glad to have you back, Hanjo. It's just a little confusing right now."

"Ah, I get it, no worries," Hanjo said. It was confusing for him as well, but beneath it all, Hanjo was just happy to be back with his friends. "So, well, I know you remember everything I was going to tell you…But did you have anything to tell me?"

"It's a long story," Sen said. He had told it once before already, but he didn't mind repeating it.

Sen walked side by side with Hanjo towards the Undying Bloom, once again describing everything that they had done while Hanjo had been absent from the group. Hanjo listened with rapt excitement as Sen once again unfolded the story of the Fire Nation, of Gai Zhu, the mysterious Hayao, and the powerful combustion bender Miyani.

Soon the entire group had left the stone pillar behind. Only Gun remained behind to linger for just one moment. He briefly emerged from the soil, sniffing at the ground and growling lowly at the shadow of the stone.

At the sound of Gun's ferocious growl, the shadow retreated.


	40. Book 3 Ch6: He Who Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen arrives at the Undying Bloom, the luminescent forest seen in his visions. Inside awaits the great tiger, Ta Jide Shui, whose eternal memory holds the secrets to energybending. But bright light casts deep shadow, and dark things lurk in the Undying Bloom.

Light in the Spirit World was a strange concept overall; without a sun or moon, light seemed to be an arbitrary thing. In some places it was eternally dark, and in others it was eternally light, and there wasn't often a reason why. The Undying Bloom was one of those places which were always in the light, but for very obvious reasons.

The massive forest was filled with trees that had no leaves, but rather massive amounts of white flowers, each one burning with an intense light. There was no way to escape the light of the Undying Bloom, either. Since there were trees growing in all directions and at all heights, you couldn't simply shield your eyes.

The lights had been beautiful at first; blossoms of myriad colors and gorgeous luminescence. As they proceeded to the center of the forest, however, the light became nearly impossible to bear. Looking in any direction was blinding. All the glowing blossoms blurred together into a single mass of blinding white light, like staring directly into the sun. The group paused to cover their burning eyes with their hands, offering a brief reprieve from the light.

"We can't go any further in this forest," Whistler objected. "We can't see a thing."

"We're all going to go blind if we keep trying to navigate this," Ada continued.

Sen sighed and adjusted his glasses. The light here was causing a severe glare on the lenses. There was a workaround to their predicament, but it was going to be awkward. He held his arms out at his sides.

"Everyone grab on to me," Sen said. "I don't really need my eyes, so I can lead the way."

Reluctantly, Ada and Suda took hold of Sen's outstretched hands with one hand and covered their eyes with the other. Whistler was a bit more reticent.

"I'm not holding your hands, Avatar Four-Eyes."

"So hold on to my elbow," Sen suggested.

Reluctantly, Whistler grabbed hold of Sen's elbow. Sen clenched his eyes shut tight and tried to navigate the forest with his seismic sense. While he was well-practiced, it had always been more of a secondary skill, not his primary source of sight. It was difficult to navigate entirely without his eyes.

Luckily, Gun caught on to Sen's difficulty and began to lead the way. While it was difficult to focus on the unfamiliar terrain of the Undying Bloom, it was easy to track Gun's familiar heartbeat. The animal guide led the way to the very heart of the forest. He had some difficulty tunneling around the thick roots of the glowing trees, but the badgermole found his way.

Whistler could feel the intensity of the light diminish gradually as they approached the center. Slowly, carefully, she reopened her eyes. Then she screamed.

At the very center sat a massive tree, withered and dead, absent the glowing flowers of the other trees. Sitting at the base of the deathly tree was a massive creature, something like a tiger, that seemed to be carved of stone and cloud at the same time. Its skin was rugged and cracked like broken granite, but at the same time it constantly rolled and shifted as if made of mist. Sen didn't see what was so scary. Giant self-contradictory tiger monsters were to be expected in the Spirit World.

"Ta Jide Shui," Sen asked.

"I am he," The great tiger said. His mouth moved slowly, exposing dull stone fangs. Whistler had a very bad feeling. Her hands were shaking, as they always did when trouble was near. She had learned to trust the 'shakes'. They had kept her out of trouble more than once.

"And you are the Avatar, are you not," Ta Jide Shui continued. His paws of rock and fog stepped forward across the ground. The bright light of the Undying Bloom cast a shadow black as midnight on the ground as the great tiger walked to greet the Avatar.

"Your kind are not known for social visits," Ta Jide Shui continued. Despite his words, he did not seem particularly upset at Sen. "You come to seek a memory from the one who does not forget."

"Your wisdom precedes you, great one," Sen said. He was feeling particularly respectful for some reason. He could feel radiant power emanating from Ta Jide Shui, enough to rival even Raava, perhaps. "Something threatens the nature of life itself."

"Yes, the one named Sarin aims to kill Raava and Vaatu," The great tiger continued. His paws flexed, briefly exposing stone claws the size of Sen's arm. Whistler flinched. "You come seeking knowledge of Energybending."

"If you have knowledge, we would share in it."

"I remember that which even Raava has forgotten," Ta Jide Shui roared. Now he seemed upset. "Through death and life and the rebirth of Harmonic Convergence, all others forget. Not I. That is my lot. I remember all things."

There was a certain ferocity and self-loathing in the voice of the stone and cloud. He turned his contrarian eyes towards Sen. Whistler took a few steps back.

"So yes, I know of Energybending, and of other things older. But let us start at the roots."

Ta Jide Shui relaxed, lying down under the dead branches of the central tree. Whistler did not relax at all. She still had the shakes, worse than she'd ever felt before.

"Energybending is rooted in the soul. Like all other bending, it is connected to a substance, though soul, chi, is a much more finite resource than things such as fire or water. Mortals such as yourself have very little chi to manipulate, so Energybending expends your very life force, killing you as you perform it. Spirits have an infinite amount of energy, but no physical body through which to channel it."

Though some spirits could manipulate physical objects, it required them to take on a physical body, making them mortal. Most spirits valued their immortality too highly to risk it by possessing an object in such a way.

"Lion turtles were the only creatures with such a prodigious soul as to energybend without killing themselves in the process. With this power they became masters even of the spirits, for it is only by Energybending that a spirit can die forever."

Sen tilted his head. Spirits had been killed before. Ta Jide Shui sensed his confusion and elaborated.

"While a spirit's essence can be dispersed, often to disastrous effect, such as in the slaying of the Moon Spirit, that essence will eventually be coalesced once again during Harmonic Convergence. Only Energybending can truly destroy the essence of a spirit, preventing it from ever reforming."

"That explains why Sarin wants me alive," Sen said. "If I die normally I'll just be reincarnated, and if I die in the Avatar State then no one will be able to touch Raava until the next Harmonic Convergence."

"That could be useful," Suda noted. "You should work on mastering the Avatar State, pronto. If you can enter it on demand, his troops won't dare touch you."

Sen nodded. Mastering the Avatar State had always been on his agenda anyway. It seemed to be taking some time, though. Sen had not tapped into that power even once across his entire journey. Sometimes that worried him.

"With the power to kill spirits at their disposal, The Lion Turtles became guardians of humanity, driven by their sense of benevolence and mercy. That generosity would prove to be their downfall."

The great tiger stood up again, standing at attention as if he was hunting prey. The black shadow he cast moved oddly. Sen noticed that the motions of Ta Jide Shui and his shadow didn't quite match up. Whistler's hands started to shake even more.

"Their souls were powerful, but not infinitely so," Ta Jide Shui explain. "As humanity ventured forth from the shelter of the Lion Turtles, they demanded the bending arts, and the Lion Turtles, in their benevolence, granted it. Piece by piece, the Lion Turtles gave away their very souls, so that humans would have the power they needed to survive. Eventually, there was only one left."

Suda suddenly looked very guilty. Something about his bending felt sour, knowing that it had been taken from a noble creature.

"The final Lion Turtle survived for nearly ten-thousand years, until finally, for his own reasons, he gave away the last piece of his soul, granting Energybending to Avatar Aang. Why he did so, I cannot myself fathom. Perhaps he sought to resolve Aang's moral conflict."

Ta Jide Shu's eyes took on a forlorn look, full of despair.

"Perhaps he was tired of living. Tired of being alone. Perhaps he simply wished to die."

The great tiger snapped back to attention, focusing his eyes on Sen once more. There was a foreign hunger in his eyes, a lust for something that Sen could not quite place.

"Whatever the reason, your predecessor received the power of the Lion Turtle's claw, and proved a previously unknown idea; a human bonded with a spirit can use Energybending infinitely, without risk."

Sen gave a relieved sigh. All this talk about giving away pieces of his soul had started to worry him. Now he knew he could match Sarin, and probably overpower him. Sarin would have to energybend from pieces of his own soul. Nobody's soul was strong enough to overcome Raava.

"So how can Sarin do it," Whistler asked. She'd crossed her arms across her chest, but they refused to stop shaking. Something here was not right.

"Because he is bonded to spirits as well," Ta Jide Shui said. "Though not as powerful as Raava and Vaatu, he has partnered with spirits of light and dark, enhancing his own power."

"That's troublesome," Sen said. He'd almost been hopeful for a second though. "But maybe if we cut off his spirit allies, we can shut him down."

"The dark spirit might be Koh," Hanjo suggested. "He's ancient and powerful, and he has reason to hate the Avatar."

Koh, formerly the face-Stealer, had vanished into dark shadows several decades ago. Korra, during her efforts to make the Spirit World a safer place to human visitors, had tried to make a peaceful bargain with Koh. Koh had refused, and in the process, nearly stolen Bolin's face. Korra had been forced to use her firebending to blind the Face-Stealer, preventing him from stealing Bolin's face, or anyone else's face, ever again. Afterwards, he had vanished, never to be seen again.

Ta Jide Shui scoffed. "Hah. Small, skittering Koh, the little worm crawling in his mothers shadows."

Ta Jide Shui laughed, and his shadow shook. Sen squinted, and as he looked closer he began to see the midnight black take a different shape.

"When you see what Sarin's shadow hides, you will beg for an enemy as pitiful as Koh."

The light of the Undying Bloom shifted slightly, and a shadow passed over Sen and his allies. The sudden movement seemed strange. Shadows shouldn't be so dark in a place so bright. Sen looked over his shoulder in concern, but there was nothing to be seen. The great tiger seemed concerned by Sen's curiosity, but that concern faded when Sen turned his attention back.

"Can you tell me any more about Sarin?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sen," Ada cautioned. "Let's just learn about Energybending for now."

"But he already told us that," Sen said.

"What?"

Sen turned around and looked at his friends. This couldn't be happening again. Ta Jide Shui rose from his resting place at the bottom of the tree. His concern had become palpable anger. Great stone fangs were bared in rage.

"He already told us about that-"

Ada looked confused. She didn't remember at all. The strange amnesia had struck them all again. Ta Jide Shui's predatory eyes narrowed. His great paws crawled forward on the stone, and his black shadow crawled forward with him.

"You remember," The great beast growled.

"Of course I-"

Sen turned around to face the great stone giant. Sen suddenly felt very small. The eyes of the eternal spirit, at the same time mist and stone, stared down at him with a burning hatred.

"It's you," Sen said accusingly. "You're the one who's doing this! You're making them forget!"

"Not me," Ta Jide Shui said as he smiled viciously, baring a mouth of dull fangs. He nodded his head towards his black shadow.

"It."

With a violent scream, the black shadow tore itself from the ground, taking on new shapes as it lunged forward on limbs of midnight. With one mind Sen and his allies fled into the glowing forest of the Undying Bloom, but even the blinding light of the luminescent flowers did nothing to dull the black void of the hunting shadow. The pursuing darkness stood out like a hole in light itself as it clawed its way through the forest.

Sen's friends bolted with singular mind for the edge of the forest. There was no attempt made to stick together; fear of some unknown monstrosity clawed at the edges of their mind. Sen hoped he would be able to find them again later. The fear of the hunting shadow chasing them down was irrelevant; it seemed to be focused on the Avatar exclusively. As Suda, Ada, and Whistler got further and further away from Sen, the shadow only grew closer.

Sen spared a glance over his shoulder occasionally, watching the formless darkness get closer. Now and then he seemed to catch a glimpse of something certain within its uncertain void; a mouth with too many jaws, a limb that ended in a clawed hand, a serpentine tail that winded down into nothingness. Eventually Sen almost had a complete picture of the creature that was chasing him.

A thought occurred to him. Hanjo Said Suspect Koh. Hanjo had said that, but why did it matter now? Sen shook his head and continued on.

He Slaughtered Seventh Kingdom, Sen thought. That wasn't right either. The shadow was closing in. He didn't have time to be thinking about these things.

Sen took another looks over his shoulder. Here Suda Saw Kaizo. The creature with four jaws was getting a little closer. Sen ran faster. His legs hurt like they never had before. He didn't know how long he could keep this up.

He Said Shorewatchers Kill. Sen grabbed his head as he ran. There were thoughts in his head, but they weren't his thoughts. That shadow had something to do with it, but none of the thoughts made any sense. He could feel the shadow clawing at his heels now. The edge of the forest was nearby, but would that help at all? Would getting out of the forest get him out of the shadows reach, or would he just have to run forever?

How Sen Sought Knowledge.

With a high-pitched shriek, the hunting shadow struck, knocking Sen to the ground. Sen toppled onto his back as the creature deliberately turned him over to look him in the eye. Sen felt how several shadowed, knotted limbs grabbed down on his arms and legs as the spirit took hold of him. Sen looked the spirit in its cold blue eyes as its four jaws opened like a blossoming flower, exposing rows of fangs and a cavernous maw that seemed to stretch on forever.

"H-S-S-K," Sen shouted. The jaw snapped shut, and the spirits grip released as the dark creature began to retreat. An ethereal scream filled the air; a shrill voice howling from all the dark places, surrounding Sen with high-pitched noise.

"H-S-S-K," Sen shouted again. The black shadow retreated further. It had reptilian limbs and black scales wrapped around a humanoid frame. Its head was long and narrow, with a mouth that parted four ways, and it had eyes like stars, little blue lights lost in a black void.

"H-S-S-K," Sen spelled out one more time. Whatever this spirit was, whatever power it had, Sen knew its name. HSSK, an unpronounceable word. Sen had to spell it out, but every time that combination of letters was said aloud, the dark spirit retreated a little more.

Sen repeated the strange string of letters one more time, and the Hssk retreated into the blinding light of the Undying Bloom, vanishing into the luminescent forest, running back to Ta Jide Shui. Sen stared at the empty space where it had once been for a moment. He had a pain right behind his eyes, like the creature was still trying to gnaw on his mind.

Gun emerged from the ground, pressing his head into Sen's side. Sen gratefully pressed himself against the badgermoles furry hide, relieved to finally have a friendly face in sight. Gun sniffed at Sen for a moment, and realized that his master was exhausted. Carefully, Gun angled his head and neck to lift Sen off the ground and slide him onto his striped back. Sen rested comfortably on the badgermoles fur as Gun lumbered in the direction of Sen's remaining friends.

Gun welcomed Suda onto his back as well, and begrudgingly invited Ada and Whistler, after much coercion from Sen. Sen gave the badgermole a direction, and Gun lumbered off towards the horizon as the four humans rested and worked through their exhaustion.

"Man," Suda gasped. "Why am I so tired?"

"Running from an evil shadow spirit will do that to you," Sen sighed.

"What?"

Sen's exhausted mind took a second to work through that.

"Oh no," he mumbled to himself. They had forgotten again.

At least now he knew more about Sarin's allies now. Ta Jide Shui, a creature that never forgot, and Hssk, a creature that could not be remembered. A spirit that could devour memories, and make anyone forget anything.

Sen could see it now, in memories where it had once slipped past. It had been there in Korra's video, lurking behind Asami, Varrick, and Zhu Li, feeding off their ideas, stealing their ingenuity. Hssk had been there with the Harrier, and with Anole, devouring what they knew about Sarin, so that they could not reveal the Energybenders plans. Hssk had been there other day, outside the forest, trying to devour their memories of the Undying Bloom so that they could not speak with Ta Jide Shui. It was the reason that no Energybender soldiers could be interrogated. It was the reason that technology had stopped advancing. It was the mind-eater, devourer of thought and memory.

And Sen was the only one who would ever know it existed.

***

Sarin could remember the first time he'd been to this forest. He had been so optimistic. With Ta Jide Shui and the knowledge-eater at his side, he could overcome even Raava, he had thought. He had, it seemed, been a fool.

"He was here," Sarin said calmly. "He was right where we needed him, the one place where we could overpower him, _and you let him get away._ "

"I would hardly say we let him," Ta Jide Shui continued. He was bound to the dead tree; he could not venture beyond the reach of its roots. He was forced to live an eternal life bound to this small area. He had a memory spanning tens of thousands of years, across dozens of repetitions of the Harmonic Convergence cycle, and he had lived it all under the branches of a single tree. He was bored, bored of examining the same trees over and over, bored of living. Ta Jide Shui wished only to die, and only Sarin's Energybending could accomplish that. For the payment of a long-overdue death, Ta Jide Shui had thrown in with Sarin.

"He arrived earlier than we expected," Sarin said. "That, I understand. But how did you let him get away?"

"Ask your shadow," Ta Jide Shui growled.

The black specter of the knowledge-eater crawled past. Sarin narrowed his eyes as the creature slithered through the dark corners of the world. The beast chose to reveal itself to Sarin, and even he could not fully see it. The power it commanded over the mind was impressive.

"The Avatar could see it," Ta Jide Shui explained.

"Impossible," Sarin retorted. "Korra couldn't see it. Why would the boy be able to?"

"Because he is not Korra," Ta Jide Shui growled. "I do not know how he could, only that he did. He even seems to know the beasts name."

"It has a name?"

"Hssk," Ta Jide Shui spelled out. As the four letters were repeated, the shadows began to roar, filling the air again with a shrill scream. The Hssk crawled to the surface and flared its fanged jaws at it's supposed allies. Sarin shook his head.

The mind-eater revealed itself to them by choice, but even Sarin and Ta Jide Shui knew very little about it. When it spoke, it did so only in languages long-dead, tongues long forgotten to mortal minds. Where it had come from, and why it seemed to side with the Energybender, were unknown. Sarin usually did not concern himself with the nature of the Hssk, as it was one of his most useful allies, but it seemed that was a mistake. If he had studied the shadow creature further, he might have been able to prevent this.

The plan should have been flawless. Ta Jide Shui's knowledge of Energybending was the perfect bait, and the Hssk's mind-erasing should have kept the Avatar trapped in the Undying Bloom until Sarin's arrival. The three of them, their spiritual might combined, could have overpowered the Avatar and brought an end to the eternal conflict between Raava and Vaatu.

But the Avatar had escaped, slipping through Sarin's fingers through sheer chance. First the combustion bender at Gai Zhu, now this. Carefully laid plans thwarted by coincidence yet again. Baiting the Avatar here in the first place had been a complex enough process, and now he had slipped away, and would be highly unlikely to return. Sarin sighed.

"What do we do now," Ta Jide Shui asked. "The Avatar will never return here now."

"This was our best chance," Sarin said. "But it was not our last."

This was a great loss, but it was hardly the end of the war. Sarin had more than one way to capture the Avatar. Few could travel the Spirit World easily, and the Avatar had a significant head start, but Sarin was not without his own advantages.


	41. Book 3 Ch7: The Fog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After narrowly escaping disaster, Whistler gives Sen a difficult lesson in airbending. A dangerous new threat appears.

“You should have talked to me before you went to the Undying Bloom,” Korra scolded.  She was more than a little upset at Sen for walking to such a dangerous trap.  He had only barely managed to escape.

“I could have told you that Ta Jide Shui was unstable,” Korra continued.  “I crossed paths with him before, I could have warned you.”

Ta Jide Shui had been alive too long.  He had, over the years, veered between hopelessly bored, violently enraged, and suicidally depressed.  In any state, he was a threat to the Avatar, as he seemed to consistently blame Raava for his unfortunate predicament.   Something Korra would have been able to warn Sen about, had Sen not charged forward without a thought.

“I’m sorry,” Sen apologized.  “I was excited to have Hanjo back, I never took time to second guess him.  It’s my fault.”

“I can’t exactly lecture you for being careless,” Korra said.  She had little room to judge in that regard.  She had caused more than a few near-disasters by being reckless.  “I’m only trying to make sure you understand your mistakes.”

“Believe me, I do,” Sen said.  He had taken the situation at face value, and forgotten that he was capable of making mistakes.  Not a scenario he was likely to repeat.

Korra tried to sigh, but found herself unable.  It was still difficult for her to adapt to “life” as a spirit within Sen’s consciousness.  She didn’t have lungs, for one, which meant no sighing.

“Just don’t take my advice for granted.  I can’t guarantee I’ll always be able to help you.”

Sen nodded.  He felt he understood the situation well enough, but he also wanted to move on, because he had a deeper concern on his mind.

“Can you do anything to help me with this H-s-s-k creature?”

The Hssk, the living shadow that seemed to eat memories, remained an enigma.  He had tried to discuss it with all his allies, but they did not remember that anything had been chasing them.  When he tried to explain it to them again, they all forgot his explanations the moment he finished talking.  It seemed that even when it wasn’t nearby, Hssk could devour memories directly relating to it.  Except in Sen’s case, for some reason.  He was the only living thing aware of its existence.  Korra, as an unloving creature, was his last hope.

Korra seemed to think for a moment, and she felt a brief spark of comprehension, but then any thought of the Hssk vanished from her mind.  Sen could see the sudden loss of memory in her eyes, and he clutched at his head.  He was alone.  Even his own past life was unable to help him.

“Is something wrong, Sen?”

Sen snapped out of his meditation.  He didn’t feel like talking to Korra anymore.  His allies looked at him expectantly.

“She didn’t say anything,” Sen said.  Suda tilted his head.  Though none of Sen’s friends could remember the exact details of the Hssk, they were all vaguely aware that something was wrong with Sen, and there was nothing they could do about it.  It was not a pleasant thought for them.

“I scouted out the way back to the Library while you were out,” Hanjo said.  Thanks to the fact that he was meditating into the Spirit World, he could cross massive spans instantly, so long as he had something to focus on.  It was easy for him to jump instantly between Sen and landmarks like the Library.  It would be a useful technique to keep them all from getting lost.

Sen stood up quietly and proceeded in the direction Hanjo indicated.  He had a short conversation with Hanjo, but was quickly interrupted by Whistler.  The airbender had something on her mind.

“We shouldn’t be wasting time,” Whistler cautioned.  “We’ve had a close call already.  I need to get you moving on airbending.”

“Unless we can train and walk at the same time, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Yeah, I thought of that,” Whistler said bitterly.  She had planned for this, in fact.  Whistler removed a rectangular package from her pack.  She unwrapped a deck of Pagu-Pagu cards.

“Took these back when we were at the Air Temple,” Whistler said.

“You promised me you weren’t going to steal anything,” Sen said angrily.

“Well then it’s a good thing I stole these before I made that promise,” Whistler boasted.  She handed one of the cards to Sen, with the white side facing up.

“You seem like a white team kind of guy,” Whistler said.  She took a card for herself and put the black side face up.  “I always preferred to play black.  I mean, I hated this game, but I hated it a little less when I played black.”

“You want to play a game you hate?”

“No,” Whistler said.  She flicked her fingers, and the card suddenly soared through the air, barely skimming past the edge of Sen’s nose.  The card curved in the air and returned to Whistler’s hand.  Pagu-Pagu cards were so light that it was easy to manipulate them with airbending.  Whistler continued her demonstration, making the card whirl and soar through the air.

“These cards are nearly weightless,” Whistler explained.  “They’re basically made of air, except, you know, not.  They’ll help bridge the gap between the material elements you’re used to and immaterial air.”

Sen nodded.  He felt the card in his hand.  As Whistler said, it had almost no pressure or weight to it.  Sen turned it over in his fingers a few times.

“So, do I just make this float?”

“Something tells me that’s too easy,” Hanjo said.

“The fruity one is right,” Whistler said.  She fell a few steps behind Sen as they walked.  It wasn’t long before Sen felt a gentle tap on the back of his head.  He rolled his eyes.  Whistler flicked another card at Sen’s neck just to drive her point home.

“This seems like your kind of thing,” Whistler explained.  “Learning to read the wind, to feel the currents in the air and anticipate what’s coming.”

Almost all airbenders had developed their connection to the air to the point where they could sense incoming projectiles.  Most people did so by shaving their heads, but they had a shortage of razors around and Sen would look weird bald anyway.

“Oh good, let’s just give Sen all the weird kinds of vision he can have,” Suda moaned. 

“Actually this is a pretty common airbender trick,” Whistler said.  “We can pretty much all do it.”

Suda groaned and crossed his arms.  Sen soon joined his indignation as another of Whistler’s Page-Pagu cards hit him in the head.  Sen waited a few seconds and ducked his head on the off chance another card was coming.  He felt a rush of air over his head.  He turned around and started walking backwards to taunt Whistler.  No sooner did he do so than the card changed direction sharply and hit him in the back of the head.

“Oh that’s not even fair,” Sen grunted.

“The people trying to capture you won’t play fair either,” Whistler said.  “You won’t always be able to see them coming.”

Whistler launched another card.  Since Sen was facing her this time, he dodged her card easily.  Whistler launched another card just to test his reflexes, and then another.  He sidestepped them all quite easily.

“See, now, you’re good when you’ve got your eyes forward.  I respect that.”

She casually launched a few more cards to give Sen a chance to show off.  He needed to feel strong for a second.  Sen did start to feel more confident as he dodged one card after another.  He was walking backwards now, facing towards Whistler as he walked and dodged cards at the same time.  Hanjo seemed unimpressed.

“But the problem is, you’re not seeing everything.”

Whistler flicked her wrist, and suddenly all the cards which she had hurled behind Sen came spinning backwards at once.  Sen had been so focused on the cards coming from the front that he’d ignored the cards Whistler had kept airborne behind him.  A dozen cards all impacted his head in rapid succession, distracting him enough to make him trip and fall.  Sen fell flat on his back in the dirt.

“You see how everything falls apart when you can’t see the big picture?”

Sen climbed out of the dirt and stormed forward, putting distance between himself and Whistler.  The airbender packed up her cards and counted them to make sure they were all there.  To her surprise, Hanjo was hovering at her side rather than Sen’s.

“There are better ways to go about this, you know.”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Whistler grunted.

“I just want to make some suggestions-“

“You think Sen would be better off if I played nice,” Whistler said.  “If I tried to be his friend, everything would go so much better, right?”

“Well…Yes, exactly that.”

“Thought so.  Get slagged.”

Hanjo tried to take a second to think of a rebuttal.  Whistler didn’t give him the luxury.  She was no longer interested in justifying her teaching methods.  Rapidly unfolding her staff, Whistler propelled herself to higher ground with a surge of wind.  Once she was suitably high up on a nearby cliff-face, she examined the road ahead.

“You sure we’re going the right way?”

“Pretty sure,” Hanjo said.  Just to be sure, Hanjo focused on the library and saw the road laid out before them.  It wasn’t visible to the naked eye just yet, but Hanjo could see it wasn’t that far.  At the moment, the only thing on the horizon was a forest full of dead trees and a small valley filled with fog.  Hanjo described the journey ahead.  Whistler rejoined the rest of the group, spreading awkward tension.  They proceeded silently until they reached the valley.

Sen slammed his foot against the ground to feel out the terrain ahead.  The valley was wide but shallow, easy enough to cross.

“We should be able to just walk on through.”

“I don’t like it,” Whistler said.  “We should go around.”

The vast expanse of fog in front of her filled with a disquieting dread.  There was something odd at work here.  The mist put a chill in the air that made Whistler’s hair stand on end.  Her hands were starting to shake already.

“Going around could take hours,” Suda countered.  “We aren’t going to get lost; Sen has a lot of experience in fog.”

“It’s not getting lost,” Whistler said.  “I have a bad feeling about this place.  I’ve got the shakes something awful.”

“The shakes?”

Whistler held out her hands.  They were trembling slightly.  Sen examined them closely.

“Shakes.  Whenever something bad is going to happen, my hands start to buzz like a hornets nest.”

“And we should stop moving because your hands are vibrating?  Maybe you’re just cold,” Suda suggested.  He still didn’t trust Whistler, and he especially didn’t trust her shaking hands.

“Well, they started shaking when we saw your big rocky tiger fellow.  I think my shakes have credentials.”

Sen held up his hand, and the conversation came to a halt.

“We can spare the time to talk about it,” Sen said.  “I don’t want to walk us into more danger.”

They all sat down at the edge of the valley and discussed their options.  Hanjo used his mobility to scout out the valley, and Sen consulted with Korra.  The previous Avatar had crossed this way before and encountered no dangers, though she added that this did not rule out a new threat moving into the area.  Despite Korra and Hanjo’s reassurance that the valley was, presumably, safe, Sen still felt a little uneasy. 

“I vote we go around,” Sen said.

“Same,” Whistler grunted.

“It’s just fog,” Suda said.  “I say we go through.  You got any objections, Ada?”

“My only problem is that my hair gets frizzy when it’s humid,” Ada said, idly brushing a hand through her hair.  “But I think I can manage to pull through.”

Sen sighed.  They all turned to Hanjo.  He’d have to be the deciding vote, and Sen had a feeling he knew what Hanjo was going to say.

“Looks like we’re going through,” Hanjo said.  At his words, they proceeded into the fog-filled valley, some more reluctantly than others.  The obscuring mist enveloped them completely as they proceeded, until they could see nothing but the ground beneath their feet and the fog hanging in the air.

Thanks to their mutual unease in the valley, Sen and Whistler temporarily found common ground.  They walked side by side through the chilling fog.

“So, these ‘shakes’, you get, do they get worse if things are more dangerous?”

“Sometimes,” Whistler admitted.  “It’s not a perfect system.  Sometimes they don’t even come at all.  But whenever they come, something bad happens.  That’s a fact.”

Whistler’s instincts had kept her safe for a long time in the streets of the Copper Slums.  The crime-ridden alleys of Republic City weren’t safe for anyone, even a master airbender, so Whistler had gotten very good at recognizing the dangerous things that lurked in the alleyways.  The fact that she  _was_  one of the dangerous things lurking in the alleyways had certainly helped her get familiar with them.  Even though she was far from her old stomping grounds now, her instincts stayed firm.  She could sense danger long before it showed its face.

Sen looked from side to side.  He wished he could be so certain.  All he had was a strange tingling sensation at the back of his neck.

Ada and Suda were still very confident in their safety, but Hanjo was beginning to have second thoughts.  He distracted himself by bothering Sen.

“So, this anything like that island you learned firebending on?”

“No,” Sen said quietly.  “It’s a lot colder.”

The cold mist that had surrounded Hayao’s island had been different, somehow.  It had at least been a natural fog.  Something about the fog surrounding them was deeply unnatural, and it permeated every single drop of water that hung in the air.  Something was very wrong.

That statement had the exact opposite effect of making Hanjo feel any better.  Hanjo’s physical body wasn’t even present here, but he felt a sense of immediate and familiar danger.  Like he’d been lost in this fog before.

“Is it too late to change my vote?”

“We’re already standing in it,” Suda said.  “Just tough it out for like half an hour.”

Though he was still confident in their safety, the paranoia the other three were demonstrating was starting to rub off on Suda.  It was unnerving to watch them jump at every shadow.  They were all breathing irregularly, shifting the fog in strange patterns as their breath shifted the mist.  Whistler caught sight of the moving fog and saw an opportunity to distract herself and teach Sen something.

“Hey, Avatar, watch your breath.”

Sen nodded.  He could see where this was going.  He breathed normally for a while, focusing on the way the fog shifted as he breathed in and out.  The thick mist made the movement of the air very obvious; opportunities like this were hard to come by.  Hopefully he could learn something about airbending.

“Look at that.  No pattern, no form, just direction.  Movement, without any kind of goal or restraint.  That’s what air is about.”

Sen tried to watch the patterns of movement in the shifting fog, but he couldn’t find them.  There was no form or certainty; there was nothing for him to focus on.  He couldn’t pay any attention to something so random.

Whistler saw things differently.  It was easy for her to follow the unpredictable movements of the air.  Sen was too caught up in trying to predict where it would be next, or analyze why it moved the way it did, to realize that neither of those things mattered.  Air went where it went.  There was no way to predict it or understand it.  It simply moved, even when it was affected by outside sources, like the five people breathing here.

Whistler’s hands twitched, and her concentration was temporarily lost.  She focused again.  She could feel five distinct patterns of motion in the air as the gathered people inhaled and exhaled.  One for Sen, Suda, Ada, herself, and the last, presumably for Hanjo.

Whistler’s hands twitched again.

“Hey, uh, ghost-kid,” Whistler began hesitantly.  “Do you breathe?”

“I don’t know, do you,” Hanjo said sarcastically.

“I mean are you breathing right now, with your spirit meditating thing,” Whistler continued.  “Does your astral form whatever have lungs.”

Sen held his hand in front of Hanjo’s face.  The projection Hanjo made in the Spirit World was completely intangible, and as such it didn’t have any kind of effect on the world around it, including moving the air when he breathed.

“No,” Sen said.  “Why do you ask?”

“Well, the last thing I want to do is make anyone panic, but if your ghost-buddy isn’t breathing, someone else is.”

She could feel the air shifting in repeated patterns as five people breathed in and out.  Four of those breaths were accounted for, but the fifth was still a mystery.  If it wasn’t Hanjo, it had to be someone else.

“That’s ridiculous,” Sen said.  “If there were anyone else here, I’d be able to sense them.”

Sen’s seismic sense alone was enough to detect almost anything that was coming.  It made him very difficult to sneak up on.

“Unless it were somebody deliberately hiding themselves from your extra senses, but not Whistler’s,” Hanjo theorized.

“Ah, yes, because the Energybender would know about all my tricks by now, but not hers.”

Sen and Hanjo nodded firmly to each other.

“We should all run for our lives now,” Sen suggested.

The brief moment of levity broke into a dead sprint as all present began a charge away from the shrouding fog.  The cold mist tightened around them as they ran, and no matter how far they travelled, it seemed to always be surrounding them.  Sen soon noticed that they had passed the edge of the valley entirely, and were now back to level ground.  The fog wasn’t just a cover.  It was moving with them, chasing them.  Whistler was the first to notice the suspicious movement.

 “Shortstuff, jump!”

 She was a little reluctant to respond to “shortstuff”, but Ada rolled forward on command.  A tendril of water coiled around the area where Ada’s ankle had once been, then vanished back into the fog.

Whistler unfolded her staff and swung it forcefully, sending a blade of air surging past Suda’s head.  The roaring wind struck a spear of ice out of the air.  As the icicle spear hit the ground and shattered, the ice immediately melted and then vaporized itself, dissipating into the mist around it.

“It’s a waterbender,” Whistler shouted.  “Big guy, on your left!”

Suda dodged a spear of ice, wondering all the while how many different nicknames Whistler had for them all.   Sen readied himself for a fight.  Had it been some kind of fog spirit, Sen would have had no idea what to do, but common benders were much more familiar.  This Fogbender was a unique specimen to be sure, but they still had to obey certain rules.

“Whistler, follow my lead.”

Whistler did not take kindly to being ordered around, but she did not take kindly to being impaled by icicles either.  She warned Suda about another attack incoming from the fog, then prepared to follow Sen.

Sen took a deep breath.  It was hard to find any ambient heat in this bone-chilling fog, but Sen was very resourceful.  Sen pulled his hands apart, stretching a wreath of flame around himself and his allies.  The circular halo of fire encircled the group as they ran, and the heat provided a small buffer against the encroaching fog.  Whistler picked up on the idea and began to spiral air around them, capturing the heat of the fire and surrounding the group in a cyclone of fire that boiled the fog around them into steam.

While many people would think of fog and steam as being essentially the same, Sen’s long experience with fog had well acquainted him with the difference.  Fog was small droplets of solid water suspended in the air, whereas steam was water transformed into a gaseous state.  As Sen and Whistler’s combined fire cyclone boiled the ambient fog into steam, it became more and more difficult for the fogbender to control their primary weapon.  Steam was naturally more difficult for waterbenders to control.

Even so, it was only defense, not retaliation.  Sen tried his best to focus on the area around them, but he could feel nothing.  So far as he could tell, there was nobody there.  It shouldn’t be so easy to block out his senses.  Sen would have to think about how it was possible later.  Right now he needed to focus on staying alive.  It frustrated him that all he could right now was run, but he needed to protect his friends.

The one thing the shockwaves of the ground could tell him was that the forest of dead trees that they had seen earlier was getting closer.  That would be the key to securing their escape.

Dreams of escape slammed to a halt when a massive boulder of ice smashed down on them from above.  Suda barely had time to drag Ada out of the way before the icy mass crashed into the ground.  The ice quickly warped forms, becoming a writhing group of watery tendrils.  Suda pulled out the ziplines he’d received from Chief Dormin, countering the tendrils of water with lightning-fast strikes from the metal cords.  Most of the damage had already been done, though.  The impact of the ice block had broken up the fire cyclone and allowed the fog to close in again.  The Fogbender was attacking unimpeded from all directions now, and it was beginning to stretch Whistler’s ability to predict the attacks.

Whistler tried to focus her attention where it was needed most.  With the air so full of fog, the Fogbender could attack from literally any angle; above, below, or from all sides at once.  Ada’s reflexes were quick enough to keep her fairly safe, and Sen’s firebending allowed him to burn back the fog.  Suda was the only one who needed his attacks called out for him.  He was not quick enough to defend himself from every angle at once, so Whistler helped him by calling out attacks as they came.

As he struck out with lashes of metal, Suda felt an odd sense of familiarity.  He hadn’t fought with metal zip-lines since his days as a bandit.  The fighting style brought back uncomfortable memories of robbing and hurting innocent people.  Bogged down in unpleasant memories of the past, Suda began to slow down, and Whistler found it harder and harder to keep him at pace with the Fogbender’s attacks.  As she focused harder and harder on him, she neglected to care for herself.

The airborne water coalesced into a tendril that lashed out at Whistler’s torso.  The cold water sent a shock down her spine as it tried to wrap tight around her stomach and drag her away.  Sen launched a boulder at the tendril, severing it and freeing Whistler, but the damage had been done.  The brief distraction had prevented Whistler from warning anyone about the next attack.

Not wasting any more time on pointless targets, the fog closed in on its only real prey.  Claws of ice and water closed around several of the Avatar’s limbs, completely cutting off his ability to move and his ability to bend.  Sen briefly struggled against the restraint, but he soon realized he could not break free on his own.  He was quickly being pulled away from his allies, and they were nearly blind in the fog, unable to give chase.

Though Sen was restrained, his feet were still on the ground, and he could still feel his way through the vibrations of the soil.  There was an unnatural chill in the ground.

Ice, Sen thought to himself.  It was ice, layered through the soil to block Sen’s seismic sense.  That was how the Fogbender could hide their presence from Sen’s seismic sense, and from Gun.  The badgermole had no idea a battle was happening above ground.  Sen wrenched one of his legs free of the Fogbenders watery tendrils, then slammed his heel down on the soil, hard enough to break the ice and send a shockwave through the ground.

Sure enough, Gun was just below the soil, wondering why he couldn’t feel his masters presence, when he felt the cry of distress.  Confusion was replaced with determination as Gun burst haphazardly through the soil.  Friend and foe alike were scattered by the violent emergence, which was a little disorienting, but it accomplished Sen’s primary goal.  The watery bindings holding him in place were broken, and he could move again.

Clinging to Gun’s fur to guide the blind behemoth forward, Sen led a renewed charge towards the dead forest.  Gun’s thundering entrance had disoriented the Fogbender long enough for them to make a break for the withered forest.  Sen gave his allies just enough time to dive into the cover of the gnarled branches before he covered their tracks.  Blasting the dried wood with massive gouts of flame, Sen quickly spread a wildfire between themselves and the Fogbender.  While their enemy would no doubt be able to extinguish the burning trees over time, they had a brief window of opportunity.  Sen could use his firebending to keep them safe even in the middle of an inferno, something the Fogbender couldn’t match.

Sen looked out at the border of the forest.  Sure enough, the fog was still hovering just at the edge of the inferno.  The light of the fire provided some small amount of clarity in the obscuring fog, just enough for Sen to make out a vaguely human silhouette hiding in the mist.  As Sen watched, that shadow vanished completely, and the fog began to slowly roll away. 

“They sure gave up easy,” Suda noted.

“Too easy,” Whistler growled.  “We’ll see that one again.”

The fog drifted slowly over the horizon, away from the burning forest.  Sen didn’t extinguish the flames just yet.  He watched until the fog vanished completely, and then left the flames alight all the same.  Better to cover their tracks entirely.

They were all a bit out of breath, and Whistler was a little bruised, but nobody was really injured.  Sen pushed his hands to keep his handmade forest fire away, giving them a little time to breath before they had to move again.  Sen sat down on a gnarled tree stump and rested a little bit.  He watched Whistler gingerly examine the bruised spot where the water had struck her.

“Thank you,” He reluctantly said.  “For warning us about that.”

“I’d say you owe me one,” Whistler said.  “But I suppose you did save me from that tentacle thing, and goodness knows that tentacles never end well.  So I’ll say we’re square.”

Sen supposed that was the closest he was going to get to a “you’re welcome”, so he moved on.

“I see what you mean now, about, uh, how I can still get surprised,” Sen continued.   “If it hadn’t been for you, we would’ve done a lot worse out there.”

“I told you all I know what I’m talking about,” Whistler boasted.  The others still didn’t like her attitude, but she’d proven she was reliable in her own way.  Whistler saw the sour looks on their faces, and did not care in the slightest.   Sen nodded, declared their break over, and they went on their way, continuing their rapid retreat from the mysterious fog.

               


	42. Book 3 Ch8: Earthmover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen teams up with the world's most dangerous hunter to take on the Spirit World's biggest game; a massive tunneling serpent named Gaemundr.

Sen woke first. For a brief moment he saw stars above his head and thought he should go back to sleep, but then he remembered that it was always night here. If he tried waiting for the sun, he'd be asleep forever. Sen crawled out of his bedroll. Everyone else was still sleeping peacefully, so he went about his morning routine in the quietest manner possible.

Whistler was the next one to wake up. Sen, Suda, and Ada all slept fairly close together, but Whistler was set up on her own some distance away. She did not handle mornings quite as gracefully as Sen. He could feel her tossing, turning, and groaning as she resisted the urge to wake up. She eventually gave up and started her morning. Sen idly scratched at his chin while she dug through their supplies for food. She was far less considerate of others than Sen, so she made enough noise to wake up Ada and Suda.

Normally they would be in a bit more of a hurry to move, but they felt safe at the moment. They were in the middle of an open plain; anybody who was following them would be visible from miles away. The Fogbender was nowhere to be seen, and Sen had seen no sign of the Hssk either, so they felt secure enough to sit down and enjoy breakfast together. Whistler tied her hair up in her ponytail, signaling that she was completely awake now, and looked Sen over.

"You should shave," Whistler idly noted. Sen scratched at his chin again. He hadn't thought about that. They hadn't brought any mirrors with them, so Sen had never realized that he'd started to grow some ragged facial hair.

"Eh, I say let him grow it out," Suda suggested. "Not like we're trying to impress anyone out here."

Suda had a considerably more impressive beard to his name. His had come in fairly quickly and evenly, unlike Sen's ragged patches of stubble.

"No seventeen-year old looks good with a beard," Whistler grunted. "They all just end up looking like…Wait, I have something for this. Hold on…No, I got nothing. They just look stupid."

"Like I said, who cares," Suda said with a shrug. "Nobody's judging. I mean, Ada doesn't shave her legs either."

Ada smiled broadly. Whistler nodded. That was an idea she could get behind. Sen scratched his chin again.

"All that said, my chin itches."

"I'll make you a razor later."

"I don't know how to shave either."

"That's fine," Suda said. "I'll teach you. We can practice on Gun."

Sen planted his feet on the ground and looked for Gun. His animal guide was the only member of the group who was enjoying his time in the Spirit World. Food was plentiful here, and the soil was always soft and easy to tunnel through. Gun was having the time of his life.

The badgermole answered his masters call, and emerged hastily at an awkward angle. He was deliberately facing away from Sen. Sen slammed his foot down again. Something was wrong. At Sen's demand, Gun turned around to face his master.

There was a large red gash on Gun's shoulder, and several smaller ones all over his face and neck. Something had attacked Gun. Sen rushed over to his animal guides side and examined the wounds, quickly doing the best he could to try and patch them up. He didn't get very far. Gun's attention was turned away again, far and away towards the horizon.

Sen tried to focus on whatever was concerning his animal guide so much. Upon further examination, there was an obvious disturbance in the soil, some distance away. The earth was being pushed aside, though Sen could not see what was doing so. It seemed as though there was a gap in the earth, that was moving rapidly towards them.

"You guys might want to brace yourselves for trouble," Sen advised. Gun was way ahead of them. His fangs were bared, and the striped fur on his back stood on end. Whatever was coming at them, Gun did not like it.

The earth began to rumble audibly. Whatever was beneath the soil was displacing massive quantities of earth. Sen could feel the gap growing larger and larger as it approached. Suda prepared himself for a fight, muttering all the while about how much he hated the Spirit World.

The source of the disturbance emerged from the earth, shattering the surface as it violently burst forth. Sen had been expecting something large, but he had not been expecting something quite so large. It was a great wormlike creature, covered in thick armored plates. Its head was clearly marked by massive spiny mandibles, powerful enough to eat through stone.

Sen's examination of the beast was cut short as Gun ran forward at the giant worm. The serpentine behemoth likewise locked on to Gun and rushed forward at the badgermole. More and more it slithered out of its tunnel, and yet its segmented body seemed no closer to ending. Sen wondered if it even had an end.

Gun met the endless worm in battle, and sank his fangs into its armored hide. Gun's jaws were powerful, but even his bite was not powerful enough to pierce the armored exoskeleton of the worm. Gun latched on all the same, and tore at the worms hide with his claws. Occasionally Gun found the sense to earthbend, but even the rocks seemed to have no effect on the worm. It writhed and twisted, trying to find the right angle to bite Gun. It coiled its razor-sharp mandibles into place and prepared to strike.

A flying boulder struck the worms head from the side, knocking its bite off course. Sen could not pierce the worms hide, but he could certainly push it around. Sen sent another boulder flying, focusing on the inertia of the blow rather than precision. If he could not wound the beast, he could at least control it.

"Bloody giant worms, as if this place isn't bad enough," Suda mumbled.

"Careful there Bulk, you sound very close to saying a naughty word," Whistler joked.

Suda groaned and tried to do something about the worm. Strikes from his metal reels did nothing against the plated exoskeleton, so Suda borrowed from Sen's tactics, focusing on controlling the worm and preventing it from hurting anyone.

Whistler looked at her staff carefully. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get involved. Airbending wasn't really useful against large, armored targets, and on top of that, she didn't really care about the fight. She'd be perfectly happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the earthbenders flail at the giant worm. She did consider getting involved. It might be fun, after all.

Ada was apparently less indecisive. She drew her swords and zipped past Whistler, in a hurry to make it to the fight. Whistler shrugged her shoulders and sat on the sidelines.

The close-range melee between the massive Gun and the even more titanic worm was hardly interrupted by the arrival of the rather diminutive Ada. Despite being much smaller, Ada had her own usefulness in a fight. Unlike Gun, Ada's claws were made of an advanced titanium alloy. When she cut at the worm's hide, she actually left a mark. Unfortunately, the armored exoskeleton was significantly thicker than the width of her blade. Unless she was cutting the exact same spot several times, even her swords would never managed to pierce the worms skin. She opted for another approach. She flicked the switch on her sword's electrical mechanisms and gave that a try.

It was startlingly effective. The electrical current surged through the armored plating and caused the worm to writhe frantically in pain. Ada was launched to the side by a sudden thrust of the worm's midsection. Gun was tossed aside as well.

With Ada out of the way, the electrical current stopped, and the worm regained its senses, beginning a renewed assault. Ada tried to find her bearings and her swords, but the impact had dazed her. So far the electricity was the only thing that had harmed the worm, so she had to try again quickly.

Before Ada regained her senses, a burst of lightning struck the worms midsection, sending a visible surge of electricity through the armored plate. The worm writhed in pain once again, and apparently reached its limit. The bladed mandibles of the worms head vanished beneath the surface, and then the rest of the worm followed suit, leaving nothing behind but a few massive holes in the soil.

Sen took a moment to consider the options. Either they had been blessed with the shortest and most specific lightning storm in recent history, or there was another bender about. Sen assumed the latter. His assumption would prove wise when a middle-aged man in safari gear marched forward.

"I have far too many questions to fit into a single monologue," the stranger shouted loudly. "So I'll shorten it down to one: What in the sand-blasted Siwong are you imbeciles doing here?"

He stood before them expectantly, staring them down with his angular eyes. Sen looked over the stranger. He had a very weathered face; his skin was thick, rough, and dark, the mark of someone who had spent a lot of time in the wilderness. A few scars on his face and arms showed that he had made a career of living dangerously.

"Are you going to stand there slack-jawed all day, or am I getting an answer?"

"I think I like this guy," Whistler cracked.

"Oh good, one of them knows how to talk," The scarred man said. "Can you explain what you're doing here?"

"I'm sort of just along for the ride, actually," Whistler shrugged. She pointed at Sen. "That guy's in charge."

"Leading by example, I see. What's your name, son?"

"I'm Sen. Sorry about that. It's just, well, it's been a while since we've seen another human."

"Tell me about it. You lot are the first people I've seen in…well, I can't for the life of me say how many years it's been. They were just wrapping up that Seventh Kingdom business when I left."

"That was nine years ago," Ada said.

"Really?"

The man removed something from the pocket of his jacket and began chewing on it loudly.

"I hope someone's been collecting my mail," He said casually. He extended his hand, and Sen shook it. "Name's Moldun. Now, I'll say it again, what's your business here?"

"Well, we were travelling, and we got a little turned around. One thing led to another…"

"And now you're out here at the back end of the Spirit World, up to your eyeballs in giant worm. Funny how things work out."

Moldun seemed oddly amused by their misfortune. Sen decided to move the conversation along.

"Do you anything about that thing that attacked us?"

"Sure do," Moldun said. "It's the whole reason I'm here."

Moldun spat out whatever he was chewing on and crossed his arms, examining the holes that the great worm had left behind.

"The locals call it Gaemundr," He explained. "Nobody's sure if it's a spirit or some one-of-a-kind monstrosity. All we know is that it's giant, near indestructible, and very, very nasty. Simple enough to scare off, if you've got the lightning, but obviously you don't want him getting too close to any settlements. That's where I come in."

Moldun held up his fingers, and they crackled with blue static. Sen backed away slightly.

"So, are you a volunteer, or…"

"Oh, well, a little bit of both. I am a member of a certain social club with a vested interest in keeping the Spirit World safe, but I did volunteer for this. I'm a hunter you see. Big game exclusively. Worked my way through every big nasty thing in the mortal world, so I struck out after the biggest and nastiest thing in the Spirit World. Had quite a bit of fun these past few years."

Moldun had a determined glint in his eye. If he'd stuck it out this long, Sen had no doubt that he would chase Gaemundr to the ends of the Spirit World. Sen was indifferent about hunting, but he did admire Moldun's determination.

"On that note," Moldun began. "I'd be most appreciative if you could lend me a hand. No shame in asking for help now and then, is there?"

"Well, there's no shame, but there's not much use either," Sen said. "We don't know a thing about hunting."

"I assumed," Moldun said. He looked away from Sen and wandered over to Gun. "What I'm really interested in is this fine specimen here. Gaemundr has a peculiar interest in anything else that tunnels."

Gun slowly crawled backwards as Moldun approached. The hunter was well aware that badgermoles didn't like anyone other than earthbenders, so he ceased his approach. He knew very well that even domesticated animals still had fangs.

"You want to use Gun as bait?"

"Technically," Moldun said. "Gaemundr's going to keep coming back for him as long as he's in the worm's territory. The Big Worm is very defensive, see, doesn't like strangers in his dirt. You can think of it as preparing for the inevitable."

Moldun turned his back on Gun and strutted back to Sen.

"So, what I'm proposing is a mutually beneficial arrangement. I've got years of experience fighting Gaemundr, and you've got the bait I need to draw him out. We stick together until the next time the Big Worm rears his ugly head, I get to scare him off, you get to not get eaten by a giant spirit worm. Everyone wins."

Moldun held out a weathered hand, expecting a quick shake to seal the deal. Sen looked over his shoulder at his friends. None of them seemed to have any objections. Gun might have objected, but he had no idea what was going on. He was smart, but not that smart.

Sen grabbed Moldun's hand. His palm felt as rough as sandpaper, but Sen shook it firmly nonetheless. Satisfied, Moldun began walking in the direction of a small, sloped hill, beckoning for them all to follow.

"We've got a bit before the Big Worm gets brave enough to have a go at your badgermole again. Meantime, I'll try and make hunters out of you."

Moldun reached the summit of the sloped hill and grabbed a patch of dirt, pushing it aside. He had set up a perimeter to keep Gaemundr away from civilized lands, and in the process he had built, and abandoned, dozens of small hiding places from which to stalk Gaemundr. He didn't intend to invite his new friends inside; the blind was barely big enough for him on his own, but he did keep useful supplies in some of his hideaways. Moldun grabbed a duffel bag he'd tucked away in the corner years ago and perused it, mumbling to himself while he searched.

The hunter soon emerged and handed Ada a strangely bundled package. She unwrapped it to examine the contents, and found it mainly consisted of pistons and gears.

"Thumper," Moldun explained. "Gaemundr has a funny way of seeing through the dirt, just like the badgermole there. These things throw him off.""

"Then that'll affect me, too," Sen said.

"Really? Never mind then."

Moldun grabbed the devices and tossed them back in the hole. He'd take a good man over a good machine any day.

"I was going to put you in charge of the traps, but I guess you'll just be in the thick of it with the rest of us. Put those butter knives to good use, sweetheart."

Ada refrained from commenting on that entire sentence. Moldun turned to Suda and Sen.

"Now, I have a plan," Moldun said. "All we've got is my lightning and the girly's knives, so what we're going to do is-"

"Actually, Moldun, I had an idea, before we get started on anything."

"Don't ever interrupt me again," Moldun said flatly. "But you go ahead, boy. Speak your piece."

Sen reached to Suda's waist and grabbed the end of the metal reels. He unraveled a short section of the strand and ran it between his fingers.

"These will conduct electricity, right?"

To experiment, Ada tapped the edge of her sword against the exposed line. Sen quickly retracted his fingers as an electric shock travelled through them. Ada apologized, and Sen glared at her for a while before continuing on.

"I say we wrap these around Gaemundr's body and shock him all over, all at once. Better than hitting him one section at a time, yeah?"

"Clever boy," Moldun said with a coy smile. "Good thinking."

Sen nodded firmly. He elaborated further on the plan. Suda would focus on wrapping as much of the metal as he could around Gaemundr's body, while Moldun, Ada, and Sen would work to make sure that the lines got an electrical charge. Reluctantly, Ada handed one of her swords over to Sen. With three different sources of electrical charge, it was guaranteed that one of them would manage to shock Gaemundr.

As one final note, Moldun turned to Whistler. She didn't let him give his orders.

"Don't look at me, I'm not doing anything."

"Excuse me?"

Sen stepped up to his airbending master. Whistler shrugged off his enquiries, so he repeated himself. Moldun took a step back as Sen dealt with the airbender.

"What do you mean you're not doing anything?"

"It's pretty much the most straightforward sentence in existence," Whistler said. "I'm not going to help you fight a stupid giant worm. You've got your new hunter buddy, he can fill my spot."

"What is this about, are you scared?"

Whistler stepped forward and stared Sen down. He knew very well that she was not afraid, but he also knew that attacking her ego was a good way to win an argument.

"This is just a pointless and stupid diversion. I promised to teach you, and that's it. Helping you get sidetracked wasn't part of our deal, so I'm not doing it. Pretty straightforward."

"We all have to do things we don't want to do sometimes, so-"

Moldun coughed loudly, demanding their attention. He was holding out two curved knives, one for each of them.

"What's this supposed to be?"

"Knives. Settle your arguments the old fashioned way."

"I'm not stabbing anyone just because I'm lazy," Whistler objected.

"Well if you're not mad enough to gut each other, you ain't mad," Muldoon spat. He tucked both knives into his belt. "Quit wasting my time with your hormonal bickering. I wasn't going to have her do anything anyway."

"Wait, really?"

"Of course not," Moldun said. "You airbenders haven't got the stones for a real hunt."

The look on Whistler's face said she was about to unleash a verbal tirade of epic proportions, but she froze before she started. She leaned in conspiratorially to Sen.

"Hey, Four Eyes, you can basically read minds, is this guy using reverse psychology on me?"

"No, actually," Sen said. "He legitimately thinks you're too much of a wimp to handle it."

Whistler took a deep breath, stepped towards Moldun, and unleashed a verbal tirade of epic proportions. The stream of insults and curses that poured out of her mouth was harsh enough to peel paint. Sen wasn't sure that everything Whistler said was actually a swear word, but she was certainly angry enough to make it sound like they were.

As the ranting and obscenities ground to a halt, Moldun actually cracked a smile.

"I haven't heard swearing like that since I was on a whaling ship," Moldun said. He made it sound like a compliment. "You're not like any airbender I've ever met."

"That's right," Whistler said stubbornly. "And I'm going to…"

Whistler paused, and held a finger to her chin. She couldn't actually think of what she was going to do. Airbending wasn't much use against giant armored worms.

"I'm going to do something," she declared defiantly. She'd find some way to prove Moldun wrong, no matter what. Spite was a powerful motivator.

"If you say so," Moldun shrugged.

Now that they were all on the same page, Moldun began to go over the finer details of the plan. He intended on handling most of the work himself, seeing as he was the only actual hunter, with the others acting as backup. The only one with a role of any major importance was Gun, and his entire job was to sit on the surface and be bait.

"Now, just tell your fuzzball to take a seat down there at the bottom of the hill, and then we'll play the waiting game."

"Is it alright if I sit with him?"

"Knock yourself out, kid," Moldun said.

Sen proceeded to the bottom of the hill and sat down beside Gun's massive frame. Gun had rolled himself into a ball and laid down at the bottom of the hill, trying to relax after his earlier battles. His thick fur and skin had kept him from getting too badly hurt, but he was still tired and in pain. Sen sat down next to the badgermole and ran a hand along his fur. Gun relaxed visibly.

"You know, I've never had any problem getting you to listen to me," Sen said. "Wish it was that easy all the time."

Gun scratched his face with one of his clawed forelimbs. He barely understood the things that Sen said out loud. They communicated through vibrations in the ground, and there were few ways to communicate a situation as complex as Whistler through such a simple means of communication. Sen sighed loudly. Gun did respond to that, turning his head until Sen could look at his face. Sen adjusted his glasses and looked over his animal guide. He'd gotten much bigger in the past year.

Sen maintained a silent vigil over the open plain. He could feel Moldun's eyes watching every inch of ground with hawk-like precision. The hunter was quite determined. Some of his companions, less so.

It took about ten minutes for Whistler's patience to run out. She started rummaging through Moldun's hunting supplies idly.

"You promised not to steal anything," Suda reminded her.

"I wasn't going to," Whistler objected. "I'm just trying to pass the time."

Whistler dug past a variety of knives, traps, and other hunting supplies before she saw anything with potential. A handful of Pai Sho tiles sat at the bottom of Moldun's bag.

"Hey, have you got a board to go with these?"

Moldun tore his eyes away from the plains for a while to look at the tiles in Whistler's hand. He seemed surprised to see them, like he had forgotten they existed long ago.

"Must have left it in another bag," Moldun said dismissively, turning his attention back to the hunt.

"So much for game night," Whistler sighed.

"Don't you still have those playing cards?"

"I'd rather get eaten by the worm than play Pagu-Pagu," Whistler snorted.

"Don't tempt fate," Moldun cautioned.

Suddenly, the hunter held up his hand and bade them all to be silent. They froze on command, but they did have to wonder why. Even Sen, with all his extra senses, could not sense the impending danger. A lifetime of hunting dangerous game had given Moldun a peculiar sense of awareness about these things, though. His narrow eyes zeroed in on the eastern horizon.

"Places, everyone," Moldun ordered. "We may only get one shot at this."

Ada nodded wordlessly. Suda and Whistler braced themselves for the incoming attack.

Sen could feel Gaemunder now, though only vaguely. The way it tunneled was strange, unlike anything Sen had seen before. It was difficult to tell how fast the worm was approaching. Sen held up his hands, signaling to Moldun which direction Gaemundr was coming from. Just as Moldun had suspected, the worm was approaching from the east.

The approach continued, almost imperceptible to any but Moldun and Sen. Moldun had a faint smile on his face. He lived for moments like this. The tension and tenuous calm that precipitated the sudden violent outburst of the hunt. Days like this reminded him why he'd taken up hunting in the first place.

Moldun's faint smile cracked into a full grin as the first cracks appeared in the soil.

"Showtime!"

Gaemundr burst through the ground with a furious cry, filling the air with discordant noise. Sen covered his ears briefly, then recalled that he had a job to do. He gripped his borrowed sword tightly as Gaemundr approached. Gun pawed the ground anxiously, waiting for his opportunity to strike. Gaemundr's serpentine charge brought him ever closer, and eventually Gun snapped.

The two great beasts collided, with Gun leaping above the worm's mouth and landing, claws first, on Gaemundr's face, just above the snapping mandibles. Gun grabbed the worms armored skin tightly and slashed at it with massive claws, trying to cut through the thickly armored hide. His efforts were futile, but they did serve to distract Gaemundr and keep him above the surface.

Suda was far too close to a giant thrashing spirit worm for his comfort, but he did an admirable job of getting Gaemundr tangled in his metal lines. Suda snaked the metal reels around Gaemundr's armored segments, covering as much space as possible. When he had run out of line, Suda called out to his allies and let them take over.

The great hunter Moldun remained on his hilltop perch, trying to line up a clear shot on Gaemundr's hide. Sen's plan would never work unless the electric current made a direct hit onto the metal lines, so Moldun wanted to make sure he made the first shot the last. He was a professional, after all. Sen and Ada could run in and get themselves smacked around by the worm as much as they liked.

Sen found it difficult to keep abreast of Gaemundr's frantic writhing. The worm was in a rage now, as Gun's massive claws were still bearing down in it. Gun's attacks, though ultimately ineffective, was still greatly infuriating to Gaemundr.

The raging duel continued for a time. Sen almost considered calling Gun off, but as the badgermole was clinging to Gaemundr's armored hide, there was no way for the two to communicate. He and Ada did the best they could with what they had, but it was difficult for them to approach. Gaemundr was moving much more quickly than he had been on their first encounter.

Suddenly, Moldun let out a loud whistle of satisfaction. He had his shot.

An arcing bolt of lightning coursed through the air, striking Gaemundr's side and the metal cords wrapped around him. Blue electricity surged through every inch of the metal lines, and through Gaemundr's armored skin. The great worm suddenly began to writhe even more frantically then before. Gun was tossed aside by the furious squirming, and Gaemundr's massive body began to shift from side to side. Too much, in fact. As he flailed, Gaemundr started to move towards his attackers.

"This will not end well," Moldun said.

As Gaemundr's massive frame began to move their way, Sen dropped his sword and lunged at Ada. He grabbed her tightly, and then opened a rift beneath their feet, sinking the both of them into the ground just as Gaemundr's serpentine body rolled overhead. Sen and Ada remained under the cover of the surface, feeling the ground shake as Gaemundr writhed overhead.

Suda had already put some distance between himself and the worm, so he was fairly safe, but Moldun had kept himself much closer to the fray. He began to swear loudly as Gaemundr's writhing carried him closer and closer to the hunter.

The massive tail of Gaemundr flailed wildly, and Moldun's famous reflexes were not quite fast enough to save him. The armored tail struck him in the side, sending him flying. He did not land well, and he felt, and heard, something in his arm go pop. That was not going to be pleasant. Even more so, he was now lying on the ground, and there was still a giant worm rolling his way.

Coming to a sudden halt, Gaemundr howled in pain once more. Blue electricity was once again surging across the worms body. Suffering from the renewed jolts of pain, Gaemundr completely abandoned the surface and tunneled rapidly back into the depths, kicking up massive clouds of dust.

The clouds of dust were quickly scattered by tactical bursts of airbending. Whistler cleared away the dust, so that everyone could look at her. She was holding the sword that Sen had dropped.

"Told you I'd do something," She bragged. When everybody else had been hiding and running, Whistler had managed to grab a sword and give Gaemundr a second shock, scaring him off completely.

"How lovely for you," Moldun grumbled. "Please get me a medic."

Sen and Ada left their hiding place in the soil, and Ada focused on treating Moldun. They had limited medical supplies, and it looked like Moldun would require quite a bit of treatment. He seemed oddly lucid, though. The fact that his elbow had been completely dislocated didn't seem to bother him very much.

"Hey, airbender, in that bag you were digging through, did you see a bottle with a red label on it?"

Whistler nodded and retrieved the bottle.

"Is that some kind of anaesthetic?" Ada asked.

"Something like that," Moldun responded. He unscrewed the bottle's cap and downed the contents in one large gulp. Ada shook her head.

As Ada got to work treating Moldun's arm, Gun crawled up to Sen. The badgermole was apparently under the impression that he had done a good job, and believed that he deserved a treat. Sen gave him a pat on the head and fetched some food.

"Now what?"

"Now you kids –ouch – you kids get me out of Gaemundr's territory, and then-" Moldun paused for a moment to swear. Ada was forcing his elbow back into place in a rather painful fashion. "And then I'm getting out of this blasted Spirit World. I think I've overstayed –Aaagh!- overstayed my welcome."

Ada had the courtesy to warn Moldun she was about to do something very painful, and Moldun grit his teeth. His face turned red as Ada did her work, but the pain quickly passed.

"Why do you have to be so good at this," He grunted. "Anyone else would just slap a splint on it, but you, you've got to pick at it."

"Because I'm not a huge fan of people losing their limbs, Moldun," Ada replied. Moldun cracked a painful smile.

"Of all the random imbeciles I could've come across out here, I think I'm glad it was you kids."

Ada nodded and put the finishing touches on her work. Moldun stood up immediately, despite Ada's protests. He waved his good arm dismissively.

"This ain't the first time I've had things broken," He explained. "I can handle myself."

Moldun had Suda grab what was left of his supplies and led the way out of Gaemundr's territory. The beast had been scared quite thoroughly now, so it was unlikely to return to human territory any time soon. At least long enough for Moldun to return to the material world and find someone to replace him.

"So we just walk away, then," Sen said angrily. "Even though Gaemundr is still out there."

"Ah, it's no problem," Moldun said. "You listen to me, kid. There's no shame in walking away from a fight. Lots of people go through a lot of grief because they don't know when to quit. Everybody thinks they've got to be tough, but even Gaemundr knows to run when the fights lost."

"But he's still out there," Sen said. "We haven't changed anything, we just delayed it. I mean, you even got hurt. If anything we made things worse."

"We bought ourselves some time," Moldun said. "Sometimes that's the best you can hope for. Besides, me, I've got nine years' worth of news to catch up on. Best to start sooner rather than later."

Moldun took a moment to think about it. Nine years was actually a lot of time. He may have missed some very important events.

"Well, tell me, did anything ever happen with that Energybender idiot?"

"Yeah, actually, there's kind of been some-"

Moldun interrupted Sen with a loud sigh.

"Well then I suppose my timing is just about perfect. I better be getting back to the real world, then."

He seemed a little disappointed for reasons Sen could not quite understand.

"Should've just stuck with hunting clubs," Moldun mumbled to himself.

With that mysterious comment aside, Moldun ceased talking about his plans for the future. They walked together for a while, getting out of Gaemundr's territory, while Moldun regaled them with hunting stories from his past. After travelling a good ways together, their paths split, with Moldun heading for the Republic portal alone, while Sen and his friends continued forwards to the Polar portals.


	43. Book 3 Ch9: Shattering Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sen evades the Fogbender in the Spirit World, Miyani explores the city of Ba Sing Se, and begins her one-woman war against the Energybender.

Sen stopped running for a moment to kick up a blockade behind them. The path was getting narrower now, which served their purposes very well. It made it much easier to slow their pursuer down.

As he fled down the path, Sen spared a glance over his shoulder. A thick bank of fog rolled slowly over the edge of the wall he had raised. The mysterious Fogbender had been pursuing them for what felt like hours now, slowly but inexorably closing in on them. They managed to keep ahead of it for now, but they were running out of room to maneuver.

Spilling over the wall all at once, the fog came rushing forward like a tidal wave, closing the distance ever faster. Sen stopped carrying the rear of the group and headed for the front. They were nearly to safety. Korra had given him some timely advice on a place where they could hide from the Fogbender, if only for a while.

Sprinting past Ada, Suda, and Whistler, Sen headed for the welcoming borders of the Brokmarsh. Conventional logic would say to not run towards a marsh when fighting a waterbender, but this particular morass was hardly conventional.

Sen reached the shores of the swamp, and hopped across the waters edge, landing on top of a large lily-pad. He tapped his palm on top of it repeatedly.

"I could use a favor," He said frantically. He had a good feeling that this would work, but he was still in a bit of a hurry. The Fogbender was closing in. A few curious bubbles rose from the depths of the Brokmarsh.

"Oh, good, you're listening. Anyway, there's a troublemaker following me, you can probably sense it, right? If you could do something about that for me, I'd really appreciate it. Please?"

In answer, a large mass of mud rose from the depths of the swamp, shifting the stagnant waters and disturbing thick layers of algae. The great mud-beast lumbered forwards towards the mass of fog. Sounds of an intense battle could be heard from within for quite some time. Sen's allies clustered onto the massive lily-pad and waited for the sounds to end.

The mud-beast was beaten back, and it was then reinforced by living trees that pulled themselves up by the roots and clambered into the mist. Their roots and branches flailed through the mist, striking at its heart.

After a long, tense pause, the fog began to retreat, and the living trees and mud pulled themselves back to the swamp and collapsed back into their old homes. Sen breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that the Fogbender had been thwarted once again, though he would have much preferred that he was defeated entirely. Sen was not fond of leaving unfinished business behind him, but it seemed it was all he had done recently.

"Thank you, Brok."

The mud shifted again, but rather than becoming a great golem, this time it became a small, hunched figure, draped in algae, a state Korra had referred to as the Old Lady of the Mud. It was the way Brok preferred to deal with visitors to her swamp.

Brok was lord of the marsh, and she was tied to everything in it. Every drop of water, every patch of mud, even the plants, all bowed to her will. She didn't do much with that power. Like the swamp she lorded over, Brok was a creature of stagnation, preferring a stable environment. She was not entirely unwilling to act, of course, provided the right circumstances were met. The conflict between the Avatar and the Energybender was one such circumstance.

While spirits were generally neutral in mortal conflicts, Sarin held the power to permanently kill a spirit, and they did not approve of such power existing. Most every spirit the Avatar had encountered so far was being very helpful to his cause. It brought Suda no small amount of relief that they were not being constantly assaulted by random spirits.

Brok and Sen spoke for a while about the state of the world, before bidding each other farewell. Brok gave them some advice on how best to get through her swamp, and then the Avatar departed. He was glad that things had been simple for once. Not everyone could be so lucky.

***

Miyani was rudely shunted off the tram and into a crowd of people suddenly surging the other way. At times like this it was almost tempting to remove her headband and let the tattoo on her forehead split the crowd for her. That would cause too much chaos, though. Ba Sing Se was one of the most crowded cities in the world, after all. One person panicking could cause a chain reaction that turned into a riot. That was the whole reason she was here, actually.

Miyani looked around. It had taken her quite some time to get all the way to the walled city. She'd actually missed most of the chaos by now. The streets bore the marks of past riots and protests, but normal life had, to some extent, resumed. There was a cautious hesitance to the citizens here, though, that told Miyani that the trouble was far from over.

She struck out towards the middle ring of the walled city. Even though the walls had come down during and after the Red Lotus Riots, the city was still clearly separated by the architectural styles, layout, and general culture. Zaheer's idealism had been misguided after all; it would take a lot more than knocking down walls and killing monarchs to create true equality between people. The lower ring was still a place of poverty and strife.

The squalid streets of the lower ring were being patrolled, now more than ever, by uniformed guards. Miyani kept a cautious eye on every officer, and they did the same to her. Guard patrols had been doubled and then tripled in the past few weeks. Most of the riots began in the lower ring, then worked their way towards the center.

Miyani kept herself between the lower and middle rings, patrolling the wreckage of the wall. Shoddy houses built out of the ruins of the great wall dotted the streets, marking the place where the barrier had once stood. Miyani walked slowly along the ring, keeping a careful eye out.

It occurred to her after an hour or so of walking that she probably wasn't going to get anything done like this. The ruins of the wall stretched on for miles, and major disturbances were far less frequent than they had been before. As heroic as the idea of a 'patrol' was, she'd probably be better off finding herself a base of operations.

That wouldn't be easy. Ba Sing Se was crowded already; there wasn't much room for anyone here. People were already stacking themselves on top of each other, quite literally, to get by. Miyani tapped her fingers against her waist as she walked. There had to be something.

"Hey lady, you're really tall," A small voice said. Miyani angled her neck sharply towards the ground. A small child was looking up at her.

"Yes I am. Thank you for noticing."

"How'd you get that big?"

"I caught a magic fish, and it said if I let it go it would make me a giant. So I let it go."

Miyani's arm snapped behind her, and grabbed the wrist of the thief digging through her pockets. She forcibly pulled the would-be pickpocket to the front and held him dangling off the ground. He was a small child, not much older than the questioning boy in front of her.

"You don't look like a magic fish," Miyani said angrily. "So you better give me a very good reason to let you go."

"Aww, come on, I didn't even take anything," the child whined. "Have a heart."

"I don't have anything to take," Miyani said. She was just about broke. What she did have, she was not stupid enough to keep in her pockets. She'd hidden her money far more securely than that. "I'm waiting to be convinced."

"Okay, come on, we can make a deal," The thief said. "I'm a plucky orphan. I can be your sidekick or something."

"I already have an orphan friend," Miyani said. "But I suppose I could use a few directions."

She asked about a place to stay and a place to eat first of all. The pickpocket recommended a few cheap establishments across the city and told her how to get to each one. As an afterthought, Miyani asked about an old historical landmark. There was something she needed to see. The pickpocket wasn't quite so eager to give her directions to that particular location, but he did relent eventually, and told Miyani where to find the ruined hall of the White Lotus.

***

Miyani didn't know what she'd been expecting to find in the hall of the White Lotus. Remnants, maybe, some clue about the Energybender. The pickpocket who'd led her here had told her how the halls still echoed with the arcane howling of Energybending, and how the soul of the Grand Lotus still lingered in the halls, bemoaning his fate. Miyani had seen none of that. It was just an empty building.

She stepped back into the streets of Ba Sing Se. The city was filled to the brim with people, but there was always an empty space in front of the "haunted" hall of the White Lotus. Miyani drew strange glances from everyone around her as she stepped down the stairs of the abandoned hall. One person in particular seemed to be waiting for her.

He was not a tall or proud man; he might have been handsome once, and strong, but that had all been beaten out of him. He was tired now, and worn down by age and despair. His eyes had a very hollow look to them, like something had been taken from him.

"You went inside," He said as Miyani approached.

"Yes, I did."

The tired looking man stared at her wordlessly for a while. His worn face betrayed very little emotion.

"Can we talk?"

"Well, I never had a mom to teach me not to talk to strangers, so sure," Miyani said. The man didn't laugh. No one ever laughed at her jokes.

The weary man led her to a small, worn down building, not far from the ruined Hall. These structures had been built to house the White Lotus member who ran the old Hall. They mostly sat empty now, occupied only by squatters and those too poor to find a home further from the haunted ruins. The stranger led Miyani into one such home, inviting her inside. He prepared some tea.

"What did you find in there," He asked. He spoke slowly, and with very little emotion.

"Nothing," Miyani said. "It was empty."

"You're not from around here," He said. It was a statement, not a question. "Some traveler, I'd wager. I'm Qiang."

"Miyani. Nice to meet you."

Qiang handed her a cup of bitter tea, and she drank more to be polite than anything else. Qiang took a sip of tea as well.

"I've been hoping someone like you would come along. Someone who'd finally go in that ruin. I always thought it would be some stupid kid, walking in because his friends dared him to."

Qiang put his teacup down and looked at Miyani. He placed his palms together.

"Why'd you go in?"

"I wanted to see where everything began," Miyani said.

Qiang didn't react to that very much. He picked up his teacup and drank from it again.

"People are stupid, and superstitious," He said derisively. "There's hundreds of thousands of people in Ba Sing Se, a million more visit it every year, but you're the first one to walk inside that hall. That's very important. You've broken through the stone wall of fear that enclosed that place."

Qiang looked at the wall. Miyani glanced to the side, following his eyes, but he was looking at nothing. His sight had drifted to some far off place.

"Now that the spell's broken, people will start walking in. First it'll be the kids, like I said. Then travelers, like you, people who are curious. And then at the end it will be the widows and orphans, and they will see the ruined stones where their family died, and they will finally say goodbye."

Miyani bit her lip. Qiang continued.

"Then decades from now, it will all be a memory, and the ruins will be bulldozed, and the graveyard of the White Lotus will be buried under an apartment building. Or maybe they'll make it into a museum. Could go either way."

Miyani put her teacup down. She hadn't put so much thought into it. She hadn't even found anything in there.

"You've sent a message, Miyani, whether you know it or not. Rumors are going to start spreading. People are going to talk. Every time the story gets repeated there will be less and less fear in people's voices, until fear becomes courage and courage becomes action."

"What kind of action?"

"Don't know," Qiang said. "Something stupid, first of all. That's the way people are. After that, something more meaningful. Resistance, most likely. People are tired of being scared. Be afraid of something long enough and you start to hate it."

"So you think people will start fighting Sarin," Miyani said. "Just because I walked into a building?"

"Don't give yourself too much credit," Qiang said. "Anger was already there, just buried by the fear. You get rid of some of the fear, anger starts to win."

"Then I should walk in there again," Miyani said.

"Might be a good idea. More people see you, more people talking."

Qiang finished his tea and looked at Miyani. For the first time his face betrayed some emotion, but Miyani couldn't quite tell what. It seemed to be equal parts curiosity and optimism, but it was all very dim. Qiang had very little spirit left in him.

"Though someone with your talents could do much more than walk into a building."

The sitting area was small, and it didn't take much effort for Qiang to reach across the table and pull Miyani's headband down before she had a chance to stop him. He was surprisingly quick for a man in his condition. Miyani recoiled backwards as her tattoo became exposed, but Qiang seemed unfazed. He sat back down and toyed with his empty teacup.

"They taught us how to identify your kind," he said. "That was before Gohrman, so every combustion bender who'd ever lived had tried to kill the Avatar at some point. We were cautious, obviously."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Doesn't matter," Qiang said. "We won't be doing anything any time soon. You, on the other hand…"

Qiang gave Miyani a long, lingering look that made her slightly uncomfortable. Qiang rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"What was your plan, Miyani? What do you want to do with all that power?"

"I want to make a difference," Miyani said. "I want to help people."

"Charity helps people. Explosions, less so," Qiang noted.

"They can be very helpful when they're aimed at the right people," Miyani said.

"Hmm, now there's an idea," Qiang hummed. "And you came to Ba Sing Se hoping to find those people?"

"Yes."

"Well you won't. Only people to be found here are scared, confused. A few wolves among the sheep to stir things up, perhaps, but not many. No monsters to be found in Ba Sing Se."

"Then where do you propose I go," Miyani asked. Qiang was well-prepared for that question.

Qiang reached over the side of his chair, towards a well-worn desk. Opening a drawer full of aged and crinkled papers, Qiang rooted around until he found one significantly newer and fresher than the rest. He slammed it onto the table between them with an open palm. It was a map of the United Earth Kingdom provinces, marked with red ink in three spots.

"Energybender bases," Qiang observed. "Howler has a few outposts out in the wild, places to stash his soldiers and supplies in secret. Isolated, and filled to the brim with Energybender soldiers. Much better use of your time than firing off shots in a crowded city and hoping for the best."

Miyani shrugged. Perhaps her plan had not been entirely well thought-out. She examined the map. All three red circles were in the north-eastern provinces of the Earth Kingdom, the ones that most strongly rebelled against the Avatar.

"How did you find these?"

"They're not hard to find," Qiang said. "Lots of people know about them. Military can't do anything, though, not unless the provincial leaders authorize it, and the Energybender has them in his pocket."

"But I don't have to worry about those rules," Miyani said. She wasn't affiliated with any political body, and so she could go after the Energybender without upsetting the delicate political balance in the United Earth Kingdom.

"This map is all I have to offer you," Qiang said. "But I have a feeling it'll be more than enough."

Miyani picked up the map and took a closer look. The nearest base was just a few days away by train. There would be a bit of a hike to get into the depths of the woods, but Miyani could handle it.

When she decided it was time to leave, Qiang practically pushed her out the door. He was not one for goodbyes, it seemed. Or perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with having a Combustion Bender inside his house. Either way, Miyani was soon out the door and wandering into the distance. Qiang took a moment to look towards the hall of the White Lotus. His stare lingered for a while.

"Maybe another day," He said to himself. If he would ever be ready to talk into that hall again, it would not be today. The empty space in his soul still echoed hollowly every time he recalled his last visit to that hall.

***

The outpost in the middle of the woods was not exactly a spectacular construction. It was hastily thrown together with earthbending, meant for nothing more than storing supplies and having secret meetings out of the way of prying eyes. Despite that, it had become an important stopping point for many of Sarin's soldiers, and as such it was constantly under guard. One silent watchman kept a constant vigil on path to the hidden enclave.

The sound of motion on the path set the guard on full alert. She was eager to have something to do. In her civilian life she was forced to pretend she was a powerless non-bender, and she relished every opportunity to use the firebending that Sarin had granted her.

A lone traveler emerged from the bushes, stumbling and limping as she walked. She had her face and limbs wrapped in dirty bandages. The traveler locked eyes on the guard and fell to her knees.

"Oh please," She begged. "Please help me."

"Get out of here," The guard threatened. She wasn't here to run a charity operation. She was not a kind or pleasant individual, despite the fact that Sarin's cause was ostensibly one of peace. He tempted people to his cause by exploiting their lust for power, enticing non-benders to join with the promise of granting them bending. As such, his ranks were bloated with cruel and arrogant individuals.

"Please," The young girl continued. "The spirits reward those who show generosity."

"I couldn't care less about spirits," The guard said dismissively. "Leave, now."

"You know I'm actually glad you said that," The traveler said. She suddenly abandoned her hunched posture and limp, showing off her true, towering height. "I'm going to feel a lot less guilty about this."

The guard had no time to react before Miyani ripped the bandages off her forehead and blasted the earth in front of her, sending her flying backwards. Miyani stepped around the smoking crater she'd just created and proceeded forward to the base. She brushed a few strands of hair away from the red mark on her forehead and used the focused power to unleash an explosive blast upon the walls of the Energybender's base.

The shoddily constructed base began to collapse after just a single blast, though Miyani threw in several more just to make sure it was annihilated completely. Soldiers poured out of the rapidly shattering walls in desperate attempts to escape. Miyani blasted out the paths in front of them, catching a few as they attempted to flee. The vast majority of them managed to flee into the woods. Miyani didn't like that, but she supposed that scattering them was effective in its own way.

Miyani turned her head to the left to blast a fleeing soldier, but snapped back when she heard the sound of movement to her right. One of the soldiers had decided to try fighting, apparently. She had always figured no one would be dumb enough to try.

The robed soldier had seemingly done his research on combustion benders, and aimed his attacks at Miyani's forehead, striking out with small, precise volleys of rocks. Miyani swatted aside the pebbles and sent a spear of energy rushing towards the foolhardy soldiers feet. Being smart was not enough to beat a bender of her caliber. It would take more than any of these soldiers had to bring her down.

The brave soldier was sent flying into the air by the blast, before falling downwards and landing painfully on the charred ground of the crater. Miyani stepped into the smoking circle of scorched earth and looked down at the soldier. He was cowering in pain and fear. His courage had left him fairly quickly. Miyani stared him down for a while, just to put a little more fear in him.

When the soldier had cowered sufficiently, Miyani grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upwards. She pulled his face in close, making sure he got a good look at the red tattoo on her forehead.

"Go tell them all," She said threateningly. "I'm coming for them."

Miyani released the soldier, and he fled from the smoking crater. She put her hands on her hips and thought for a moment. She probably could have phrased that better, made it sound scarier. She shrugged. It had been short notice, and they would certainly get the point.

Miyani walked away from the smoldering ruins of the base and examined her arm. Though she was protected against pain, she did notice a few bruises on her arms from where she had blocked the soldier's blows. Perhaps it would be worth investing in some armor.

The wind carried the smoke of the burning base high into the sky and away, towards the road. Somebody would notice the smoke eventually, and come to investigate. Those who witnessed it spread the tale, speaking far and wide of the blasted ruins of the Energybender's base. They were dismissed as foolhardy rumor-spreaders for a few weeks – and then another smoking ruin appeared in the wilds. Then another and another, until the landscape was dotted with the shattered remnants of Sarin's outposts. There was no denying it after that; a combustion bender had entered the game, and she was single-handedly tipping the scales of a conflict that had been in stalemate for nearly three years.


	44. Book 3 Ch10: Know Your Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the great library of Wan Shi Tong, the Avatar and his allies learn of the great dangers the world has faced in the past -and some they will face in the future.

Hanjo was helping them navigate the tangled forest that surrounded Tong's library. His ability to cross great distances instantly was indispensable for navigating the complex reaches of the Spirit World, and for avoiding the hidden dangers. Though Korra had undertaken a long campaign to clear the Spirit World of dangers, there were still things lurking in the shadows. Hanjo's scouting kept them clear of many dangers.

Suda's zipline launchers were equally useful for traversing the forests. In his bandit days he'd had a lot of practice using the metal lines to traverse the trees. It was fairly easy for them to travel through the forest canopy and avoid the shadowed places amidst the roots of the trees. Sen looked down and could see a long, blood-red thing crawling below them. Sen vowed not to look down again. He did not like being up this high. It wasn't quite as bad as flying, but it was still not enjoyable.

Hanjo re-materialized from one of his scouting sessions. There was a very long branch up ahead, sturdy enough to support their weight. That would carry them some distance without having to use Suda's ziplines. After that, it wouldn't be too far before they reached the library.

Now that they could walk in peace, Sen stepped side by side with Hanjo. Hanjo found it difficult to meditate into the Spirit World, which meant his appearances were infrequent. Sen and Hanjo made sure to make the most of their brief time together.

"Do you think I made the wrong choice, bringing Whistler along?"

Choosing Whistler over Sang Lug had seemed like the right choice at the time, but after all this time, Sen was beginning to reconsider. Whistler was rude and generally unhelpful. She seemed committed to seeing Sen beat Sarin, but that didn't excuse her personality flaws.

"I do," Hanjo said. "Airbending was never going to be easy for you, Sen. It makes sense your teacher would challenge you just as much."

"Yeah, that makes sense, but is there such a thing as too much? I mean, if not for Sarin, I'd probably be fighting someone like Whistler. It doesn't even feel like we're on the same side."

"Because you're not," Hanjo observed. "You're all caught up in your arguments and differences. You've got to let go of those things, Sen."

"How can I do that, though? I mean, how do I look at her, think 'she's evil' and just be okay with that? I'm supposed to fight evil, aren't I?"

Hanjo shook his head.

"I can't say. It was never a problem for me. I mean, I started out as a thief. It's harder for me to judge people."

Sen remembered. If Hanjo hadn't tried to steal food from his fellow orphans, none of this would have ever happened. That simple act of theft had set off a massive chain of events. Now they were in the Spirit World. It was funny how things escalated.

"Yeah, but you changed. So did Suda. Neither of you are bad people any more. Whistler still is."

"Like I said, Sen, I don't know what to tell you. I'm not all-knowing."

"Maybe Tong will have something for me," Sen sighed.

"I don't think Wan Shi Tong has a self-help section."

"What would you know? You're not all-knowing."

"Don't even start that with me, Sen."

"Oh, so you can't take it as well as you can give it," Sen said smugly.

Hanjo briefly vanished in protest, but he quickly reappeared and continued conversation with Sen. Sen walked side by side with his oldest friend along the rough bark of the massive trees. Sen looked over at Hanjo now and then, and after a few such glances, he noticed something.

"Hey, hold still," Sen said suddenly. Hanjo came to a sudden halt. Sen tried to look Hanjo in the eyes, and found that he had to tilt his head slightly downward.

"I'm taller than you," Sen boasted, before moving forward again. Sen's ragged facial hair wasn't the only thing that was growing. He and Hanjo had been nearly identical once, but now they were growing apart, in a completely literal sense.

"You stopped just for that?"

"Yes," Sen said. "Being taller than people is a very nice feeling."

"Welcome to my world," Suda shouted over his shoulder. Whistler glanced at Ada and chuckled to herself. No more was said of the issue of height, as the group rounded a corner in the forest canopy and found themselves facing the Great Library.

It was a spectacular thing to behold. Massive white stone pillars and domed ceilings suspended from the canopy by vines swaying slightly in the breeze. The polished stone façade glittered like a jewel in the few sunrays that pierced the forest ceiling. Thousands of years weathering extreme conditions had done little to diminish the glory of Wan Shi Tong's library.

Suda stretched a zipline between the tree branch and a window into the library, and they hastily crossed the expanse. Though the library's exterior was inverted, the interior was still oriented towards the ground, so they could all stand upright. Sen took the lead as they ascended the inverted tower towards the main library. Even here there were scattered tomes of unknown contents, in the process of being catalogued by the Knowledge Keepers. The Fox-spirits paid little mind to the uninvited guests.

Sen had not even seen pictures of this place, but a force in the back of his head guided him towards certain doors and hallways. Eventually he found himself dead center in the middle of the library, standing in the middle of a giant cross-shaped walkway.

On cue, the great owl himself descended from unseen shadows amidst the bookshelves. Nothing he had heard of Wan Shi Tong quite prepared Sen to come face to face with the knowledge spirit. He was even larger than Gun, and though he wore an owls form, there were subtle shifts in his body betraying the fact that he was far more than a simple owl.

"And you'd be the Avatar, I presume. I've been expecting you."

Tong folded his wings by his side. He didn't seem threatening, at least not actively. His size and presence were naturally intimidating, but he didn't seem to bear Sen any ill will.

"With good intentions, I hope," Sen said. The Avatar and Wan Shi Tong had shaky history. He did not fully trust Tong, no matter what deal Korra had made.

"Oh, I will admit, when I first heard of Sarin's plans, I did contemplate siding with him," Tong admitted. He began to strut across the walkways on birdlike legs. He casually examined Sen's travelling companions as he walked.

"I do so hate the way humans are always fighting one another," Tong continued. "Putting an end to it permanently is a tempting offer for anyone, surely you agree?"

He seemed to linger on Ada as he spoke about conflict. Ada faltered under the piercing gaze of the owl's eyes.

"But you decided not to," Sen said.

"Yes, I did," Wan Shi Tong replied. "Despite the potential benefits, killing Raava is not an option. It does not do to tamper with fundamental spirits of the universe. That said, Avatar, our deal stands."

Tong took a step back to address the entire group at once.

"As your predecessor Korra laid out, there are three rules. The first rule, as always, is that you have to give before you can take. The second, my private collection is off limits to any but the Avatar and my invited guests. The third is my favorite."

Though Wan Shi Tong had a beak rather than a human mouth, he still found a way to smile sadistically.

"One of the terms of my deal with Korra was that she would retrieve for me a significant population of Giant Piranha-Leeches from the Death-Swamp of Infinite Despair."

Suda had never heard a string of words that he liked less.

"Now, you there, Suda," Wan Shi Tong said, beckoning with one of his wings.

Suda took a reluctant step forward.

"You're six-foot-six, you weigh two-hundred sixty pounds. How long do you think it would take for the Piranha-Leeches to strip you to the bone?"

"Uhh," Suda said hesitantly. "…fifteen seconds?"

"Oh, very close," Tong said. He leaned in close to look Suda in the eyes. "Most people vastly overestimate. Thirteen seconds. Only seven for your little friend over there, five foot two at one-hundred seventy pounds."

Ada looked at her feet. The fact that Tong knew her exact measurements was as unsettling as the thought of being eaten by Giant Piranha-Leeches. Tong stood up straight.

"I say this because the third rule is the leeches. You damage anything irreplaceable, and you get the leeches. You try to steal anything, and you get the leeches. You try to make copies without my permission-"

"And we get the leeches," Hanjo finished.

"See, you're learning something already. Isn't the library wonderful," Tong said with no small sense of sadism.

"Now, since I'm sure we all understand the rules, it's time for you to present your gifts."

"Uhh, one second, Master Tong. We should discuss this first."

"I understand. What to keep, what to give away. I'll go prepare the documents on Energybending while you're at it."

Tong vanished into the depths of the library, and the Avatar convened with his allies.

"Ada, I think I'd like you to come along, at the very least."

Any amount of information would be useful, but when it came to using that knowledge, Sen trusted Ada the most. She was the only one of them who had ever expected to be in this situation; she would know what to look for and how to use it, probably much better than Sen himself.

"I was planning on it anyway," Ada said. "There's probably a few documents on swordplay I'd like to take a look at, while we're here."

"You have something to offer?"

"Maybe," Ada said. The only information she had to offer was a bit risky. Hopefully Tong could keep it in his private collection. Sen had his own ideas on what to offer.

"I'm going to take a look too," Whistler added. Sen was surprised to hear that. "Figure I can find some airbending material. Give me and Sen something to work with."

Whistler's plan was to offer up her staff design. It was a custom build, after all. It was lighter and took up less space than the standard airbender glider. Wasn't quite as good at hitting things, but it did its job. Hopefully Tong would accept it.

"Hanjo, you got anything you want to find?"

"Well, I can't take anything off the shelves," Hanjo said. He waved his hands through the railing to remind everyone he was essentially a ghost. "So I think I'll sit this one out."

"Suda?"

"Eh, if I can think of something to give away," Suda said. "I'm not exactly a learned individual."

"You could always tell Tong how that Bolin mover ended. You know, the secret one."

Tong chose that moment to reappear. He waited patiently while the group concluded their discussion. Whistler was the first to present her offering, holding up her staff. She had built it herself, using a few unique tricks. Wan Shi Tong waved his great wing over the staff, and it briefly vanished. It soon reappeared, alongside a scroll detailing it's inner mechanisms. Whistler retrieved her staff and used the glider to proceed into the depths of the library, seeking out lost knowledge on airbending. Ada went up next.

"This is a bit, well, touchy," Ada said hesitantly. "Could you put this in your private collection?"

Wan Shi Tong's right to a private collection was one of the terms of his deal with Korra. While most of the knowledge in the library was meant to be open to whoever had knowledge to offer, Tong could keep information he deemed dangerous in a private collection. It was how he prevented warmongers like Admiral Zhao from finding critical information on their enemies.

"That depends on the subject," Tong said. "Present what you have."

Ada removed the object in question from her pouch. Sen and Hanjo recognized it immediately. It was the package that she'd been keeping secret since she'd joined them in Zaofu. Sen locked his eyes on it as she removed a small metal sphere and a scrap of aged paper. Tong took hold of the metal sphere and the scrap of paper.

"This has Varrick's signature," Tong observed. He had been under the impression he'd collected all of Varrick's various sketches and designs.

Ada nodded. It was authentic, to the best of Ada's knowledge. It had been kept very well-guarded for obvious reasons.

"It also says 'Very Dangerous, Do Not Build'."

Tong glared down at Ada.

"So you built it."

"I didn't build it, personally," Ada said defensively. "I'm just, you know, carrying it. For responsible reasons."

"I'm sure," Tong said. He swept his wings, and the scrap of paper disappeared entirely. Ada was left holding the metal ball.

"My assistants will deliver a copy of the instructions to you when you leave. I will be keeping the original. Enjoy the library. My section on swordplay is located in the east wing."

Ada nodded and proceeded into the library. Sen was up next. He had a few options to offer. He hoped he wouldn't have to resort to giving away anything important.

"In your case, Avatar, I will be waiving the usual entry fee," Wan Shi Tong said, surprising Sen quite a bit. "I once swore to Korra that I would never aid or abet the enemies of the Avatar, but I cannot help but believe that the knowledge in my library may have unintentionally aided the ancestors of Sarin in their studies of Energybending. As a show of good faith, the library is yours to browse."

Tong swept a massive wing towards the tome-filled depths of his library. He had made an enemy of the Avatar one too many times. He would not be making the same mistake again. He would be doing his best to stay on the right side of history this time.

"Call for me if you'd like to see the private collection," Tong advised. "I believe I have some documents that would interest you."

Sen asked where he could find information on Energybending, and was on his way, leaving Tong alone with Suda and Hanjo. Tong slowly turned his gaze on Sen's earthbending master.

"So, I overheard some talk of the unreleased mover…"

"Oh no," Suda said. "Bolin trusted me with that. You're getting nothing out of me."

"I could offer you the sum total of all knowledge, human and spirit," Tong said. "Is that not worth a single mover ending?"

Tong had little personal interest in any movers, but the fact that information existed which he did not possess ruffled his feathers. Rebirth of the Phoenix King represented a significant hole in the chronology of the Bolin movers. Wan Shi Tong did not appreciate having gaps in his knowledge.

"No," Suda said.

"Fine," Tong said. He folded his wings and sat stoically for a moment. Suda watched him. After a moment of tense silence, Tong's feathers ruffled visibly.

"What if I…guessed?"

"Oh, you'd never guess," Suda boasted. "Complete twist, no one would have seen it coming."

That certainly didn't stop Wan Shi Tong from trying.

Whistler ceased gliding in front of a large section of the library marked with the symbol of the airbenders, three spirals of wind all circling towards each other. There were scrolls here that predated even the airbender genocide. Whistler had little personal interest in the old airbender teachings. She was looking for something a little more current.

The shelves were arranged in alphabetical order. There were an astounding number at the very beginning dealing with Aang. As she proceeded deeper in, Whistler found scrolls on Monk Gyatso, Guru Laghima, and Tenzin. She only found what she was looking for at the very last letter of the alphabet.

Zaheer.

Whistler looked from side to side before she took the few scrolls off of the shelves. Sen would never speak to her again if he saw her reading these. She had no interest in Zaheer's extremist ideology, but Sen wouldn't understand that.

Whistler unrolled the first scroll and examined it. It had been authored by Tenzin, along with several individuals who had battled Zaheer. It illustrated and analyzed the way the rogue airbender fought; how he moved, how he defended, how he retaliated. It had been meant so that others could prepare themselves to fight a potential rogue airbender. Whistler intended to learn from it. Whistler studied the movements carefully.

In nearly eighty years, only Whistler and Zaheer had ever rejected the Air Nation's philosophies. Sarin was supposedly an airbender as well, but Whistler had her suspicions that he was an artificially created bender, just like some of his minions. She wasn't concerned with him anyway. She was here to learn about Zaheer.

The late leader of the Red Lotus fought aggressively, spurning the reactive actions of a typical airbender. Whistler liked to do the same. She took care to memorize the stances and movements described in the scrolls. She had only ever had her airbending training from Master Jung, and the techniques she'd developed on her own. Being able to learn from something else would do well to expand her skillset. There was one technique in particular that she had a great interest in, but there were few witnesses to that trick, and the scroll said almost nothing about it.

Slightly disappointed, Whistler carefully replaced the scrolls and turned her attention to more mundane writings. Hopefully in the accounts of Tenzin or Monk Gyatso, Whistler could find something to help her teach Sen.

Ada had likewise looked to some disturbing sources in her search for personal improvement. She had already seen almost everything there was to see of Piandao or Sokka's swordsmanship. She had decided to study the works of a more contemporary swordsman: General Rahm. What she found was disturbing.

There was a photograph placed in a glass case, demonstrating the General in action. His head was turned away from the camera, obscuring his face, but there was much more to be seen in the picture than just Rahm's face. The photo had somehow been taken in the middle of a battle. Numerous enemy soldiers laid motionless by Rahm's feet, some of them clearly cut down by Rahm's sword. The way Rahm held his sword, and the way he stood, indicated that he was about to strike again. His stance was interesting, and perhaps a little familiar.

Ada located another scroll, which promised a more detailed analysis of Rahm's fighting. Ada pulled it open and was immediately overcome by an odd stench. She unrolled the scroll further, and saw it was stained red in broad splashes and scattered droplets. Ada replaced the scroll and moved over to a different archive. An interview with General Rahm during the height of his military career had been archived.

The interview began with a drab account of how little Rahm cared for interviews, stating he'd rather be in the fight than talking about it. He spoke very little about swordplay, as the interview's central purpose seemed to be about metalbending. The final question on the interview was addressing rumors that Rahm had been seen bending platinum and aluminum, typically thought to be unbendable.

"There are no unbendable metals," Rahm had answered. "Only weak benders."

The interview's transcript came to an abrupt halt at that point, and Ada replaced the document.

"Is everything to your liking," Tong said suddenly. He had lost interest in Suda's guessing game and decided to check on his guests. He'd snuck up behind Ada just to scare her. He liked to watch the mortals flinch.

"Uh, yes, everything is alright," Ada said. She pointed to the scroll she had seen earlier. "That scroll is-"

"It's covered in blood," Wan Shi Tong said flatly. "Regrettable, but Rahm and blood went together hand in hand."

Ada suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. Tong enjoyed that.

"Here. This may interest you."

Tong extended his wing like an inviting hand. A small leather-bound journal sat on the tip of his wings. Ada took it. Some cursory details were written on the front.

General Rahm had apparently kept a personal account of his military career. It was hardly a journal in the traditional sense. There were lists of numbers, sometimes in the single-digits but other times in the hundreds, occasionally with a name. Each entry was marked with a date and location. Ada didn't quite understand what the various numbers meant.

Ada reached the last entry. The date was close to the end of the Seventh Kingdom war. The number read one-hundred seventy six. The name written beneath was Gohrman.

Ada's blood turned cold. She flipped back to the beginning. The first date was not long after the date Rahm had been recruited into the military. The number was eight. Ada looked through the rest of the pages, scanning the numbers. Eighty two. Thirty five. Sixty seven. One-hundred and seventeen. Ninety seven. Two hundred and seventy eight, underlined, emphasizing a personal record.

It was a kill count.

Ada slammed the journal closed and gave it back to Wan Shi Tong. She was no longer interested in learning about Rahm. Part of her finally understood why Sorikami was so afraid of the General.

"Interesting fact about the good General. Speaking on a plainly numerical level, he's the deadliest human being in history. I counted."

Tong hated the conflicts that humanity was constantly engaging in. He would not miss an opportunity to rub their nose in it a bit.

"Oh sure, the warlords, like Sozin or Chin the Conqueror, they caused plenty of destruction indirectly, but they rarely got into the field and did it with their own two hands. Rahm's just exceptional that way, isn't he?"

Ada shook her head and excused herself. Tong nodded to himself, quite satisfied. He quietly strutted away from the shelves to seek out the new Avatar.

Wan Shi Tong first looked in the section on Energybending, and found it empty. Some of the scrolls had been displaced, but the Avatar was not here. Tong next went to the section on earthbending and firebending, and found nothing. He then looked to his extensive section on the past Avatars, and yet he still found nothing. The Avatar seemed to have vanished.

After a long and careful examination of all the places an Avatar might have gone, Wan Shi Tong finally found Sen in the last section of the library he would have expected; the Mathematics wing. Sen was sitting on the floor, examining a book on algebra with a look of intense frustration on his face. A few books on various other topics were sitting in a pile by his side.

"What are you doing?"

Sen looked up from his book. He had not noticed Tong's approach.

"Well, I went to the Energybending, and it, well, turned out I already knew it all."

The information that Ta Jide Shui had given him seemed to be reliable. Wan Shi Tong had very few documents on Energybending to begin with, so there had been almost no new information for Sen.

"Yes, but what are you doing here," Tong asked. These math books had not been moved in decades, sometimes centuries. Sen's hands were caked in dust he had displaced just removing them from the shelves.

"Reading," Sen said hesitantly. "A while ago my friend mentioned something about exponents, and I wanted to know more."

He held up one of the books in the pile in demonstration. Tong tilted his head.

"And then I saw some of these other things I didn't know about," He elaborated. "So I started to read them to. I don't get it at all, though. Why are there letters in these equations? I thought math was about numbers."

Sen held out the page he was looking at. A few simple algebra equations were written out as examples.

"It's not really letters," Wan Shi Tong explained. "They're just stand-ins for unknown numbers. Think of them as an empty space that you have to fill in."

The Avatar turned his attention back to the page for a moment. Gradually, the look of frustration faded from his face, replaced by the sudden bliss of comprehension.

"Oh, I get it now!"

Suddenly comprehending the nature of algebra, Sen began to flip through the pages of the book with surprising speed. He stopped to work out a few problems on each page, occasionally pausing when one caused him difficulty, but always moving forward to another idea, another new mathematical concept. Wan Shi Tong was, despite his better judgment, impressed.

"An Avatar who actually wants to learn something," He said, surprised that such a thing existed. "Usually you're just looking for a way to win a fight. I'll have to remember this day."

The words seemed to shake something in Sen. The Avatar's eyes drifted from the math book and took on a somewhat frightened look.

"I hate to disappoint you, Master Tong, but there is something I need to know," Sen said sadly. Tong shook his head. He couldn't say this was unexpected.

"Have you ever heard of a spirit called Hssk?"

"Hssk, mm," Tong said. "I've never heard the name before."

That was greatly concerning to him. The great owl had spent thousands of years exploring and cataloguing every possible facet of existence. The fact that something had slipped past him was inexcusable.

"Um, I guess, maybe that's not really its name. It's just a sequence of letters I heard in my head…When I said them out loud, it scared the spirit off."

Tong's eyes narrowed, and his feathers stood on end.

"The spirit affected your mind?"

"Yes, and all of my friends too, but it's different for them. They can't remember it at all, it's like it eats their thoughts. I think it's been doing the same all over the world."

Wan Shi Tong's form shifted briefly, as the feathery body of the owl struggled to contain a sudden transformation in energy. The great owl seemed deeply disturbed.

"Follow me."

Wan Shi Tong wasted no time turning around and storming down the halls of the Library. Sen struggled to keep up the pace as Tong charged through the bookshelves. Eventually Tong's hectic pace led them to a massive iron door, broken into three segments. At a wave of Tong's mighty wings, the iron doors parted, unlocking an intricate mechanism and separating the three iron slabs. Once inside, Tong quickly shut the doors behind them.

"Now, where did I keep it?"

Tong bid Sen to stand still while he searched. The great owl lunged through the shelves of his private collection, casting aside less-important scrolls and gently displacing the rare ones as he searched for his target. He let out a triumphant hoot as he located a painting locked in an ancient frame. He brought the painting to Sen.

The image on the canvas was painted with ancient, crude techniques, and was weathered and faded by age, but the image was still very clear. It was a crawling shadow, with deep black scales, a long, narrow tail, and a mouth that opened four ways. It was Hssk.

"That's it," Sen declared.

Wan Shi Tong's feathers stood on end as he swept his mighty wings. All across the library, Knowledge Keepers began to scramble to various stations, taking care to lock down everything possible. Ada and Whistler were forcibly guided towards the libraries exit, rather confused.

"You should have mentioned this first," Tong chastised.

"I had no idea what it was," Sen argued. "I still don't! What is it?"

"It's something you're going to kill."

Wan Shi Tong replaced the ancient painting and retrieved an equally ancient scroll from a shelf. He placed the ancient text in front of Sen.

"This scroll contains all the information you need. I must see to the security of my library. This Hssk beast would like nothing more than to see this entire place destroyed."

Tong spread his wings and soared away, leaving Sen with the scroll. Sen sat down at a nearby table and examined the contents.

"Mind-Eater: A dark spirit of unknown name and origin. Presumed to be the Spirit of Ignorance. Possesses the ability to extract memories and ideas from the minds of its victims, even at a great distance. Roughly two-thousand years after the emergence of the Avatar, Wan Shi Tong battled this spirit alongside Avatar Sanshi, and it was dispersed."

Sen was glad to hear that it could at least be killed. He continued reading.

"It is said that there are no truly evil spirits, but the Mind-Eater was by all appearances an exception to this rule. Perhaps it is not actively malicious, and is only following some mysterious purpose, but that purpose seems to be actively detrimental to humans and spirits alike. If left unchecked, the Hssk would have locked the world in a state of permanent ignorance, never advancing, never learning. The world is better for its removal."

That seemed to be the end of the scroll's formal portion. Tong seemed to have made several more personal notes in the margins of the document.

"Not dead, only dispersed," The first read. That much was obvious. According to Ta Jide Shui, only Energybending could permanently destroy a spirit. Hssk had returned during Harmonic Convergence, as all spirits would. Sen shifted his attention to the next note.

"Sanshi needed my assistance to remember the creature. Historically noteworthy?"

Apparently Wan Shi Tong had been debating with himself what facts to include in the historical narrative. Sen was slightly disturbed. He had briefly been confident due to Sanshi's victory, but if he'd needed spiritual assistance, it was a bit different. Then again, Sen could seem to remember Hssk without any kind of help. He wondered why that was.

There were a few other notes, mostly speculative, containing no real information. Tong was mostly concerned with the creatures name, apparently. All spirits had names, and they were apparently of great value to spirits. Those notes were all irrelevant now, though, because Sen had already deduced the Mind-Eater's name.

Sen replaced the scroll and returned to the main library. His allies had all been shepherded into the central walkway of the library, looking rather confused. Wan Shi Tong quickly arrived to explain the situation.

"The Avatar has revealed a personal threat to my library," Tong elaborated. "For the safety of myself and my library, I must declare a complete lockdown. I ask that you leave as quickly as possible."

The others asked for an explanation, but Wan Shi Tong did not waste the time. Any information he gave them about Hssk would be forgotten immediately anyway. He talked with Sen exclusively.

"I hope the scroll was informative?"

"Not hardly," Sen grunted.

"Unfortunately, it is all I have to offer," Tong apologized. "From here, it is up to you. You possess an insight into the beast that even I cannot match."

"But why? How? Why can I remember it but my friends can't, even Korra can't?"

"Might be because you wear glasses. Maybe you're just smarter than Korra was. It doesn't matter," Tong declared. "How you can see is irrelevant, only that you can see matters. This is part of your destiny, Avatar. You must put an end to this age of ignorance. You must destroy the Hssk forever."

Tong was speaking out of a very personal hatred here, but it was no less true. For the good of man and spirit alike, the Hssk had to be removed –permanently, this time.

"But I don't know how," Sen protested. "I can barely even airbend, how am I supposed to fight it if it attacks now? What do I do?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Tong said. "In other circumstances, I would respect that. But this is not a case where anyone else can give you the answers. You must create the answers yourself."

Sen took a deep breath. He'd panicked for a moment, but he knew what Tong was saying was true. He didn't know how it would be done, but he knew it could be done. He would have to face the Hssk, and he would have to win. There was no way around it.

"Travelling that direction will take you back to the road north," Tong advised, gesturing with his wing to indicate the direction. "There will be a canyon in your way. Cross it or walk around, that is your choice. Good luck."

Wan Shi Tong vanished amidst his shelves, continuing his lockdown of the library. Sen and his allies left, and the library was sealed behind them.


	45. Book 3 Ch11: Heart of Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt to cross a canyon nearly ends in disaster, and Ada and Whistler are left stranded as Sen and Suda are taken hostage by mysterious enemies -a rogue faction residing in the Spirit World, who are themselves being hunted by one of the most terrible powers in existence.

The canyon presented both an obstacle and a curiosity. In many ways it was like any other chasm, a massive crack in the earth. It was unique, though, in that it seemed to be made of solid metal. The landscape was a strange grey-black color, and though the metallic terrain was rough and unrefined, it still shone with a metallic glimmer.

"I've heard of this," Ada said. "Spirit Metal."

Many mundane things in the Spirit World had unique qualities compared to their counterparts in the physical world. Spirit Water was renowned for its healing properties, and Spirit Metal had a similar quality, though it was much less renowned for it.

The black metal of the Spirit World was nearly indestructible. While this should have made it the most valuable material on earth, it was, in essence, absolutely useless. Since it was impossible to mine, refine, or shape, Spirit Metal existed only in its raw form. Nobody had any use for massive lumps of indestructible metal.

"Is there anything in the spirit world that doesn't have special magic garbage," Suda wondered out loud. "Spirit plants, spirit water, spirit metal."

He scooped up a handful of dirt and displayed it to Ada.

"Should I bring this back with us? Does it have special magic powers too?"

"Actually, Suda, dirt from-"

Suda slammed the handful of dirt back on to the ground.

"I don't even want to hear it. Getting back to the metal stuff. Can I metalbend it?" Suda asked. "I mean, it hasn't been refined at all. It should be really easy to metalbend with all those impurities."

"I don't think so. There's a quarry near the northern portal; they've had all kinds of metalbending masters drop by, but nobody has ever done it."

"Well, maybe I'm the one," Suda said confidently.

"I say give it a shot," Whistler said. "You can make us a bridge to cross this canyon, then bring some along, and then we spend the rest of the trip clobbering people with indestructible junk."

Ada and Sen agreed. It was at least worth a shot. Suda stepped up to the rim of the canyon confidently. Planting his feet firmly and outstretching his hands, Suda focused on the metal below. As expected, he could feel numerous impurities in the metal below. Despite that, he could do little to shape the metal. It was simply too rigid and inflexible. Suda pushed himself to his limits, but accomplished seemingly nothing. Ada thought she saw a subtle vibration in the metal, but that might have been her eyes tricking her.

After a few minutes of desperate attempts, Suda finally gave up. He had a headache from trying to focus too hard. It was clear that he was not the metalbender for the job.

"Hey, no shame in it," Sen assured him. "The impossible is impossible."

"It shouldn't be impossible," Suda grunted. "I can feel it, I could do it. I'm just not good enough."

Suda sighed. It would take more than he had to move the intractable Spirit Metal. Ada reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. Suda shook off his failure and they proceeded along the canyon side.

"So, we're walking all the way around, then?"

"Yeah," Sen said. "I don't want to take any unnecessary risks."

The canyon was not particularly wide, but it was rather deep. Any fall into that abyss would end very poorly. Whistler agreed. If there was an absolute disaster, she could probably glide across the canyon on her own, but she wouldn't be able to take anyone with her. Riding with a passenger would only end in an unpleasant fall.

"Hey, what about Gun," Suda asked. "He can't tunnel through this stuff, can he?"

"He'll be fine, I talked to him about it earlier," Sen assured him. "We're walking around anyway. He says he can tunnel underneath the canyon if he has to."

"Oh. So, when he talks to you-"

"It's hard to explain," Sen said. "When I figure out how to describe it, I'll tell you."

Suda nodded, satisfied with that explanation. Gun was still something of an enigma to everyone but Sen.

Ada kept her eyes on the depths of the canyon. The metallic walls of the chasm were usually steep and deadly, but there did seem to be some rough, sloped patches. With luck, they might be able to find a place to descend one side and climb the other, saving them a lot of travel time.

A shockwave travelled through the metal, barely perceptible to anyone but Sen. He came to a quick halt. His allies stopped in turn. A few more reverberations travelled through the metal.

"What's going on?"

"Something's shaking the ground," Sen said. It seemed strange. If this Spirit Metal was really so durable, what could possibly be heavy enough to shake it?

Sen looked to the far side of the canyon. There was something moving in the distance. Something like a man, but too big, too shadowed. Sen tried to warn his friends, but he never got the chance.

The sound of tearing metal deafened them all as the chunk of Spirit Metal was violently ripped from its home and began a slow drift through the air. Sen lost his footing as the metal stone shifted. After a brief tumble, he hastily grabbed on to a ledge in the metal and held on for dear life.

"What's happening," Suda shouted.

"Just hold on," Sen screamed back. Now was not the time to be asking questions. The metal boulder was rising higher and higher into the air, dragging them all along with it.

Suda hastily unwound one of his ziplines and wrapped it around an outcropping of Spirit Metal, securing himself tightly. The floating chunk of metal lurched beneath his feet, sending him off balance temporarily. The metal zipline kept him from falling off, but it distracted him. Ada and Whistler had yet to secure themselves.

As the stone shifted, Whistler and Ada were thrown to the side. They both began to roll down the side of the metal slope. Whistler quickly took hold of her staff; it slid slightly, but it ended up catching a ledge in the rock and holding her in place. There was no such catch for Ada, and she continued sliding down the side of the flying stone. Suda desperately sent a line flying towards the sound of Ada's screams. Ada clutched at it, but the thin metal line slipped through her fingers. She soon ran out of line to grab at, and soon after, out of metal beneath her.

Ada had always heard that there was a second of weightlessness before you started to fall. That turned out to be false. She could hear the screaming of her companions fade slightly as they drifted away, still clinging to the stone, and she plummeted into the depths of the black canyon.

The plummet to the depths curiously failed to make Ada's life race before her eyes. It would have been nice to have something to focus on. She wasn't sure what she should be thinking about. Canto, or her parents, or Suda and Sen, or the mission she would never get to complete. They all seemed to be the kind of thing you were supposed to think of in this kind of situation. The morose idea that she would probably hit the ground before she made up her mind brought Ada no comfort.

Something hit Ada's back like a hammer, and she let out a brief gasp of surprise. For a moment she had believed it to be the ground, and thought everything was over, but she was obviously still falling. It was at a different angle now, though. A more sloping descent, rather than a sheer fall.

She hit the ground soon enough, though. Thanks to whatever had hit her in the first place, she hit the ground at an angle, and rolled instead of going splat. It was hardly a pleasant landing; Ada hurt herself in more ways than she could count, but the pain at least meant she was alive.

Ada eventually rolled to a halt. She couldn't keep track of all the places she hurt. Letting out a single, long groan of pain, Ada collected herself. It was agonizing to move, but she had to. Just because she was safe didn't mean anyone else was.

"You're welcome," a sarcastic voice grumbled. Ada sighed.

"Thank you, Whistler," Ada said, and she had rarely been more earnest.

Whistler probably hadn't earned that gratitude. She had weighed the trouble caused by saving ada versus the trouble caused by letting her fall, and decided that she didn't want to deal with Suda and Sen moping for the next few months. That, and Ada was perhaps the person Whistler disliked the least of this merry band of misfits.

"Suda and Sen are still on the rock?"

"They landed while we were falling," Whistler said. "I heard them crash."

Ada managed to stand up. Her legs seemed to be doing all right. Her arms had absorbed most of the impact. Nothing felt broken, though. Whistler was just fine, since she'd quite deliberately landed on top of Ada.

"We should catch up to them," Ada suggested.

"You sure you don't want to take a minute to breath," Whistler suggested. "Just to celebrate the fact that you still can?"

"I'll rest when I'm dead," Ada said. "Thanks to you, that can wait a while. Let's get moving."

***

Ada and Whistler's journey out of the canyon had not been easy, and in fact it had barely even been possible, but somehow they had managed it. Locating the landing sight of the wayward Spirit Metal was much easier, given the suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

"Well, I suppose this explains why all those people have gone missing in the Spirit World," Whistler observed dryly.

The mysteriously flying chunk of black iron had landed in the middle of a small circle of huts. They were clearly of human manufacture, made obvious by their design, and the fact that human skeletons were scattered about them. Ada examined one of the bleached bones.

Something had cleaved this skeleton into two pieces. Its ribs were split diagonally, and the ends were crushed. Whatever had slain this person had done so with a hammering blow, as much crushing as cutting. No spirit could make a wound like this.

An unfamiliar fear found its way into Ada's heart for a moment, but she was quickly distracted by Whistler.

"Hey, funsize, come here," Whistler shouted. She was pointing at the ground. There were a set of tracks from the wheels of a cart. Just behind, human footprints, and long, furrowed trails where something or someone had been dragged along.

"Humans?"

"Humans with vehicles," Whistler observed. "And it looks like they've got the guys."

"At least they've left a trail," Ada sighed, trying to look at the bright side. They were in a massive mess. She had to take whatever small favors she could get. "We can hunt them down."

"Hopefully the Avatar's buddy meditates himself here soon," Whistler said. "We could use a ghost right about now."

The two set out, following the trail of footprints, unaware that they were being followed in turn. They were not the only ones on the hunt.

***

Whistler got her wish. Once Hanjo was up to speed on the situation, he was a great help in leading the girls to Sen and Suda's location. The two men were being held in yet another human settlement, though this one was populated by living individuals rather than corpses. Whistler and Ada kept their distance while Hanjo took some more direct scouting.

Hanjo shifted his ethereal form across the distance and through several barriers, finding himself at Sen's side nearly instantly. Sen was still slightly incoherent, as he was recovering from unconsciousness, but Suda was eager to talk.

"Hanjo! Did you see Ada? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, Whistler caught her," Hanjo assured him. Suda sighed deeply in relief. Hanjo continued on.

"How'd you guys get locked up?"

"Don't know, we were unconscious," Suda said. "By the time we came too, we were all locked up."

Suda lightly tapped the walls around them. The walls were made of thick wood, and there was something heavy keeping them from opening the door. This wasn't a dedicated prison: their captors had simply propped a heavy object against the door to the room to keep them in place. Sen might have been able to burn through the walls with firebending, but he was still having trouble thinking straight. He had landed on his head, after all. What limited thought he was capable of was all focused on the ground.

"Are the girls alright?"

"They could be better," Hanjo sighed. "Bruised, not broken. Probably still good enough to rescue you guys, though."

Sen was trying to focus on their escape, but something else was occupying his attention. Something was…thumping. The ground beneath them was composed of Spirit Metal, just like at the canyon, but even through the indestructible metal Sen could feel travelling shockwaves. Something heavy was pounding down with a steady beat. Whatever had been shaking the ground at the canyon was still nearby –and it was getting closer.

"I'm sure we can manage something," Suda said. He was glad to finally have some confirmation that Ada was safe. The last he'd seen of her, she had been plummeting into an abyss. "Take a look around and then let them know where we are."

"Then go west. I mean, right, go right from where we are right now," Sen said.

"Why," Hanjo asked.

"There's something out there," Sen said quietly. He could make a little more sense of it now. The black figure from the canyon, whatever it was, it had to be massive. Some kind of machine, maybe. Something heavy and metallic.

Hanjo nodded and drifted away slowly. It was hard to get any information from this small village. The buildings were austere, lacking any kind of identifying banners or flags. The people here seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform, but it wasn't one Hanjo recognized.

Hanjo returned to the makeshift prison, and hovered above the guards. Though they weren't talking to Sen or Suda, they did talk to each other. One of the guards changed shift, and the older one had to explain the situation to the new arrival.

"These are the intruders we found out at the old quarry," the one on the left explained.

"Really? Think they're responsible for the massacres?"

"Me? Nah. All the guys at the quarry died months ago, from the looks of it, and these guys had just barely arrived. But I'm willing to bet somebody in charge will want to blame them for everything."

"Sure is easier than admitting we're getting wiped out by something we know nothing about," the newer guard admitted. "Some warrior's paradise this is."

They stopped talking. Hanjo drifted around the settlement for a little while longer, trying to gather information, but nobody said anything useful. There weren't any signs or flags around with symbols that Hanjo could identify, either. This looked like a very shoddy, temporary settlement. Hanjo returned to the girls and told them the situation.

"So, you have no clues at all?"

"They're wearing some kind of uniform, so they're all organized, but it isn't any one that I recognize."

"Do you think they might be Howler's goons?"

"No, if they were with the Energybender we'd recognize their uniforms," Ada said. "But I can't think of anyone else who'd be staking out the Spirit World. This complicates things."

"I don't see any complications," Whistler said. "Seems to me the plan is we run in, I smack some guys, you smack some guys, we get the guys out of chains."

"No ones in chains," Hanjo noted.

"Irrelevant," Whistler declared. "They're locked up, and I'm all about freedom."

"I'm glad you actually have some kind of nobility, Whistler, but we do need to make a plan."

Whistler agreed. Ada was glad she was being reasonable about this. It was comforting to know that cooperation was possible after all. Whistler had been rather stubborn in the past.

"I actually have something I'm going to investigate," Hanjo said. "Sen noticed something. I'm going to go check it out."

Ada observed the mysterious base while Hanjo vanished, seeking the source of the rhythmic pounding Sen had noticed. To Ada, it seemed like the rescue might be easier than it had first appeared. The outpost seemed to be lightly manned, and those that were present didn't seem to be combatants.

Hanjo found his way to the source of Sen's disturbance. Here at the source, the footfalls of the titan visibly shook the ground. Hanjo had at first assumed that the behemoth in front of him was some kind of mechanical creation, like a mech-suit, but that was impossible. Spirit Metal was as heavy as it was hard to bend. There was no one alive who could wear a suit of armor made completely of the durable black ore. Hanjo travelled back to Ada and told her the situation. Whistler was naturally curious.

"Spirit Metal? You sure? Even Suda couldn't bend that stuff."

"I know what I saw," Hanjo replied. The black metal still surrounded them. The metal behemoth he had seen had clearly been wearing an armored suit of dark Spirit Metal.

"It has to be some kind of spirit," Ada suggested. "Maybe the guardian of the canyon."

Ada said that, but there was a vague familiarity to Hanjo's description, as if she already knew what it was. The exact identity of the mysterious black titan escaped her, but there was a familiar fear in the back of her head.

"It was carrying something, too. It was like a slab of metal, bigger than most people, but long and flat. I don't know what it was."

"What, like a big sword?"

Ada rubbed her hands together. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

"Whatever it is, we should just try to stay ahead of it," Ada suggested. In the best case scenario, they'd avoid the black behemoth entirely.

"Right! So, smacking time?"

"Smacking time," Ada repeated, and she hated herself a little bit for saying that.

Whistler ran out of cover, hollering like a madman as she charged down their mysterious adversaries. Initially caught off guard by her madcap display, the guards of the mysterious settlement rallied their defenses soon enough, to little effect. Whatever they were expecting, an airbender was not it. A single focused hurricane scattered their ranks entirely.

Whistler and Ada struck the scattered soldiers with equal ferocity. The two had their disagreements on a personal level, but there was certainly no conflict between them when it came to fighting. They both shared a similar love of the fight, and they approached battle with the same sense of violent enjoyment.

Whistler simply enjoyed hurting people. Ada was slightly more artistic. She enjoyed the careful dance of combat, the back and forth of defense and retaliation, the rhythmic clashes of conflict. It had been a long time since she'd been in a decent battle. These soldiers were just skilled enough to be an interesting challenge, but no talented as to actually cause her difficulty. Against her better judgment, Ada cracked a smile. A fight like this made her feel alive.

Whistle was having a less enjoyable time. The initial surprise of airbending had worn off, and the enemies were now mounting a more effective defense. They had formed a defensive wall of earthbenders, and their firebenders were now launching a constant barrage at her. Whistler was staying ahead of all their attacks, but it was nearly impossible for her to retaliate.

Hanjo appeared slightly behind the troopers, and called for their attentions. They turned all their attention to him, giving Whistler an opportunity to attack, one she didn't waste. She jumped into the middle of their formation and sent a focused rush of air downwards, and then outwards, launching all her foes into the sky in a single cyclonic burst. As it began to rain soldiers, Whistler nodded gratefully to Hanjo.

"Thanks for the distraction."

"Can't do much else," Hanjo sighed, holding up his ethereal hands. Sometimes he felt useless without his bending.

Whistler ignored Hanjo's plight and headed to Ada's side to reinforce the swordswoman. With the two of them back to back, they were nigh-unstoppable. Their acrobatic motions allowed them to evade every attack, and their vicious attacks decimated their opponents. Hanjo was left as a spectator to their carnage.

"That thing's getting closer now," Hanjo said to Ada. When she listened closely, she could hear the pounding footsteps of the black titan as it drew closer. It was drowned out, soon enough, by the sounds of approaching soldiers. Their adversaries were being reinforced.

"We've got time," Ada said. She needed this adrenaline right now. Her close call in the canyon had made her blood run cold, but this fight was enough to get her heart pumping. Ada readied her swords for the second wave of soldiers.

The uniformed men saw their targets and froze in place briefly. Someone who appeared to be in charge rallied them, and they took up a tight, practiced formation, trying to close off any avenues of retreat. Distracted as they were by Ada and Whistler's intrusion, they paid no mind to the pounding footsteps that drew ever nearer. The titan was approaching even faster now.

"Stop right there," The lead soldier declared.

"Get slagged," Whistler shouted back.

"I order you to stop, in the name of the Seventh Kingdom."

Ada's eyes opened wide. The Seventh Kingdom. For a moment, her mind boiled with questions. How were they still alive? What were they doing here? Her thoughts were undercut by the drumbeat of the titan's footsteps in the distance.

An icy grip of fear closed around Ada's heart, freezing her in place. In that moment of horrified paralysis, an earthbender's boulder struck her in the chest. She was knocked backwards, falling to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, her face still locked in an expression of blind panic.

Ada turned her back on the Seventh Kingdom, and dashed madly towards the building where Sen and Suda were being held. Whistler followed the swordswoman and found her eyes panicked, her face contorted into a horrified expression. The moment Ada reached the impromptu prison cell, she threw her body against the makeshift barricade, trying to push it away from the door.

"Hey, shortstuff, what's going on?"

The footsteps had gotten too loud and too rapid to be ignored now. The soldiers of the Seventh Kingdom had somewhat lost interest in their intruders, and were hesitating. Whatever was coming, it was coming much faster now.

"We need to get out of here," Ada said, and her voice was filled with more fear than Whistler had ever heard.

"What? We can take these guys, pintsize, Seventh Whatever or not," Whistler assured her.

"It's not them," Ada shouted. She needed to raise her voice now, because the drumbeat in the distance had gotten too close, too loud. "It's him!"

Ada leaned heavily on the weighted pallet that was blocking the door. On the other side, Suda and Sen struggled to escape. They could feel Ada's panic, and they were just as eager as she was to escape the approach of the black giant.

"Who is he," Whistler asked.

The black metal, unbendable by any other. A massive sword in his hand. And now the Seventh Kingdom ready to die before his blade. Ada cursed herself for not seeing it before. There was only one person it could be.

"Rahm."

His name was spoken, and like a curse, he fell upon his prey. Rahm was merciless. He was not here to defeat: he was here to annihilate. The Spirit Metal of his armor rendered blows from fire and water as effective as gusts of wind against a mountain, and the Spirit Metal of his blade meant that armor, buildings, and men fell before him like reeds in a hurricane. His massive weapon was as much a hammer as a sword, crushing his opponents as it cut through them. Entire buildings shattered in a single sweep of his blade.

Some of the civilians in the Seventh Kingdom outpost tried to run. Rahm didn't care. He was fast as he was strong, and no prey escaped him. Rahm was thorough in his work. No one made it further than the edge of the outpost. The ground here was metal, and he was lord of all metal. The Spirit Metal of the ground rose up in jagged black spikes, impaling any who tried to run. Those who stayed to fight were met with annihilation at the edge of Rahm's titan blade.

Whistler joined Ada in pushing against the barricade against Suda and Sen's cell, and with their combined strength the barricade fell away. Ada pulled on the door and found it locked. Whistler leaned in to examine the door's lock.

"Come on, come on!"

"It's locked, give me time!"

Ada had been trying to keep an eye on the situation outside, but she no longer wished to watch Rahm. The things he did were swift, but they were horrific. He never struck more than once, but each strike was brutal and merciless. Ada would not be able to forget some of the things she had seen. Suda and Sen worked to free themselves from the other side. Suda struggled with the lock.

"You were a thief, why don't you know how to do this?"

"This is not the time," Suda shouted back. This was stressful enough without being reminded of his dark past.

Ada shoved Whistler aside and drew her swords. She began to hack at the doors handle with heavy blows, trying to break the door open. They had no time to waste on intricacy. Rahm was running out of victims, and they were running out of time.

Ada's sword finally chipped away the last shard of the door, and it opened wide, allowing Sen and Suda an avenue of escape. For a brief moment, the Avatar felt hope. Then, through the ground, he felt the last terrified heartbeat of the Seventh Kingdom come to a halt. Rahm's work was done.

"Too late," Sen whispered.

The wooden wall of the prison exploded into a cloud of splinters. A massive hand, armored in a black gauntlet, took hold of what was left of the wall and tore it from its foundation, causing the entire structure to collapse. Rahm had dismantled and entire buildingwith a single sweep of his arm. Suda was buried in the collapse of the wooden structure as Rahm lunged forward.

The black Spirit Metal encased Rahm in an indestructible shell, shielding his face behind a massive helmet. The armor was built in the plated style worn by ancient soldiers, modified so that the thick metal covered the entire body in a solid shell. On anyone else, such an impenetrable cover might have been impossible, but Rahm's metalbending was powerful enough to make the hardened armor as flexible as a second skin.

Rahm grabbed hold of Whistler's throat with his clawed gauntlet and held her in the air. He was massive, large enough to crush Whistler's skull with one hand if he so desired, but he did not. Instead he pressed her against the wall, held her still, and raised his blade.

It was a massive sword for a massive warrior. The blade alone was as tall and as wide as Sen's entire body, with a single cutting edge and a heavy counterweight to add crushing force to every blow. The behemoth sword rested idly in the air before Whistler's head. She struggled against the titanic grip that held her in place, but never once did she beg for mercy.

Rahm's blade did not move. Slowly, carefully, the claws of his gauntlet loosened slightly, allowing Whistler to breathe again, though he did not drop her yet.

"You're the ones I used as bait," Rahm said. His voice was harsh and cutting, like broken glass in the ears.

Rahm had seen these children wandering the wastes and used them to bait a trap. For the past several years, Rahm had been wiping out their settlements in the Spirit World, and then following the trail to the next outpost. Recently, though, they had gotten better at hiding, and covering their tracks. Rahm had given them a little extra incentive to show their faces by sending the strangers in ahead.

"You fight the Seventh Kingdom," Rahm bellowed. "Why?"

"It was an accident," Sen mumbled. "We're just travelers, we never meant to find any of this."

Rahm's armored head shifted. He seemed somehow disappointed.

"I had hoped that I would not be alone in hunting down the enemy," He said. "I suppose I have been betrayed after all."

Rahm released Whistler's throat, and she fell to the ground gasping for breath. Rahm placed his titanic blade upon his back and stood upright. The dark face of his armored mask turned to Sen.

"You are no enemies of mine," Rahm thundered. "You are free to go."

Rahm flexed, and the metal plates of his gauntlets shifted slightly. Sen saw bladed claws on the end of every fingertip. Rahm's entire body was a blade. He was as steel now, from his heart to his skin.

"Unless you wish to stop me," Rahm said, practically begging for an excuse to kill again.

Sen looked at his friends. Whistler still barely breathing, Ada paralyzed by fear, Suda still buried under debris. There was nothing Sen could do now. Nothing but walk away.

"No."

The General departed without another word, setting out for parts unknown, continuing his eternal hunt for the Seventh Kingdom. Sen and his friends remained frozen for a while after Rahm's departure. Ada was the first to move. She reached over to Suda and began to clear the wooden debris that pinned him to the ground. He had a few splinters, but he was alright.

Sen worked his way over to Whistler. She was still gasping for breath. Sen offered a helping hand, but Whistler swatted it aside. She drew her staff and used it to prop herself up, though she stumbled slightly as they prepared to move. The pain and fear she had felt as Rahm held her throat would not leave her any time soon.

Luckily the Seventh Kingdom troopers had not thought to confiscate any of their belongings. They did not have to spend any more time in the now-lifeless outpost than absolutely necessary. They all kept their eyes straight ahead as they left, avoiding any glances at the death and destruction left in Rahm's wake.

The village was empty now, lifeless. The soldiers, the civilians, even the buildings themselves, had fallen before Rahm. His blade cut, his hands tore, his boots crushed, until all was ruin and death before him. Sen took one look at the scene of the destruction, then turned away in shame.

They walked some distance, away from the empty village and the black metal it rested upon. As soon as their heels touched soil again, Gun emerged from the depths and investigated them all with equal parts curiosity and concern. He had been able to feel the entire happening through the shaking metal, but had been unable to reach them. Now that they were finally back in his reach, Gun wasted no time investigating his master.

Sen found some small comfort in Gun's presence, and as the huge badgermole continued sniffing and scratching at his master, Sen finally felt calm enough to stop trying to run from the graveyard they'd left behind. Sen laid down and rested his head against the badgermoles fur. The others came to a halt as well. The day bore heavily on them all.

Ada buried her head in her hands and cursed her own foolishness. She could have prevented all of that had she simply focused on rescuing Sen instead of wasting time fighting the Seventh Kingdom. She'd lost herself in the thrill of the fight. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Maybe Sorikami had been right about her after all. She enjoyed fighting too much.

Though they all rested, it took a while before anyone started talking again. Whistler had noticed some metallic clattering, and eventually found the source. Sen was toying with that bracelet he always wore. It was the first time she'd seen him do that, so it wasn't just a nervous habit. She decided to break the silence, hoping to distract herself from the painful bruises on her throat.

"What's the deal with your bracelet, Sen?"

"I told you about Miyani, right?" Whistler nodded. Sen talked about the combustion bender every now and then, on the idle days when nothing else was happening. She had given him the stone block that formed the bracelets centerpiece.

"A long time ago, before I ever met her, she met Rahm. He wanted to kill her," Sen said. That had just been a footnote in Miyani's life story, but it suddenly seemed much more important. "I thought that if I ever saw Rahm, I would do…something. Something that would make him understand why what he wanted to do was wrong."

Sen stared forlornly at the blank horizon. The shell of the empty outpost lurked behind him.

"But I saw him, and he did something even worse, something I hate even more. And I didn't do anything. I couldn't do anything."

Sen's balance between determination and patience had been rather tenuous lately. He wanted to make a difference, to accomplish something, to change the world, but he had spent the past few months doing almost nothing. His airbending training had accomplished little, and he felt as though he was constantly on the run from enemies he could not fight. The Fogbender, Hssk, and now Rahm were ever-present threats that he could do nothing to fight. Sen looked away from Whistler and tried to fall asleep. He couldn't even manage that.


	46. Book 3 Ch12: Whistling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanjo copes with his imprisonment. Sen receives a lesson in airbending, and learns a little bit more about Whistler's history.

Hanjo's attempts to focus were interrupted by the sound of clattering metal and opening doors. He tried to act bored. His attempts at meditating into the Spirit World would have to wait for now. The prison keeper was coming.

Dragging his feet as usual, Tan Lung brought Hanjo one of his daily meals. Contrary to the popular perception of a musty prison, Hanjo was actually well-fed. That was apparently entirely Tan Lung's doing; he didn't believe in mistreating his prisoners.

"So what's the news today, Tan Lung," Hanjo said. Conversation was rare in the prison, but occasionally Hanjo gleaned useful information from his prison keeper. Tan Lung closely followed the attacks on the Energybender bases in the Earth Kingdom; he had, after all, been there with Rahm and Dahak when the combustion bender had been freed. He felt almost personally responsible for her current actions.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Tan Lung said. That was a lie. Miyani's attacks had grown so frequent and intense that the Energybender was considering completely uprooting his operation and moving south. Hanjo didn't need to know that, though.

"Not much on my end, as you can imagine," Hanjo joked. "I saw a colorful bug the other day."

"You should catch them," Tan Lung suggested. "Having a hobby helps to pass the time."

"I'd prefer a deck of cards to a bug collection," Hanjo said.

"Wouldn't we all," Tan Lung sighed.

Hanjo frowned. Tan Lung had a pervasive aura of depression around him. He hated what he was doing.

"How did you end up working for Sarin?"

Tan Lung laughed, and there was a hollow rattling noise in his chest as he did so.

"A friend of a friend recruited me," Tan Lung replied. "But I suppose what you really want to know is why, not how, I work for him."

"I suppose you're right," Hanjo admitted.

"I could explain, but you would not understand," Tan Lung said mournfully. "You have not seen war and suffering as I have seen it. Freeing the world of anger and pain… That is worth any sacrifice. I make no excuses for what Sarin has done. I only hope it will be worth it."

Hanjo stood up and looked at Tan Lung through the bars of his cell.

"It won't be," Hanjo assured him. "The Avatar is going to win."

The blood ran out of Tan Lung's face, leaving him looking pale and cold. The veteran left in silence, dragging his feet behind him as he went.

Alone once again, Hanjo shook his head sadly and returned to the sparse mattress that served as his bed. He laid on his back and tried to focus on moving between the worlds. It was surprisingly easy for him. He couldn't quite remember how he had first broken through the planes; it seemed to come naturally to him. He didn't dwell on it much. Anything that let Hanjo see Sen was a good thing.

As usual, Hanjo found himself right in the middle of something. At least it was just a training exercise and not some disaster. Hanjo moved to say hello, but Whistler shot him down first.

"No interruptions," She snapped. "Sen's training."

Hanjo reluctantly stepped aside and let Sen focus on his training. Sen didn't really want to be distracted anyway, not even by Hanjo. Airbending was hard enough without interruptions.

Sen thrust his fist forward, mustering barely more than a stiff breeze. He well understood the physical and spiritual aspects of airbending; Sen simply could not put himself in the correct mindset to really master the art. He was plagued by his frustration, his failure to deal with Rahm, the Fogbender, and the Hssk. The constant parade of unconquerable obstacles made it impossible for Sen to achieve the proper disconnection of mind necessary to airbend. His repeated failures only exacerbated that frustration, and slowed his progress even further.

"What's holding you back this time, Four Eyes?"

By far the worst of it all was Whistler. He could at least run away from his other enemies. But Whistler was always there, hanging over his shoulder with another biting remark.

"It's nothing," Sen grumbled. "I'll try again."

And he did, again and again and again, with nothing to show for it but a gust of wind and sore shoulders. After suffering through enough of these failures, Sen finally relented with a heavy sigh, falling to the ground in defeat.

"Buck up, buttercup," Whistler said. "I'll make an airbender out of you one day, or my name isn't Whistler."

"Your name isn't Whistler," Suda chimed in. He had been relaxing on the sidelines up to now.

"What do you think gives you the right to say what my name is?"

"Common sense," Suda said. He crossed his legs casually. "If your name was actually Whistler, the Airbenders would've known right away it was you committing all those crimes back in Republic City. They didn't. Whistler is just some nickname you chose to sound tough."

"I-" Whistler started to say something, then hesitated. Sen felt a brief moment of confusion from her, which then coalesced into anger.

"Okay, yeah, so the Bald Brigade called me something else," Whistler admitted. True, the airbenders had known her by another name, but they had also thought she was a kind, well-behaved little girl. They'd been wrong on both counts. "But my name is Whistler."

"Your nickname is Whistler," Suda corrected.

"Would you-"

"Lay off, Suda," Sen said. "She can call herself whatever she wants."

Whistler gave Sen a strange look. She was surprised to hear any sympathetic words from him. Sen stood up, brushed the dust off his legs, and sat down next to Hanjo.

"I mean, hey, my name might not actually be Sen."

"Excuse me?"

Sen stared wistfully off into the distance. Hanjo gave him a curious look.

"I don't know, I just don't have any proof, you know? There's no documents about me, I've got no family. People barely ever said my name back at the orphanage. Sen is just something I remember being called."

"That's a little depressing," Ada said.

"Don't get me wrong, Sen is definitely my name," Sen said. "It's what all my friends call me. But maybe it's not what my parents, whoever they were, called me."

There was a palpable sense of awkwardness around the camp. Of all five people sitting together on the stony soil of the Spirit World, only Ada had a happy history behind her. Lingering on the past was not a popular subject, least of all with Suda. Of all of them, he had most reason to regret his past, and it showed. He quickly worked to change the subject.

"Okay, so I get the name thing, I guess," He said awkwardly. "But why Whistler? Where did that come from?"

"On account of I can whistle really good," Whistler said, likewise happy to change the subject. She demonstrated her namesake talent by whistling an upbeat tune. The sharp whistling was surprisingly catchy.

The high-pitched tune was suddenly undercut by a slight rumble in the soil. Gun was intently seeking out the source of the music, and he pressed his massive nose directly into Whistler's spine as he searched for the source of the appealing tune. She quickly recoiled from his touch, which only prompted Gun to emerge from the ground completely and follow her.

"Aww, look at that," Sen said sarcastically. "Gun likes your music."

Ada sighed. She'd been in this group for more than a year and Gun wouldn't even look her way, but all Whistler has to do is whistle a little tune and Gun starts to hunt her down. She felt unwanted.

"I don't want him to like me," Whistler said. "Tell him to lay off."

Whistler tried to push the great furry beast away, but Gun was much larger and stronger, and that accomplished little. She then pulled out her metal staff and bonked Gun on the head. If she had done so with a rock, Gun's aggressive instincts would have kicked in, and he very likely would have eaten her, but badgermoles didn't really have a reaction to metal. The only person it offended was Sen.

"Hey, don't hit my badgermole," Sen commanded.

"Then tell him to get off me," Whistler said. She tried to move away, and Gun followed again. She raised her staff to take another swat at Gun, but she never finished her blow. The earth beneath her feet lurched and set her off balanced before she could hit Gun on the head again. Gun sniffed her curiously as she collapsed in the dirt.

"I told you not to hit him," Sen said.

"Is that how we're going to do this," Whistler said. "Are we going to be throwing down?"

"I don't want to fight you, Whistler, I just don't want you to commit animal abuse."

"No, you could've asked nicely if you wanted me to stop," Whistler said. She pulled herself off the dirt and leaned on her staff. "But you knocked me over. You wanted to push me around."

"This is not an issue, Whistler," Sen said dismissively.

"It's a little bit of an issue," Whistler retaliated.

"Oh, just beat her up, Sen, at least it'll get her to shut up," Suda said.

"I am not going to fight her," Sen protested.

"Oh yes you are," Whistler said.

The first wave of air sailed harmlessly above Sen's head as he ducked to dodge it. The second struck him in the back, knocking him off his feet and sending him rolling across the ground.

"Just think of it as airbending practice," Whistler said coldly. "Try and beat me with just your airbending."

Sen rolled to his side, propping himself up on his knees. Whistler spun her staff threateningly. She was purposefully giving him time to retaliate. She wanted him to fight. Sen supposed it wasn't a complete waste of time. There were a few things he wanted to test.

"Fine, if you want a fight, you've got it," He said.

Sen and Whistler began to circle each other, waiting for an opening. Hanjo looked between the two, somewhat confused.

"Is anybody going to stop this?"

"I don't really see the point," Ada said. "They'll just fight again later."

"Yeah, and it's not like Sen is actually going to get hurt," Suda said.

"Oh just watch me," Whistler bragged, briefly turning her eyes to Suda.

"You should be watching yourself," Suda suggested. Whistler snapped her eyes forward a second too late. Sen's first boulder hit her in the gut, pushing her backwards.

Whistler recovered, but it didn't do much for her. As soon as she was back on her feet, Sen pushed her back with sweeping blows of fire, constantly forcing her to be on the retreat. Whistler eventually mustered enough strength to stand her ground and defend herself, but she was still on the back foot.

Whistler's ego had briefly gotten the better of her, and she had forgotten that her opponent was the Avatar. Though his airbending was barely a factor, Sen had mastered earth and fire, and his ability to sense vibrations in the soil and read chi gave him an information advantage on top of his superior skills. Whistler was no pushover, and she did manage to hold her own, but it was clear to everyone that Sen was the superior fighter.

"This is hardly fair," She protested. "You got two elements and I only got one!"

Suddenly and surprisingly, Sen relented. His assaults of fire and earth stopped, and he held out his hands, beckoning Whistler to try and retaliate. Sen's first question had been answered; even without airbending, he was still stronger than Whistler. Now came his second question.

"Alright, come on then," Sen said. "You and me, airbending only."

Whistler hesitated. This was a blatant and obvious trap. Sen's airbending was barely existent, but he was confidently challenging Whistler to a one-on-one airbending duel. This had to be some kind of trick. Whistler stayed on guard.

When the brawl resumed, Whistler made sure to keep her distance, staying far away from Sen. Sen chased after her, but Whistler's airbending enabled her to always stay one step ahead. She didn't seen what Sen was trying to accomplish. He was just wearing himself out. He had no way of catching up to her. As soon as she had established her lead, she started lobbing attacks at Sen, knocking him to and fro with tactical bursts of air.

After a few minutes of tossing Sen around at her leisure, she began to wonder what his plan was. He hadn't shown any signs that he was going to change course or try some kind of surprise attack. He was just standing around and taking her blows. The one thing he made sure to do was keep an eye on her at all times. No matter how Whistler struck Sen, he always had his eyes on her, always watching her every move.

Whistler froze, and relented in her assault, giving Sen a moment to breathe just to see what he would do with it. Sen stretched a few aching muscles, but never quite stopped staring at Whistler.

"Are you done yet?"

Sen took a deep breath, and then nodded his head. He relaxed and sat down, surprisingly at ease given what had just happened. Whistler was confused.

"Okay, so what was all that about, then?

"I wanted to see if you'd actually hurt me. You didn't. Good job," Sen said. He often found himself wondering whether he could trust Whistler or not. By demonstrating restraint, Whistler had earned at least a little bit of his trust –if not his fondness. He still didn't like her very much, but at least he knew that she wouldn't go out of her way to hurt him.

Whistler squinted at him.

"That was a test?"

"Kind of. If it was, you passed."

Whistler carefully took hold of her staff and kicked her feet in the dirt for a while as she made up her mind. Sen watched the options boil over in her head until she came to a conclusion.

Quite suddenly, Whistler grabbed her staff like a javelin and chucked it at Sen. With little time or room to react, Sen was forced to bear the impact of the metal rod right in the center of his chest. He bent over, wheezing for breath and clutching at his ribs.

"How's that for not wanting to hurt you," Whistler said.

The most confusing part of it all is that Whistler still didn't want to hurt him. Sen could see that she felt guilty for having done that. She wasn't quite repressing it, to be exact; she was actively ignoring the guilt. Whistler could plainly hear the voice of her conscience, she simply didn't listen to it.

"Now get a move on," Whistler commanded. "We stay in one place too long and that fog thing is going to catch up to us."

Still clutching his bruised chest, Sen followed Whistler's lead.


	47. Book 3 Ch13: Fires in the South

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miyani pursues the Energybender's forces to the ends of the earth, venturing deep into the South Pole. The Shorewatchers, violent guardians of the North Pole, are hunting the same targets, and Miyani teams up with the young Huntsman Ariak to track their mutual enemy.

Chief Kesuk glared heavily over his desk. There was not a single thing about this situation that he enjoyed.

The Shorewatchers apparently knew more about Kesuk's territory than he did. An Energybender base within his territory had been eluding Kesuk for some time, but the Shorewatchers had located it precisely. Kesuk was more than ready to deal with this; the Shorewatchers didn't seem to believe it. They were refusing to relinquish the location of the base unless Kesuk allowed them to destroy it. Now Tinaaki had even seen fit to send his son to make the entreaties.

"I know you are concerned about my faction overstepping its boundaries," Ariak began. "I share your concerns."

Now Kesuk leaned forward. That was rare. Shorewatchers were usually a dogmatic, single-minded bunch, never questioning their Huntmaster's orders. He didn't expect disobedience, especially not from Tinaaki's own son.

"I believe that Tinaaki will take…unnecessary actions, if the base is not dealt with quickly. I know that you believe he has already overstepped his boundaries several times, and I am willing to compromise with you. I don't wish to further tensions between our nations."

Kesuk rested a hand on his chin. Ariak was actually starting to talk sense. Maybe there was hope for the Shorewatchers yet.

"You have my attention, Ariak."

"Huntmaster Tinaaki's concern is the Energybender presence in your lands, and your lackluster response to it. The longer the base remains intact, the more impatient he will become."

"So you suggest my destroying the base quickly," Kesuk mused. "How novel."

"Quickly, and with overwhelming force," Ariak continued. "Then send me to confirm its destruction. The Huntmaster has a legitimate concern for the safety of your people, Kesuk. This is what drives him to seek access to your lands. If convinced that your nation can handle its own affairs, he will stop trying to extend his forces into your territory."

"I'm more than capable of securing my own borders," Kesuk boasted.

"I know you are," Ariak said. "I'd like to offer my assistance, however. I have extensive knowledge of tactics, and I'm an able combatant. I can help you deal with this problem much faster."

"I knew there'd be a catch," Kesuk grunted. "You'll not have anything to do with destroying that base, Shorewatcher."

"It was merely an offer," Ariak said. "I understand your concerns, Chieftain. I'll wait on the sidelines at your request."

Kesuk eyed the Hunstman suspiciously, but he eventually relaxed. Ariak did seem willing to comply. He couldn't be completely sure, though. The boy was hard to read. He seemed to be just a little bit too calm at all times. Kesuk knew of one thing that might break that composure, but it wasn't time for that quite yet.

"So, this is your plan, then? I take care of the base, and you convince your father not to continue his attempts to invade my borders?"

"It is not an invasion," Ariak protested. "The Shorewatchers have nothing but good intentions. My father is merely misguided in executing them."

Kesuk sighed. At least this one was being level-headed about it. Kesuk decided to call in the big guns. It was time to prove that the South could handle its own affairs. In a sense. His secret weapon was not anything from the South. Kesuk picked up his phone. Ariak seemed offended that the Chief was not paying him his full attention.

"Please send in our free agent," Kesuk requested.

"Free agent," Ariak scoffed. "You've taken to hiring mercenaries?"

"Wandering hero, actually," Kesuk said.

After a momentary pause, Kesuk's "free agent" appeared. The exact details of their identity were hidden under a thick, fur-lined tunic, with a heavy hood. The only readily apparent feature was their commanding height; Ariak had never seen anyone taller.

"I hope you have some good news," the "free agent" said. The voice made it readily apparent that the mercenary under the cloak was female.

"Yes, I do," Kesuk said. "Our friend here will tell you where to find what you're looking for."

The thick hood turned towards Ariak. The massive shawl was very good at hiding what was beneath it; Ariak could see very little of the woman's face.

"He's one of the Shorewatchers, isn't he? You warned me about them."

"He's proven very reasonable so far," Kesuk said. "I believe we can at least trust him to tell you the location of your target."

The hooded figure paused for a moment to examine Ariak. Even though her eyes were hidden, Araik could feel a piercing intensity in her gaze. He backed away slightly. Soon the piercing sensation stopped, and Kesuk's agent nodded in affirmation.

A hand emerged from the thick fur shawl and took hold of the rim of the hood. Kesuk flinched slightly as the cover was drawn back. He would never quite get used to it.

Ariak maintained a surprisingly calm attitude as the blood-red tattoo was exposed to the light. He seemed completely unfazed; neither surprised nor frightened. The combustion bender seemed pleased by his accepting attitude.

"Thank you for not trying to have me speared," Miyani said, with a sideways glance at Kesuk. Her first meeting with the chieftain had been less than ideal.

"I've heard of you," Ariak said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Miyani had ceased to be a figure of legend in the past few months. During her travels through the Earth Kingdom, she had become quite a high-profile figure, responsible for destroying Energybender outposts throughout the Earth Kingdom. With the Avatar and the Energybender still in hiding, Miyani was the world's only superpower, and she had leveraged that position to keep the conflict in a stalemate. None of the Avatar's enemies would dare to make a move while she was on patrol.

With their positions in the United Earth Kingdoms compromised, the Energybender's forces had begun to scatter to the poles. Miyani had given chase, naturally, and now she found herself here, waiting for the next objective. Wandering the continent as she had in the Earth Nation was not an option, as the South was wracked with blizzards and impassable glaciers. Finding Energybender bases required a greater deal of intelligence and finesse, something she did not exactly specialize in. This Shorewatcher could be the break she needed. Finding one Energybender base would lead her to another, then another.

Kesuk filled Miyani in on the situation. She agreed with Ariak's conclusion that Tinaaki would back off if the base was destroyed.

"All that's left is for you to lead me to it," Miyani said to Ariak.

"He can write the directions down," Kesuk said.

"I'd prefer it if he accompanied me," Miyani said. "I could use someone who knows how to traverse the arctic."

Even though he'd maintained his composure upon first seeing her, Ariak flinched visibly when she suggested that he accompany her.

"It would make things faster," Ariak said hesitantly. "But If Kesuk doesn't agree…"

Miyani had a hunch that the Chief would agree. She had learned to give people a very particular look. By angling her eyebrows and tilting her head at just the right angle, she could emphasize the mark on her forehead, and that was enough to get people to do just about anything she said. Kesuk scooted away slightly as Miyani's red eye stared him down.

"Well, with her invitation, I don't see a problem," Kesuk said awkwardly.

"Thank you, Kesuk," Miyani said. "And don't worry, if he tries anything, I'll blow him up on the spot."

Miyani was trying to make jokes, but Kesuk and Ariak didn't laugh. Miyani rolled her eyes. Nobody laughed at her jokes anymore.

"Just take me to the Energybender base," Miyani sighed. Ariak bid a curt goodbye to Chief Kesuk and followed Miyani out of the room. She pulled up her hood as they left the Chieftain's room. Few people paid them any attention as they walked to the outskirts of town. Wearing thick, concealing clothing was common in the frigid south. Personally, Miyani thought that everything was too fuzzy around here.

Miyani had acquired a snowmobile from Chief Kesuk in advance. Ariak was familiar with the model. The Shorewatchers were only traditional to an extent; it would just be foolish to disregard useful methods of transportation. He had used snowmobiles just like this on several hunts.

"You know how to drive one of these?" Miyani asked.

"Yes."

"Alright then, you're driving," Miyani said, sitting down on the rear of the snowmobile. "Let's get this going."

Ariak nodded. He was the one who knew where they were going anyway. He took the controls and sped them away from the city, far into the frigid wastes. Miyani held her cloak tight around her as the frigid winds howled past. Miyani was more resistant to the elements than most, but the arctic cold affected her still. Ariak was not so bothered by the cold. Even for a people who lived entirely on the frozen poles, Shorewatchers were exceptionally used to the cold. Ariak had done long stakeouts on frozen glaciers and swam in frozen waters. He'd grown much more tolerant of it than most people.

The howling winds made it quite impossible for the two to carry on any conversation as they raced into the snowy wastes, so Ariak was forced to keep his questions to himself for a time. There were many things he wanted to know about the combustion bender. While her existence was now common knowledge, few people could claim to know anything about her motivations or her history. She remained an enigma.

Ariak brought the snowmobile to a halt in front of a large ice stream. The fast moving sheet of ice was fragile and difficult to cross, which dissuaded any travelers from trying to cross it. That made it a perfect obstacle on the way to the Energybender's secret base.

"We go on foot from here," Ariak said. Miyani nodded and dismounted the snowmobile. She examined the horizon with some displeasure. She couldn't see the base from here, which meant they had quite a hike ahead of them. She reluctantly followed Ariak onto the ice sheet. The Shorewatcher swept his hands in broad motions, solidifying the thin ice beneath their feet and preventing it from breaking.

"What makes you hunt these men," Ariak asked. Why a person fought was often more important than who and how. Some people fought for vengeance, and that made them as dangerous to their allies as their enemies. Those who fought for money could not be trusted.

"You heard what Sarin plans to do?"

"He wants to bring about a permanent end to all conflict," Ariak said. "Understandable, if misguided."

"It's not about conflict," Miyani said. "It's about balance. No more good, no more bad. Just…nothing."

Miyani took on a particularly hostile tone. The anger in her voice surprised Ariak.

"I've been there before, Ariak," Miyani continued. "A life without joy, or sadness, or anything at all. I will never live that way again. I'll die first."

Ariak nodded. That was good. She fought for what she believed in. There was no motivation stronger than belief –even if belief could be misguided. Ariak knew that firsthand.

"What changed?"

"Pardon," Miyani asked.

"What changed, to make you stop living the way you used to? Why throw yourself into the middle of such a conflict?"

"I made a new friend," Miyani said. "And I made him a promise."

"They must be a very good friend for you to put yourself in such danger."

"Who's in danger?" Miyani said with a laugh. "I'm the only danger here."

Ariak failed to laugh yet again. Miyani shook her head. Sen would have seen how funny that was.

"So why do you fight?" Miyani asked. "What made you join the Shorewatchers."

"I was born into it," Ariak said. "Huntmaster Tinaaki is my father."

"Really?"

"Yes," Ariak said, and he said nothing else about that. "I joined the Shorewatchers because of my family, and I remain because the Shorewatchers are the world's best hope for stability and security."

"Not everyone agrees," Miyani said.

"I'm aware of the objections to our methods," Ariak said. "I believe my father is the root of the problem. I can change his course. I know it. I can fix what he has broken."

"It sounds like your problems are with your father more than the Shorewatchers."

The ice beneath Ariak's feet cracked just a bit, and he redoubled his efforts to stabilize the ice sheet below. They still had a ways to go to cross the ice stream, and sinking into the frozen waters would be a long delay on their journey.

Miyani frowned slightly, but she kept it hidden beneath her hood. She was hoping to learn a little more about the Shorewatchers from Ariak. They were, to be fair, one of the more effective peacekeeping forces in recent history, but they were also violent, with little respect for any law but their own. Depending on how Miyani approached the situation, they could become powerful allies- or deadly enemies.

"I think I might like to visit your headquarters soon," Miyani said. "We might have a lot to talk about."

"No!"

Ariak lost focus completely, and the ice broke into pieces beneath them. He quickly regained his composure and solidified the shards beneath them into a solid mass once again. Miyani breathed a sigh of relief. She was not eager to take a dunk in arctic waters.

"You shouldn't come north," Ariak said quickly. "You're not needed. Better to focus your efforts elsewhere, where your power is needed."

Miyani eyed the Shorewatcher suspiciously. There was a lot more going on here than Ariak was letting on. She lacked Sen's perceptiveness, though, so she had no real way of knowing what was going through Ariak's head. She relented and decided to focus on the matter at hand. She gave Ariak some time to fully regain his focus before trying to make conversation again.

"So, do you know anything about this base, other than where it is?"

"I know there's about three dozen men stationed there on a permanent basis," Ariak said. "There may be more, depending on how many of their field agents are stopping in."

"Any kind of security measures?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," Ariak said. "They have little more than a radio."

The Energybender had previously only held permanent bases in the Earth Kingdom. After Miyani had started hunting the outposts down, though, they had started to construct scattered bases throughout the other nations. While intelligence was sparse on their hastily constructed outposts, it was known that they had a significant presence in the United Republic and the South Pole. The militant attitudes of Fire Lord Goto and the Shorewatchers had kept them from establishing any notable bases in the Fire Nation or North Pole, however, and President Dahaka was already beginning a crackdown within the United Republic. Only the South remained a safe haven for the Energybender, and that was about to change.

Ariak led them off of the ice sheet, and back onto solid ground. The ground here was thick with snow. There had been storms recently, probably within the past few hours. Ariak and Miyani stomped their way through the thick snow towards a glacial valley, a great rift in the ice plunging deep into the wastes. The massive walls of ice were sheltering the hidden Energybender base.

As they approached the edge of the ice valley, Ariak bid Miyani to proceed slowly and cautiously. It was unknown if they had any hidden scouts or watchmen to warn them of incoming attacks. They crept quietly to the edge. Ariak had his eyes on a peculiarly shaped outcropping of ice. He used his bending to manipulate the snow around them, keeping a wall between themselves and the suspicious formation. Hopefully they would blend in with the surroundings enough to escape notice. Quietly, they crept up behind the ice wall.

Ariak quickly jumped out of the cover of snow, ready to fight, but it quickly became clear that that would not be necessary. His suspicions were correct; the strange ice formation as meant to be a hidden watch post, but the watchman posted inside was not exactly in shape to watch anything. Miyani covered her mouth while Ariak approached the corpse suspiciously.

"No snow covering," Ariak grunted. The watch post was not sheltered against the elements: the snowstorm that had come through a few hours ago had filled it with snow, but the body was clean. Whatever had happened to him, it had happened within the past few hours.

"It appears we're not the first to strike," Ariak said. Somebody had attacked this base recently.

"Then we'll be the last," Miyani said. She grabbed the collar of her cloak and pulled it away, shedding the thick layer of fur. Combat readiness took priority over warmth. Her clothing was much the same as it had been since her time on the island; black trousers and a white sleeveless shirt, but as she had gotten into the habit of fighting, she had begun to wear armored gauntlets. She had little need for armor, since she felt almost no pain, but the splinted gauntlets helped her block blades and other weapons. They also added a little extra weight to her punches, which was never a bad thing.

Ariak likewise shed his heavy coat, although that did little to make him feel more combat ready. In order to appear less threatening to Kesuk, Ariak had left his spear at the North Pole. His hands felt empty without his weapon. The spear was the trademark weapon of the Shorewatchers, an integral part of their identity and fighting style. Ariak's bending was potent, but he would always be half a warrior without his spear in his hands.

Despite his lack of weaponry, Ariak marched forward with confidence. The red mark of the combustion bender was worth a thousand spears. With Miyani on his side, he would not lose a battle easily.

Descending into the canyon, the sounds of battle became obvious. Clashing metal and shouts of anger bounced off the icy walls of the canyon. Miyani and Ariak quickened their steps, descending into the glacial valley and towards the base. They paused briefly in front of the structure to consider their options.

"How do we go in," Ariak asked.

"I don't go in," Miyani said. "I go through."

Miyani took a deep breath, and Ariak took a few cautious steps back. The intense cold of the South Pole weakened her explosive power considerably, but Miyani was still more than powerful enough to shatter the walls of the icy structure. The front wall crumbled under the explosive force and melted under the sudden heat. Ariak could hear the battle within come to a grinding halt as all combatants paused in fear of the sudden explosion.

Miyani never wasted the first moment of shellshock that followed her opening strike. She lunged through the hole her explosion had created and took a very quick look over the room. A few dozen combatants had gathered in a central hall of the base. Some of them were wearing the familiar uniforms of the Energybender, but others were wearing strange white uniforms, and their faces were disguised by grey war paint. Miyani took all this in with lightning speed, quickly examining the situation and analyzing how best to interrupt it. She saw an empty space in the center of the conflict and loosed a bolt of power. The explosion rapidly expanded, but not quite as far as she had hoped. The cold was restraining her power. She'd need to get closer.

Miyani journeyed into the center of the fray, and Ariak walked into the base behind her. He had promised Kesuk to stay uninvolved, but the situation had changed rapidly. The base already being under attack was an unforeseen circumstance.

Miyani shot a blast into a side hallway, cutting off the approach of a few Energybender troops and collapsing the hallway, keeping them out of the battle entirely. One of the few troopers who remained in the center of the battle tried to run, and the mysterious white assailants followed him, striking him in the back with a spear of ice. Miyani flinched as the white soldiers brought a violent end to the enemy trooper.

Miyani was not all too eager to save anyone allied with the Energybender, but striking a fleeing enemy in the back was hardly appropriate. Whoever these white soldiers were, they were far too violent. Miyani was willing to accept them as temporary allies, at least. They both seemed interested in wiping out the Energybender's minions.

One of the nearest white soldiers quickly disavowed her of that notion by striking at her with a spear. Miyani deflected the bladed metal with her armguard and backed away. This was a revolting development. Now she had to fight two groups at once. The soldiers in white seemed to be fewer in number, but that only made them seem more threatening. They had managed a successful attack on this base despite being vastly outnumbered.

The three way battle proceeded, with Ariak on the sidelines. It was not his promise to Chief Kesuk that stayed his hand, but confusion. He knew what was happening, but now why or how. Nothing made sense.

Miyani deflected another spear strike and moved away. She was not here to fight these white soldiers, whoever they were. She kept a careful eye on them, but focused most of her attention on the soldiers of the Energybender. They were in disarray, and they offered little resistance to Miyani's bolts of explosive power. The white soldiers also seemed to refocus on Sarin's forces. There was at least a temporary truce between the two.

As the battle proceeded, Miyani's combustion blasts and the white soldiers spears whittled the Energybender's forces down to nothing, and the two groups then turned their attention exclusively to one another. Ariak had been willing to accept a few errant strikes, but he would not allow this to become a full battle.

"Enough," Ariak shouted. Miyani hesitated, but the white warriors did not. One thrust his spear forward at Miyani. She took hold of the spears wooden shaft and gripped it tight. Ariak called for a halt again, and this brought pause to most of the white soldiers, but neither Miyani or her opponent relinquished their grip on the spear. They stared each other down with the wooden shaft between them. Perhaps the grey makeup merely masked his expression, but Miyani saw no fear in her opponents eyes, even with the blood-red tattoo staring him down.

"Enough! I am a Hunstman, and I order you all to stand down!"

The white soldiers lowered their spears. Ariak approached the standoff between Miyani and the lone spear-wielder.

"What are you doing?" Ariak demanded.

"Our duty, Huntsman," the white soldier grunted. Miyani's eyes narrowed.

"You're Shorewatchers," She said.

"Tinaaki could not have approved of this," Ariak shouted. "What are you doing here? Why? This could cause a war if Kesuk found out!"

"Kesuk wouldn't have found out," The Shorewatcher grunted. He nodded towards Miyani. "Not without this one getting involved. We both know the 'chief' was never going to take action."

Miyani let out a low growl of frustration. The hunter on the other side of the spear never backed down. Miyani applauded his courage, but condemned his stupidity. Fear was the only intelligent response when staring down a combustion bender.

"We have a duty to eliminate evil wherever it lurks," One of the Shorewatchers declared. "No matter what imbeciles try to get in our way. The only thing keeping your father from storming the South is politics. We cut out the middle man."

The Shorewatcher across from Miyani tried to wrest his spear out of her grip. She held firm, continuing the stalemate between the two. Ariak tried to step between them, but could not find a way. He stood to their side.

"Enough, both of you," Ariak said. "This is enough of a mess without you two fighting."

"You're the only one causing trouble," The Shorewatcher said. "You led this monster right to our hunt."

"I had my reasons, Inok," Ariak said defensively. "I was following orders. Unlike you."

The stalemate continued. Inok had not been expecting any other intervention. He and a few Shorewatchers had come here, in spite of Huntmaster Tinaaki's orders to stay out of the South, to put an end to Sarin's agenda in the Southern Water Tribe. He had been prepared to face the consequences, but the combustion bender was unforeseen.

"You were not following orders," Inok objected. "You should have put this monster down the moment you laid eyes on it."

"I prefer to think of myself as a gifted young woman," Miyani began. Her eyes took on a very low burn, like glowing coals in the ashes of a fire. Inok's knees started to shake ever so slightly.

Miyani pressed against Inok, pushing the spear forward. Inok tried to resist, but Miyani's height and strength pushed him downwards. Soon he was forced backwards, and then to his knees, and then the spear was pressed against his chest and began to warp.

"But when I need to, I am more than capable of being a monster."

With a forceful push, Miyani snapped Inok's spear in half, filling the air with a cloud of sharp splinters. The other Shorewatchers raised their spears in caution. Ariak took a step away as the spear broke. Inok had a look of shock on his face. A broken spear was a massive disgrace to a Shorewatcher. Miyani didn't realize it, but she had just given Inok a grievous wound.

"Now, Ariak, what is going on here?"

Miyani tossed aside the broken halves of Inok's spear. Ariak looked around the room to make sure no one was going to attack before he began speaking.

"I don't know why these people are here," Ariak said. "This is not what the Huntmaster ordered."

"I figured that," Miyani said. "I meant what they said about me."

Ariak looked away. Miyani knew what to expect at this point.

"The Shorewatchers have a standing order," Ariak said, his voice filled with shame. "To kill you on sight."

Miyani crossed her arms and sighed. Even after all she'd done, all her good deeds, people still assumed she was a threat. She was no longer bothered by those assumptions; she had moved past that thanks to the Avatar. While the Shorewatcher's dangerous intent didn't bother her all too much emotionally, their spears might do more damage.

"I swear Miyani, I had no intention of-"

"Relax," Miyani said. "I know."

Ariak had shot her down earlier when she had discussed travelling North. Had Ariak intended to betray her, that would have been the perfect opportunity to lead her into a trap. Miyani could easily assume that Ariak had good intentions based on that alone.

"I knew you were in the South," Ariak explained. "I wanted to give you a chance to prove yourself to the Huntmaster."

Tinaaki had passed a quick judgment on Miyani based on the actions of previous combustion benders, but Ariak had always had his doubts. As more and more reports of Miyani's actions in Ba Sing Se and beyond had come to the Shorewatchers attention, Ariak had become fully convinced that his father had made a mistake. He had taken action into his own hands once he had heard Miyani would be travelling South. By watching her fight, he'd be able to testify directly on her behalf, and change his father's mind.

"Ariak, after everything I've done, if your father doesn't already know I'm on your side, he never will," Miyani said accusingly.

"I can make him understand," Ariak objected. Tinaaki was not an idiot. Ariak could make him see the truth. Ariak could make him see that he had been wrong about so many things.

"Not by going behind his back and trying to manipulate what he sees and hears," Miyani said. "At some point you have to stand up to him and tell him he's wrong!"

There was a silent but noticeable shift in the mood of the room. Miyani looked around at the Shorewatchers. They had all grown tense, like coiled springs. There was no way that was going to end well. Ariak lowered his eyes. The Shorewatchers were overzealously loyal to the Huntmaster. Insulting his judgment would only ever end in disaster. Spears began to rise slowly.

"Inok! Enough! I am a Huntsman of the Shorewatchers, and I order all of you stand down!"

Inok and the other rogue Shorewatchers cast a wary eye towards Ariak. Miyani tightened the straps on her wrist guards, making sure the fit was right. She'd be using them fairly soon.

"What happened to you, Ariak," Inok asked. "There was a time you would have been hunting with us, not against us."

"We are not infallible, Inok," Ariak shouted back. "Think about what you've done! If anyone finds out about this, it could mean civil war. We are meant to prevent conflict, not cause it!"

Inok turned around and looked at his broken spear. There was no regret written on his face.

"Then no one will find out," Inok said. He raised his hands quickly. Miyani was faster. It was too close for combustion bending, so she swung her arm in a heavy arc, striking Inok across the forehead with her metal armguard. The blow knocked the rogue Shorewatcher to the ground.

The rest of the Shorewatchers were a decent distance away, so Miyani loosed a single explosive blast to cover her retreat. She had to put more space between herself and her enemies. She wasn't very maneuverable in a fight. She was neither fast nor flexible, so close quarters combat favored her very poorly. With the proper distance between herself and her targets, though, she was nearly unstoppable.

A bolt of ice bounced off the metal plates of Miyani's wrist guard. The attacks of the Shorewatchers were surprisingly precise. They were definitely among the more powerful enemies Miyani had yet faced. Their talent, and their coordinates strikes, showed why the Shorewatchers were such a feared force. Miyani was not concerned: she was feared for good reason as well.

With the air clear of icy projectiles, Miyani took aim and unleashed. What parts of the building were not melted by the flames were shattered into snowflakes and splinters by the thundering shockwaves. Some Shorewatchers were sent flying, others were buried under collapsing masses of snow.

"It won't be enough," Ariak said.

The piles of snow began to shift as Shorewatchers crawled their way out from beneath. Those knocked to the ground began to stand up. Even Inok rose, his forehead still bleeding from Miyani's strike. The red blood froze on his forehead and cracked as his eyebrows angled downwards in rage.

"This isn't a fight you can win," Miyani threatened. "There's still time to surrender."

"Stop saying things that make them angry!"

Ariak found it hard to believe she wasn't trying to make them angry on purpose. First she'd broken Inok's spear, then she'd insulted the Huntsmaster, and now she suggested they surrender. Shorewatchers never surrendered. They found the very suggestion insulting. Ariak rubbed his hands over his face in exasperation as Inok's Shorewatchers became even more furious.

Inok's rogue Shorewatchers stepped back, gathering ice and water for the next round of attacks. They unleashed a glacial wave to crush Miyani under frozen water. Miyani looked for a way out, something to shield herself from the blow, but it ended up being unnecessary. The wave never reached her. Jumping between the combustion bender and the Shorewatchers, Ariak swept his hands and reduced the crashing wave into a harmless pool of water.

"Stop this now or I'll have you all charged with treason!"

"Take us in and you'll get the same," Inok growled back. "You've been helping this monster."

"Can't you see she's on our side?"

"She was born a monster, and it's all she'll ever be!"

Something in Inok's words finally broke Ariak's composure. The ice beneath his feet shattered into broken shards as anger took over.

There were some hunters in the Shorewatchers who believed that Ariak had only earned his position as a Huntsman because his father was the Huntsmaster. They were decidedly wrong. Ariak had earned his position because his waterbending talent made him a one man army.

The icy walls of the building shattered into thousands of shards, filling the air with a bladed hailstorm of ice. Inok and his rogues attempted to shelter themselves with walls of ice, and their own structures were turned against them by Ariak. Shields became claws that pinned them to the ground and forced them to bear the storm of razors, burying them beneath the icy blades.

Ariak raised his hands and slammed his foot down, and the icy ground rose up in great spikes, pushing the renegade Shorewatchers into the air and pinning them in midair. Inok and all of his followers trapped in the frigid grip of the ice now. The frozen soldiers groaned, straining against their icy prisons, but they would not be free until Ariak chose to release them.

Miyani brushed a few ice shards off her shoulders and stepped forward. Clouds of mist hovered in front of Ariak's face. He was breathing heavily, partially from exertion, but mostly from anger. Something Inok had said had crossed a line for Ariak.

"It's a fine mess, isn't it," Miyani said. The battlefield was an absolute wreck. Sarin's soldiers and the Shorewatchers alike were strewn about the wreckage. Only Ariak and Miyani remained standing.

"I can fix this," Ariak said. "The other Shorewatchers, nobody has to know. I can cover this up."

"No you can't," Miyani said, disgusted. "Kesuk has to know. Inok and the rest of them have to face the consequences of their actions."

Ariak seemed to be very easily convinced by Miyani's firm stance on the matter.

"No, I can't," He said. "I can't let them get away with this. I'll take them to Kesuk, and let him know what's happened."

Miyani noticed a quiet sadness behind his words.

"My father will condemn what they've done, of course, but if he finds out about them, then he'll also find out about you –about me helping you…I'll probably be stripped of my title, if not banned from the Shorewatchers outright. I'll never be able to convince him to change his course."

"You really think he'd do that to his own son?"

"Yes, I do," he growled lowly. Ariak's face suddenly took on a very bitter expression.

Miyani paused and looked over the ruined structure, and the landscape beyond. Days were short here in the South Pole; it was getting dark already. The winds were blowing even colder than before.

"I don't know what to do," Ariak said suddenly. He tried so hard to trust in his father, but the more he tried, the worse things became. He'd been so blind to all of these problems before. A part of him, deep down, missed the blissful ignorance, but his rational mind told him that things had to change. Tinaaki's good intentions were going to drag the world into chaos.

"Sometimes you can't know," Miyani said. "Sometimes you just have to trust yourself. Trust that you're doing the right thing."

Ariak's shoulders drooped. It was hard, so incredibly hard, to keep going sometimes. Ariak had been exhausted in mind and body before, but recent events had begun to weigh on his soul. Miyani recognized that look. He needed something to keep him moving forward, something to give him hope for the future.

Miyani dug a hand into her pocket. All the thick clothing she hard to wear in the south made it hard to reach. As she searched, she thought about getting a bracelet or locket, something to attach this to.

Finally successful, Miyani walked up to Ariak, her palm outstretched. Ariak was briefly distracted, and thoroughly confused, by the small rectangular brick in her hand.

"What is that," he said blankly.

"A gift. An earthbender I knew made it for me. A little parting present, once I was done teaching him firebending."

His head was not completely on straight, but Ariak was still clever enough to see the discrepancy there. Miyani kept her smile to herself. He'd figure it out eventually.

"If he was an earthbender, why were you-"

Ariak nearly jumped out of his snowboots. Miyani stopped containing her smile.

"You've met the Avatar? You trained him?"

"I probably wasn't the best master, but, yeah, I did," Miyani said. She turned the brick over in her fingers, examining it fondly. She turned her eyes back towards Ariak eventually. "His name is Sen."

"Avatar Sen," Ariak repeated. There was a sense of wonder in his voice. "What's he like?"

"He's very…perceptive, I guess the word is," Miyani said. "When I described this brick to him, I didn't tell him about the shape, or how these little pegs would be arranged, but when he created it, it was exactly what I had imagined. He knew what I meant, even when I didn't tell him. He's very thoughtful, very understanding. Eventually."

There had been a good deal of delays along the way, but eventually, Sen had been the first person to ever really open up to Miyani, and in turn, she had opened up to him. That trust and friendship had given them both the drive to save the world.

Yet Ariak seemed somehow disappointed. The excitement faded from his eyes. A hint of the weight on his shoulders sunk back into his posture. Miyani didn't understand why.

"So where is he now?"

So that was it, Miyani thought to herself. Ariak was one more person who resented the absence of the Avatar. She supposed she understood. Not everyone knew why Sen remained in hiding. She knew his reasons for remaining in hiding, but a part of her still wished that it wasn't so. She wanted to be fighting with him, not just for him.

"I don't know where he is," Miyani admitted. "But I do know that wherever he is, he's working to become the hero that we all need. He still has a lot to learn."

"But you believe that he can save the world?"

Miyani nodded. Ariak sighed deeply. Maybe the Avatar still had lessons to learn, but the world wasn't exactly waiting. Chaos was still in motion every day. The Energybender still lurked in the dark corners of the world, among other threats.

"I know it can be hard to wait," Miyani said, and she honestly meant it. Not a day went by when she didn't miss Sen. "But Sen cares about the world, and he wants to become the best hero he can be. And, in the meantime, he's got people like me and you helping to keep the peace."

"So he's counting on us," Ariak said to himself.

"Well, me," Miyani said. "He's never met you."

Ariak gave her a look. Miyani shrugged awkwardly.

"Right, hypothetical. Sorry. I'm sure if Sen knew you, he'd trust you too."

"I hope I get to meet him some day," Ariak said.

Night began to fall, and for the first time in a long time, Ariak had the feeling that he would rest easy.


	48. Book 3 Ch14: The Seventh Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During an encounter with the remnants of the Seventh Kingdom, Suda confronts his history, and Whistler nearly crosses a dangerous line.

Chapter 14: The Seventh Kingdom

Travelling had become much more difficult lately. The terrain of the Spirit World had taken a dramatic turn for the worse seemingly overnight. Massive hills and craggy canyons were commonplace now. Razor sharp spires soared before them, obstructing their view of the horizon. Without Hanjo's meditation to scout a path ahead and Suda's ziplines giving them a means to climb the rocks, their journey might have come to a dead halt. As it was, the Avatar's entourage was barely capable of clawing their way forward.

Suda helped Whistler to climb over a cliff-face, then took a moment to rest. All this metalbending was beginning to wear him out. Sen and the rest were happy to give him some time to breath, as they were all fairly tired too.

Ada handed Suda a bottle of water while Whistler, as usual, went to Sen's side.

"You been meditating like I told you?" She asked. She liked to capitalize on every minute of downtime to help Sen learn. His airbending had been developing sluggishly. He was barely capable of creating a light breeze. It showed potential, but not enough.

"Whenever I get the chance," Sen sighed. He missed being able to sit down and rest while he learned. All those months on Hayao's island had spoiled him. It was difficult to return to the routine of travelling and training at the same time. They didn't even have the luxury of the Avatarmobile, as they had when he'd been learning earthbending with Suda.

Whistler had heard more than her share of excuses from Sen. It wasn't just the travelling that was holding Sen back. Something about him didn't click with airbending. It wasn't a matter of spirituality, so far as Whistler could tell, so there had to be some other aspect of airbending that didn't mesh with Sen's personality. As a native earthbender, that was to be expected, but it was still a problem to be solved.

Sen's silent meditations did not last long. As he tried to focus on spiritual energy, he sensed a great concentration of it nearby. There were spirits lurking in the shadows. Sen stood up and looked in their direction. Whistler tried to get him to sit down, but he was more concerned with the nearby spirits.

"I know you're there," Sen said to the distant shadows. There was a small sound of shifting in response. Sen took a few steps closer to the hiding place of the spirits. A small gathering of the strange creatures emerged from hiding. They showed obvious signs of anger, but their rage was not directed at Sen. Suda took a few steps back. He did not like spirits.

"Whatever's troubling you, I can help," Sen said. "I'm the-"

"We know who you are," One of the darkest spirits said. It was in a state of flux, constantly teetering between its stable, normal form, and a corrupted mirror of itself.

"He is the Avatar," a much more stable looking spirit replied. It was hound-shaped, and it circled the flock of angry spirits like a guardian. It was trying to keep them in check, acting as the voice of reason. "And he is on our side."

"He's on the humans side," One of the darkened spirits said. It took a few steps towards Sen, but was herded back into the group by the encircling hound-spirit. "The Avatar always sides with the humans."

"You're having problems with humans?"

"They have broken our arrangement," The hound spirit said. "They've settled too deep into the Spirit World."

Sen nodded. He knew what was going on now. After the Spirit Portal's had been opened, Korra had laid out one very clear rule for humans in the Spirit World; no permanent settlements more than a few miles from the portal entrances. Only one group of people had broken that arrangement so far: the Seventh Kingdom. Sen looked over his shoulder at the rest of his group. They had clearly reached the same conclusion.

"Well, I have good news," Sen said. "Even if I don't do anything, I can guarantee that the people troubling you will be gone soon enough."

That seemed to please the spirits, and their confused forms stabilized. Sen knew that if it really was the Seventh Kingdom troubling these spirits, then General Rahm would not be far behind. They would be removed one way or another.

"Then you intend to do nothing," One of the more aggressive spirits said.

"No," Sen said quickly. "I'll go and talk to them, convince them to leave. I want these people out of the Spirit World as much as you do."

That satiated the anger in the spirits heart, and the last hints of the tainting darkness left them. They thanked the Avatar for his consideration, gave him directions to the Seventh Kingdom's base, and departed peacefully. Sen bowed respectfully to the spirits as they left, and then turned to his allies. They were slightly less pleased with this arrangement.

"I don't think we should do this," Ada said. "The Seventh Kingdom are dangerous."

"Not to mention that Rahm is going to come along and annihilate them all eventually," Whistler cautioned. "Better for us if we're not there when he shows up. Last time was a close call."

"What are we even going to do? I mean, we could maybe get them to leave," Suda said. "I don't really feel like helping the Seventh Kingdom."

"Neither do I," Sen said. "But I'm not just going to leave them to be wiped out by Rahm. I'll do what I can to convince them to save themselves, and if that doesn't work…well, I won't feel too bad leaving them to whatever happens."

While he was certainly loathe to assist the Seventh Kingdom in any way, they were the lesser of two evils in this situation. He could not leave them to be massacred by Rahm. Ada and Suda were persuaded as well. Whistler could care less, but seeing as she was in the minority, she did not bother protesting.

They began to follow the directions the spirits had provided, following crude trails through the rocky cliffs of the Spirit World. As they proceeded, Sen was unsurprised to find the soil turning black and metallic.

"More Spirit Metal," He said. He rubbed his palm along a solid chunk of the crude ore. "I'm starting to the think the Seventh Kingdom is attracted to this stuff."

"Then we know who to thank for Rahm being indestructible," Whistler groaned. "They must have led him right to it."

The climb came to an end in an open plain, pockmarked with deposits of Spirit Metal. A settlement was clearly visible, and they marched towards it. It was not long before they attracted the attention of the locals.

A small stampede of mounted riders approached them, brandishing metal spears and bending arts in threatening displays. One of the leaders, a firebender, encircled the Avatar's group in a wreath of flame. Sen did not blink as the fire licked at his face and bounced orange light off the lenses of his glasses.

"We have something you'd like to talk to you about," Sen said.

The mounted warriors conferred amongst themselves for a moment. The lead rider then pointed his weapon at Suda.

"State your business," The lead rider said.

"Don't look at me," Suda grunted. He had no desire to speak to the Seventh Kingdom any more than he had to. He pointed at Sen. "He's in charge here."

The lead rider looked at that tall, muscular Suda, and then back to the much shorter, frailer-looking Sen. His confusion was apparent.

"We know what's been wiping out your outposts," Sen said. "We came to warn you."

The riders talked amongst themselves again. They were clearly surprised that Sen knew anything about them at all. After a long deliberation on their part, the warriors of the Seventh Kingdom begrudgingly guided Sen and his comrades towards their settlement. They kept their spears at the ready all the while. Ada shot each and every rider a dirty look as they marched.

The Seventh Kingdom's home was actually somewhat impressive. The last outpost they had seen had been little more than a group of shanties; this seemed like an actual city. Multiple buildings with tiered roofs and tall, decorative spires sprawled a mile of the rough terrain. A few hundred people were visible in the streets already, and they all seemed to be deeply curious about Suda and the other new arrivals.

"This is Pakkre, our city," their guide said proudly. "The crown jewel of the new Kingdom."

Suda was not impressed. Neither were any of his friends, for that matter. Though all three of them were too young to personally remember the Seventh Kingdom war, they all had their own reasons to despise the rogue military faction. Ada had studied the war extensively, so she knew about their underhanded military tactics and their attacks on innocent civilians, Whistler knew that the Kingdom advocated for the strong having absolute power over the weak, and Sen knew that the Seventh Kingdom had been responsible for imprisoning and torturing Miyani when she was just a child. The Avatar and his friends were a barely contained ball of anger, all directed at the Seventh Kingdom.

Either unaware or deliberately ignoring that seething rage, their guide led them to a large structure at the center of the city. Judging from the ostentatious decorations, it was likely the home of their admiral. A humble servant opened the front door as the captain approached.

"Welcome to the home of Admiral Yut," The captain said.

"Why is he called an Admiral? I thought your navy got wiped out," Ada said. "To the last ship, right? Every single one?"

The captain of the mounted guards gave her a very long, angry glare. Ada smiled right back, knowing full well that she had made him very angry. The Seventh Kingdom had possessed a fearsome navy once, until they had foolishly attempted to blitz the Yala Strait and gotten most of their ships wiped out within a single day. She wondered if Yut had been responsible for that ill-advised offensive. She doubted it. Anyone who made such a costly mistake would not still be in charge of his fleet. Even if that fleet didn't technically exist anymore.

The captain led the way to a large hall, with a table suitable for several guests. The room was not well-decorated; Yut had not been expecting guests, after all. After ordering a few of his helpers to prepare the room, Yut invited his guests to sit. He took a long look at his new guests. He lingered for a while on Suda.

"Thank you for bringing them to me, Captain Chanchai," He said to his subordinate. Chanchai bowed respectfully and left, leaving the new arrivals alone with Yut.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering what city is-"

"We know exactly why you're here," Ada said. "You lost the war and you came running to the Spirit World to hide."

The Admiral gave Ada an angry glare. She smirked back at him. Sen turned to her.

"Ada, if you could please not aggravate them-"

"No, I suppose she has a point," Yut admitted. "Our campaigns in the physical world were largely ineffective. We failed to hold any territory. I like to think that our ideals helped to change the world, however-"

"That didn't happen," Ada said. The Seventh Kingdom had been founded on the idea that might made right; the more powerful ruled over the weaker by nature. That manifested especially as a prejudice against non-benders. However, by uniting all the bigots under a single banner, the Seventh Kingdom had only made it easier to wipe that bigotry out. Oppression of non-benders was nearly non-existent now.

"You will speak when spoken to," Yut said sharply, pointing his finger at Ada. Sen put a hand on her shoulder and forcibly pushed Ada back. They were here for a reason, after all.

"You know your outposts have been getting wiped out," Sen began. "We know why-"

"I'll get my answers from the man in charge, thank you," Yut said dismissively. The Admiral turned his head to Suda while Sen shrugged his shoulders.

"Why does nobody think I'm in charge?"

"It's probably because you're short and skinny and have ugly-looking stubble," Whistler said. Sen clenched his fists. She did have a point. Sen was still in his awkward teenage phase, while Suda was practically a grown man. The beard alone was a decisive factor.

"Are you telling me you allow this boy to boss you around," Yut said incredulously.

"I know it may not look like it, but I'm a lot stronger than Suda."

Yut froze, and looked over Suda. Suda stared right back. There was something very curious in the Admiral's gaze. Recognition, in a strange way, mixed with nostalgia. Yut hesitated briefly before asking the question that was on his mind.

"Suda, you are…Where are you from?"

Suda paused for a moment to wonder why Yut would ask such a thing, but he answered regardless.

"I'm from Garsai. What's it to you?"

"I think…I knew your father."

Sen could feel Suda's blood suddenly run cold. His face showed sparse hints that those words upset him, but on the inside he was a maelstrom of confusion and anger. Ada seemed to pick up on a few of those subtle hints as well. She knew Suda better than most, and even she had never heard much of anything about Suda's father. Suda was not very open about his past.

"Well, that makes one of us," Suda said.

Without much warning, Whistler turned her back and headed for the door.

"This is about to get real emotional, and I have zero time for that," Whistler said. She waved a sarcastic goodbye and walked out the door. There was a moment of awkward silence after her exit. Yut eventually continued.

"He was a good friend of mine. He often spoke of his son –you, I mean. When we served together he would tell me all about you. How sad he was that he had to leave you behind."

Suda rested his hands on the table, the muscles in his arms tensing visibly. He was still restraining himself. Suda had been trying for a very long time to put his past behind him. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his father. If he was here, though, he might as well make sure the past stayed in the past.

"Now, I'm sure you must have all kinds of questions," He said to Suda. "Please, feel free to ask anything you think of."

"Is my dad dead or not?"

Yut was taken aback by the bluntness of Suda's question. He tried to read the boy's mood before answering. Suda's face betrayed little emotion, and Yut was forced to go with his gut instinct. Servers began laying food on the table. Whistler was the only one who ate.

"Your father is no longer with us," Yut said regretfully. Suda nodded. So he was officially an orphan, then. Just one more thing he had in common with Sen and Hanjo. The Avatar's eyes were darting between Suda and his uncle.

"He died fighting for what he believed in, though. We should all be so lucky."

"Was he fighting for the rebellion, like you?"

"For the revolution, yes," Yut said, as if calling it a 'revolution' would make it seem more noble. "His military career was short, but proud all the same."

Suda did the math in his head. The Seventh Kingdom uprising had happened when he was six years old. His father had left just before that. He'd been abandoned just so his father could fight an unjust battle in a war that his side would lose anyway. Suda rolled his eyes.

"I think I've heard enough," Suda said.

"Well, then, you wouldn't mind if I asked you some questions, would you?"

Suda looked at Sen. Sen nodded, and Suda nodded at Yut in return. Yut still seemed uncomfortable with the fact that Suda was taking orders from someone who was, by all appearances, much weaker. Had Yut known that Sen was the Avatar, his mood would have changed quickly.

"Now, I do wonder what brings you to the Spirit World," Yut asked. "It's a fair coincidence, you must admit, us meeting each other."

"Everything happens for a reason," Sen added.

"I'm talking to Suda, boy," Yut said, with a sudden hardness in his voice.

"We're travelling," Suda said. "From Republic City to the North Pole. The Spirit World was the fastest way to do it."

"Really, even with all the disappearances?"

"Well, it was a concern, but once we realized all those 'disappearances' were actually Seventh Kingdom members hiding out in the Spirit World, it didn't bother us as much."

"Yes, then, tell me more about these other outposts you've encountered. Why have I not been informed of strangers in our territory?"

"Mostly because everyone we met is dead," Ada said flatly.

"General Rahm followed you into the Spirit World," Sen explained. "He's been tracking you down. We crossed paths with him near your outpost at the Spirit Metal canyon. That's what Chanchai brought us here to say."

Yut nodded. They had lost contact with that outpost lately, bringing an abrupt end to their research into Spirit Metal. Something about his story did not add up, though.

"That's impossible," Yut scoffed. "Rahm's been dead for nearly a decade. General Lokus killed him."

Sen had been idly toying with a fork as a means to keep his hands busy, and when he heard the name Lokus he clenched his fist hard enough to bend the utensil. Yut noticed the sudden outburst.

"Are you alright, boy?"

"Excuse me," Sen said through clenched teeth. When Miyani had spoken of her imprisonment, she had mentioned Lokus by name. He was directly responsible for most of what she'd suffered through. Just one more person out there who had hurt his friends and faced no consequences, Sen thought to himself. Sen left the dining hall in frustration.

"I'm afraid Lokus lied," Ada explained. She was no fan of the Seventh Kingdom, but even they didn't deserve what Rahm would do to them. "I've seen it myself. The things I saw…Only someone as powerful as Rahm could do that."

Yut rubbed his chin. It certainly explained the disappearing outposts. A super-powered psychopath with a grudge against the Kingdom was a sensible explanation for the disappearances. Rahm being alive also offered certain other benefits. For one, it meant that Lokus was lying. Lokus had built all of his prestige around the idea that he had killed the mighty General Rahm. If that was discredited, he would be removed from office, and there would only be one high-ranking officer left in the Seventh Kingdom.

"Well, in that case I'll make sure to keep my people safe," Yut said slyly. If he could play this situation right, he would be in charge of the Seventh Kingdom.

"The only thing to do would be to pack up and leave," Ada advised. "You might be able to-"

"I can handle my own affairs," Yut said harshly. Ada shrugged. She was trying to save them, but she wasn't trying that hard. They were still an oppressive rebel regime, after all. The world would not too greatly mourn their loss, and neither would Ada. As a nonbender, she had something of a personal grudge against them.

Whistler was taking a look around the Seventh Kingdom compound. It was a fairly nice place, and they would likely have something useful for Whistler to take. They'd all be dead soon anyway, so they wouldn't miss whatever she took.

Whistler carefully perused the Seventh Kingdom's city, but found little she actually liked. The Spirit World was not rich in resources, so almost everything they had was made from wood or stone. Anything actually valuable was kept under tight lock and key by the high-ranking elite. It took a while, because the residents of Pakkre were too curious about the outsider to be much help, but she eventually found a useful lead. One of Yut's fellow officers kept a warehouse of gear used to traverse the Spirit World's wastes. Whistler headed in that direction. What she found was less exciting than she had been expecting.

Massive racks of gear, things like saddles and riding boots for the mounted soldiers, were being organized by a small army of workers. Whistler recognized Chanchai coordinating the workers as they scrambled about their duties. He was shouting orders in a harsh voice, and his words seemed to strike fear into his workers. Whistler frowned. She had been expecting something like this. It was better if she didn't get involved.

She was about to sneak away when she saw one of the workers trip and fall over. One of the Eel Hound saddles he had been carrying was caught on a shelf and torn by the fall. The organizer reached to his belt. Whistler saw a whip.

Chanchai never made it to the first strike. Whistler surged forward and caught the flailing whip on her staff. The leather strand wrapped around the aluminum shaft, and Whistler spun it rapidly to tear the whip out of the organizers hands. With that done, Whistler pressed the end of her staff into the hunter's throat and pushed him back against a wall.

"Not while I'm here," Whistler said threateningly. Chanchai recognized his guest.

"Ah, yes, one of our new friends," He said. Her seemed more amused than threatened by Whistler's display. He calmly removed himself from Whistler's attempt at a pin and tried to retrieve his whip. Whistler pushed the weapon away with a gust of air.

"You really are making this difficult," He said.

"I don't put up with slavers," Whistler said. She was loathe to have anything resembling principles, but there were certain things she hated. She wasn't a fan of authority of any kind, not even democratically elected ones. Tyrants, though, were by far the most vile. Those who controlled with fear and force were the worst of the worst.

"You really are new to the Kingdom, aren't you? I don't think we ever got introduced. You know I'm Chanchai, and you are…?"

"Someone without the patience to listen to you," Whistler spat back. "I don't care about your explanations. You don't get to hurt him."

"Don't preach to me," Chanchai said. "The man you're trying to save held this whip not a few months ago. I proved myself stronger, and now I hold power. That is our way."

Whistler looked at the whipped slave. Knowing he had once been a slave driver himself did change things, but not enough.

"That doesn't make it right," Whistler said. Talking about right and wrong was strange to her. It felt unnatural.

Chanchai shrugged his shoulders. Then, with a sudden sweep of his arm, he produced a thin strand of fire from his hands and struck the errant slave with it, burning his skin and clothing with the lash of fire. Whistler knocked Chanchai to the ground with a burst of air, just a little too late to stop him. The slavedriver's reflexes were quick, though, and he was back on his feet in an instant.

"I am the strong, and my word is law to the weak," Chanchai growled. "That is our way."

The slave that Chanchai had struck looked at Whistler. It wasn't a look of gratitude or hope. His eyes were red with fear and pain. Whistler turned to the slaver and brandished her staff menacingly. A wicked grin spread across her face.

"Fine. Then I'll play it your way. Winner takes all."

Chanchai smiled.

"An airbender, offering to fight? You do surprise, outsider."

"There's no airbenders like me," Whistler boasted. Chanchai was not convinced. He had fought airbenders during the uprisings. They retreated too easily. They were easy to manipulate if you could exploit that tendency.

Chanchai opened with a strike of fire to Whistler's left. With a typical airbender, this would cause a reactive move backwards and to the right, and Chanchai knew exactly how to strike to capitalize on that movement. Whistler, though, did not fight with the typical airbender mindset. She used air to push aside the flames and dove forward, taking Chanchai off guard.

Her next moves were just as unexpected. All of Chanchai's previous airbender opponents had fought to disable or disorient. Whistler meant to hurt. She slammed the heavy metal of her staff into Chanchai's stomach, then spun to a follow up attack on the back of his knees. The combined blows forced Chanchai to his knees.

Whistler rested her staff on her shoulder, confident in her resounding victory. She had never expected it to be much of a challenge. Nobody ever expected an airbender to be vicious.

"Well, I win," Whistler said arrogantly. "Now I own you, right? Those are the rules?"

Chanchai was ashamed of his defeat, but there was greater shame in defying his principles. Reluctantly, the slaver nodded.

"Great."

Whistler leaned over to look Chanchai in the eyes. He had rarely seen such hatred in anyone's gaze. Whistler hated slavers, prison-keepers, kidnappers; anyone who took freedom from another was her enemy. There were many forms of limiting freedoms, of course; governments, schools, and organizations all had rules that limited peoples behavior, but they were at least consensual in most cases, and they were spared most of Whistler's anger. Those who took freedom without consent, though, deserved no mercy.

"Jump off a cliff," Whistler commanded. Chanchai started to tremble. Whistler noticed his hesitation.

"I said, jump off a cliff. I own you now, remember? Those are the rules."

"But you can't-"

"But I can! I'm the strong, you're the weak, my word is law," Whistler said, her voice laden with bitter sarcasm. "I can do whatever I want."

"I won't!"

Whistler folded her staff in half and tucked it into the holster on her belt. She put both her hands forward.

"Last chance, slaver," She said.

"I won't! You can't make me!"

"You'd be surprised what I can do," Whistler said grimly. She began to spin her hands in a circular motion. Chanchai felt a sharp pain in his throat.

"I was lying when I said there was no airbender like me. There used to be one."

Howling air began to spiral around Chanchai's head, enclosing him in a spherical vortex.

"His name was Zaheer."

Applying the last techniques she had read about in Wan Shi Tong's library, Whistler pulled her hands back and ripped the air from Chanchai's lungs. It caused intense pain, and Chanchai began to panic and clutch desperately at his throat, but it didn't end his life yet. There was some time left yet before he suffocated. Some of the effects were immediate, though. Chanchai's eyes turned red. Veins in his neck bulged as his lungs struggled for the slightest gasp of life-giving air.

Whistler held her hands steady, despite the tremble that tried to find its way to her fingertips. She stayed the course. Chanchai was the one thing she hated most in the world. A slaver, one who inflicted fear and pain, took away freedom, all for his own benefit. There was nothing in him worth saving.

Chanchai fell forward, onto his hands and knees, barely holding himself up. Whistler's fingers twitched. The suffocating cyclone howled in Whistler's ears. It didn't matter. Rahm would come soon anyway. He'd be dead one way or another. Whistler clenched her teeth.

Slowly, weakly, Chanchai managed to raise his head and look at Whistler. His eyes were red with pain and fear.

With a frustrated cry, Whistler waved her shaking hands, and the spiraling air vanished. Chanchai took a sharp, sudden breath as air returned to him. Whistler grabbed him suddenly by the shoulders and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground once more. Breathless and afraid, Chanchai laid motionless on the ground, taking deep, heaving breaths.

"Don't-" Whistler tried to talk, to give some kind of lecture, but a tremble in her voice was evident. "No more slaves!"

With that short outburst done, Whistler quickly retreated from the warehouse. She thought that by leaving Chanchai behind, the shaking in her hands would stop, but they did not. She barreled past the borders of Pakkre and sat down in the dust of the Spirit World, trying to quiet her shaking hands.

Yut had managed to maintain a fairly civil conversation with Suda for some time now. He mostly asked about Suda's metalbending. He showed a slightly unhealthy interest in how Suda compared himself to others. Suda was not interested.

"Look, we came here to warn you about Rahm, and we warned you," Suda said. He turned to Sen. "Can we go now?"

"I'm just wondering if you would regard yourself as exceptional," Yut asked casually. "How do you compare to other metalbenders?"

"I don't," Suda said. "It's been a long time since I faced another metalbender. I can only think of Rahm…and I'm not anywhere in his league."

"He's very good," Ada said. "I'm from Zaofu, so I know metalbending."

Ada bit her tongue just a second too late.

"You're from where?"

Zaofu's military had been one of the first stopping blocks of the Seventh Kingdom's uprising. Zaofu's philosophy of equality and communal living was a direct counterpoint to the Seventh Kingdom's ideals of dominance and social supremacy. The Seventh Kingdom military had attacked the city unprovoked and without warning, because they thought that their peace-focused mindset would make the city an easy target. They had been wrong, to say the least. As it turned out, the Beifong family had been funding more than art and music programs. Thanks to Ko Rin's intelligence network, the Seventh Kingdom sneak attack was discovered weeks in advance, and the invading force was wiped out with extreme prejudice. It was one of the first major disasters of the Seventh Kingdom's campaign.

Yut turned to his friend's son. His face bore an obvious expression of disgust.

"What have you been doing with your life," He said. "Running about being ordered around by children, gallivanting with mongrels from Zaofu."

A vein in Suda's neck twitched. Yut continued his monologue.

"You have so much more potential than this, Suda! Your father knew you were destined for better things! He joined us so you could live in a world free of these weaklings, not follow them like a dog on a leash!"

Suda clenched his fists.

"What are you- He joined because of me?"

"Yes, Suda," Yut said, suddenly sounding sympathetic. "Your father told me a lot about you. Your gifts in bending were obvious from a young age. He knew you were destined for greatness, and he joined the Seventh Kingdom to fight for a place where great men like you would not be held back by the weak. A place where your supremacy would be recognized and rewarded."

Yut stood up, walked over to Suda, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Your father loved you, Suda. Enough to give his life to make a better world for you."

Suda was staring blankly forward, dealing with the revelation. He had always assumed that his father had abandoned him for the same reasons as any other deadbeat dad. Laziness, irresponsibility, selfishness-those kinds of things. The truth was…different.

The truth was worse.

Suda stood up and violently pushed Yut's hand off of his shoulder. Yut took a few steps back.

"I don't care," Suda said. "I've never cared, not for a day of my life. Maybe he did love me in his own twisted, stupid way, but I never even knew him. I never had a father."

"You should watch your tone-"

"I don't care what you think, Yut! I don't care about you at all," Suda shouted. "The only reason I'm here is because he wanted to be here!"

Suda pointed at Sen, who nodded awkwardly in affirmation. Yut seemed angered now.

"Your father didn't give his life to watch you waste your life with children and mongrels from Zaofu!"

"He didn't give his life for anything," Sen said. "Your rebellion failed, your ideals were crushed. Now the last little fragments of your dead dream are going to be wiped out."

Sen stood up and pulled Ada towards the door.

"He's coming."

They were quick to turn their backs on Yut. They all knew what Sen meant. The shockwaves of his footsteps announced his presence miles in advance. General Rahm was on the hunt. Suda led the way as they marched away from Yut, and from Pakkre. Whistler, trembling still, met them on the cities outskirts, and they fled into the distance.

***

Rahm was curious to see an outpost that seemed to be expecting him. Rahm often arrived as a hurricane of death and destruction, a titan of fear and death. Here, though, they were welcoming him. Rahm proceeded steadily to the heart of the Seventh Kingdom city. The military was waiting for him, not as a hostile vanguard, but in a ceremonial formation.

"General Rahm, I presume," Yut said welcomingly. He had brushed off the dust and dressed himself in the best clothes he had. Rahm did not react to his formality. Yut was secretly intimidated by the new arrival; he was massive, and clad in angular black armor that sent a shiver down his spine. The sight of the titanic sword at Rahm's back filled Yut with dread. Despite the fear, he had to press forward. This was an opportunity. He walked towards Rahm.

"My superior, General Lokus, claims he killed you, you know."

This elicited a reaction at last. A low growl of displeasure rumbled forth from Rahm's helmet. Yut felt slightly more confident.

"I imagine you're insulted," Yut said. "I can offer you revenge. Al I ask in return is that you accept our unconditional surrender."

Yut knew he was no match for Rahm. His best hope was to distract the General while Yut consolidated his power. With Lokus slaughtered, Yut would be the leading figure of the Seventh Kingdom. Yut extended the hand of friendship to Rahm, hoping to close the deal.

Rahm's gauntlet closed around Yut's forearm in a vice-like grip. Surrender was unacceptable. Rahm lived by a simple philosophy: victory or death.

"I do not negotiate."

Rahm clenched his fist, and Yut's bones were crushed to splinters under the herculean force. Yut screamed in agony, and his men launched an attack. Lances of flame and metal soared towards Rah, but accomplished nothing against his armor. The attacks wreathed Rahm in a halo of fire and splintered metal, furthering his demonic appearance, but they never hurt him. Years of conflict had taught Rahm how to temper his armor against any attack.

"Where is Lokus," Rahm demanded. He didn't have to ask twice.

"At the portals," Yut howled. "He's in hiding at the settlement near the portals!"

And thus, Rahm had no more need for Yut. He released his crushing grip on Yut's arm, grabbing instead onto Yut's head. He endured a brief moment of Yut's screams for mercy before slamming his fist shut tight. Slowly, he turned to the rest of the Seventh Kingdom, and drew his blade.

Pakkre was soon as quiet as a grave.

***

A similarly enduring silence pressed down on Sen and his friends. They walked in silence for hours, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the graveyard of the Seventh Kingdom. Suda radiated an odd intensity that kept anyone from speaking. After travelling a few miles, they all ran out of energy, and Sen decided to stop their march. Whistler was quick to put distance between herself and the rest of them. The three that remained stared at each other for a while.

"I always wondered why you never talked about your past," Ada finally said.

"I don't have a past, okay," Suda said, clearly agitated. "There was a bunch of stuff that happened to me, alright, it's not part of who I am, it isn't important. What I am is what I'm doing right now. I'm the good guy, you guys are my friends. All that bandit stuff, my parents, none of it matters."

Sen walked forward and grabbed him by both arms, forcing Suda to look at him.

"It does matter," Sen said. "You don't have to like it, Suda, but you have to accept it. Because everything with your parents, all your years as a bandit…It's why you met me. It's part of you."

Ada stepped forward, with her arms wrapped across her chest. She looked hesitant, but she managed to speak.

"Suda, I know that life must have been rough for you," She said quietly. "But if all that…trouble, is what made you who you are today, I wouldn't change any of it. You're an amazing person, and I think of you like a brother."

Her face turned red. Sen nodded. Suda stared at them in silence for a while.

"I know maybe I don't know what family means," Sen said sheepishly. "But I think you're-"

Suda interrupted him by throwing his massive arms around Sen and Ada both, pulling them close to his chest. Sen felt slightly crushed, but he didn't mind. Suda's heart was pounding, filled with a rush of emotion. Eventually, he released them.

"There's no family resemblance, you know," Suda joked. "Everyone will think you're adopted."

Sen chuckled and slapped Suda on the arm. With a quiet goodnight, they all went to their beds, and slept with surprising ease. The only one awake now was Whistler.

She sat with her back to them all, watching her hands. They were shaking, always shaking, no matter how hard she tried to make them stop. She had thought that leaving the Seventh Kingdom, and Rahm, behind, would stop her hands from shaking. It had not. She wrapped her arms tight around herself and tried to calm herself. There was no danger here, she told herself, and she tried to sleep. She closed her eyes, and all she saw was the circle of air, sucking the life out of Chanchai. Her hands started to shake harder.


	49. Book 3 Ch15: Aquila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar joins forces with a powerful guardian Spirit to defend a clan of lesser spirits from the Fogbender.

Hanjo popped into view rather suddenly, as he usually did. Crossing the planes was a fairly swift process once you were good at it, and with nothing better to do for more than a year, Hanjo had gotten very good at it. The only upside to being in prison, as it was. He took a look around.

Sen was sitting with his legs crossed and his knuckles pressed together, a classic airbender meditation pose. Ada was practicing her swordsmanship, and the other two were sitting around bored. Suda perked up when he saw Hanjo, but Whistler kept observing Ada's swordplay with an odd intensity.

"Hanjo, hey," Suda said. "Sen's a bit busy right now."

"I noticed," Hanjo said. "What's he doing?"

"Talking to Korra," Suda explained. "Didn't say why."

Hanjo squinted. It wasn't like Sen to keep secrets. He looked at his friends quiet form, and wondered what was going on inside his head.

It wasn't entirely within Sen's head, in a spiritual sense. Most of it was actually Korra's memory. His struggles against seemingly undefeatable opponents had caused him no small amount of frustration, and he wanted that to stop. If he allowed himself to become too temperamental, he might end up making a fatal mistake. Korra knew quite a bit about being short-tempered, and she could offer her own share of wisdom.

They had explored some of her more extreme memories, reliving how her overconfidence had caused disasters when facing Amon and Unalaq, and had since travelled into deeper, more subtle memories. It was strange for Sen to walk through a world that no longer existed, but he carefully observed the memories regardless.

"It isn't just the battles you're fighting that frustrate you," Korra observed. "You're having problems with another. Your airbending master, Whistler."

"She's just not cooperating," Sen said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with her. She's always been hard to deal with, but lately it's been even worse. She won't even look me in the eye anymore."

Ever since they had left the Seventh Kingdom city of Pakkre behind, Whistler had been even more uncooperative than usual. Sen could sense that something was wrong with her, but she resisted all efforts Sen made to help her.

"It can be difficult to understand people like her," Korra said. "Your sense of morality defines the way you look at life, but her morality is completely different. It's as if you're living in two completely different worlds."

The setting of Korra's memories shifted drastically, changing slowly into a dark cavern, illuminated only by the greenish glow of glowing crystals. He could see a much younger Korra sitting in front of a very old man who, curiously, seemed to be floating in mid-air. There was only one person who that could be.

"Zaheer?"

The first renegade of the new Air Nation was still infamous even today. Mostly for the way he had mastered the art of flight, but also for his role in the fall of the old Earth Kingdom and the ensuing chaos of the Earth Empire. He was not, however, anyone Sen would consider a role model.

"Do you really think Whistler is that much like him?"

"She's closer than you think," Korra said quietly.

The memory of the cavern fully crystallized in Korra's memory, becoming a clear replay of the past events. Sen observed quietly as the past played out before his eyes.

"He was old and sick the last time I saw him," Korra's spirit said. Her younger self began repeating a conversation she'd had in the past. She offered her condolences to Zaheer. The renegade did not take kindly to her sympathy.

"I'd spoken to him many times, begging him to use his wisdom for good. To share his knowledge and help build the new Air Nation. To finally bring something good into the world. I must have asked him a hundred times."

Korra observed the scene with no small amount of sadness. There was regret written on her every feature, even as a spirit.

"I thought that things would be different. When he was living his last days, I asked him one last time."

The memory of Zaheer looked quietly at Korra. Even ravaged by age and sickness, Zaheer maintained a look of dignity. A cold, hostile dignity, but dignity nonetheless. He stared intensely at Korra for a while, before speaking one single word.

"No."

Korra didn't give up. She tried to argue, tried to convince him, to persuade him, but Zaheer remained unmoved. He would not help his old enemy. Eventually, having made no progress at all, Korra grew frustrated and gave up. The memory ended, leaving Sen confused.

"Wait, I don't get it," Sen said. "Is that it? He didn't help you?"

"Yes and no," Korra said. "I wanted more from him, but the truth is by that time Zaheer had already shown me everything he ever could. Because of him I learned how vulnerable I really was, and I learned to understand the pain others felt. But I didn't learn that because he told me."

"You learned because he poisoned you," Sen said. He had lived through that memory with her, feeling the fire burning in her veins as the Red Lotus poison slowly killed her. It had been horrible, but somehow educational.

"The things we need to learn can't always come peacefully," Korra advised. "Sometimes conflict is the only way to grow."

Sen sighed. It was easy to hear, but harder to understand. The lessons one learned from suffering were often only apparent in the long term. Korra nodded solemnly, and faded from sight. Sen's eyes snapped open, back in the Spirit World again. Hanjo waved.

"Hey, Avatar," He said lazily. His physical body had an intense headache, and that somehow carried over the Spirit World. It wasn't pleasant.

"Hanjo," Sen replied. "What's the word today?"

"The word is that direction," Hanjo said, pointing off into the distance. "That's the way to the portals."

"We were heading that way yesterday," Ada said, pointing slightly to the left of Hanjo's indicated direction.

"It's just a detour," Hanjo assured her. "I imagine you guys want to get back on smooth terrain."

"Count me in," Whistler said. She picked up her things and started walking in that direction, leaving the others to quickly pack up and follow her. Whistler kept her distance from the others, even more so than usual.

"What happened to her," Hanjo asked. He had not been around during the incident in the Seventh Kingdom city of Pakkre. Sen explained everything that had happened to him.

"So what does any of that have to do with her," He asked again. Sen knew nothing of Whistler's fight with Chanchai, so his story was mostly about Suda and Yut. He had no way of knowing why Whistler had started behaving erratically. Whistler herself wasn't entirely sure.

"I'll figure it out," Sen assured him. "Eventually."

"I'm sure," Hanjo said sarcastically. "It only took you sixteen years to figure out your own eyes didn't work."

"Actually that was me," Suda interjected.

"Right," Hanjo said. "You never figured out your own eyes didn't work."

"Well how was I supposed to know the whole world wasn't naturally blurry," Sen said. He adjusted the glasses on his face.

"Blurry? Sen, I tried on your glasses once, I'm surprised you knew anything more than ten feet away existed."

"That bad? Hey, Sen, let me try on your glasses," Suda said.

"No. Your head's like two inches wider than mine, you'd bend them."

"We brought spares," Ada said.

"Only two," Sen said. Much like bathrooms, there were no optometrists in the Spirit World, making it very hard to replace glasses. Sen had been lucky enough to not lose any of his glasses yet, and he wasn't going to risk them now, not even to something as benign as Suda's giant head.

Sen kept his glasses firmly on his face as they proceeded forwards. Despite Hanjo's promise that they were heading towards smoother terrain, there was a large, lopsided valley on the horizon. The opposite side soared high into the distance above them. Sen wondered why Hanjo would lead them towards such an obstacle. Dried scrub bushes and a few dead trees littered the nearby terrain, and Sen pressed forward through the dry timber.

"Hey, hang on, do you hear something," Whistler said nervously. The rest shook their heads. Whistler listened more closely. Airbenders were naturally more connected to the air, and the way sound travelled through it, so her hearing was slightly better than her teammates. There was definitely a sound of movement and conversation. Even though he could not hear it, Sen and the rest moved forward just a little more carefully.

After closing a bit more of the distance between themselves and the valley, the others started to hear the sounds as well. They crept carefully forward through the dry brush.

"Sounds almost like a settlement," Ada whispered.

"Might be another Seventh Kingdom outpost," Suda suggested. Whistler's eye twitched visibly. Sen shook his head.

"I don't feel any movement," he said. "It can't be humans."

Sen ordered the others to pause while he personally checked out the valley below. Sure enough, there was a small village nestled in the bottom of the valley, and it was not populated by humans at all. It was hard to see exactly what they looked like from this angle, but they had a faint blue glow. They all looked rather small, and not particularly threatening.

Sen almost relaxed. After his short observation was over, a much larger, brighter figure lunged up the cliffside. It moved in a blur, lunging up the walls of the valley in rapid bounds. Sen readied himself for a fight that never came. The lunging figure reached the top of the valley and immediately prostrated itself before Sen.

It was a tall thing, nearly ten feet high, and shaped very much like a human. The whole spirit was coated in dull grey skin, with bright bands of glowing cyan blue spread across its body in a jagged pattern. Its skin seemed to be plated and spiked like armor, and it held a shield in one hand and a large sword in the other. The blade was currently plunged tip-first into the ground as the giant spirit bowed deeply to Sen.

"Master Avatar," It said. Some of the markings on its face glowed as it spoke. Sen bowed in return. The spirit stood and pulled its blade out of the ground. Sen's friends came running, but quickly relaxed as the spirit showed it meant no harm by sheathing its blade.

"It is my honor to greet you and your companions," the spirit said. "My name is Aquila, warrior and guardian."

Sen and his group made their introductions and explained their reasons for being here. Aquila nodded.

"Your journey thus far has been long and restless, and you have seen few friends. That changes today. Come, the village below is sparse, but it offers respite and friendship."

That sounded like a very appealing prospect. Aquila led the way. The cliff-face that led into the valley actually had a crude staircase carved into it, which made the descent very easy. They were soon in the midst of the spirit village. Small glowing creatures rushed about from side to side, paying little mind to the human arrivals in their midst. They were short creatures with stubby limbs and wide heads, with massive mouths. They reminded Ada of deep-sea anglerfish, with broad mouths filled with sharp teeth.

"Curious creatures," She remarked. "Since when do spirits build settlements?"

"I think they have been influenced by human settlements in the Spirit World," Aquila explained. "There is no way to know for sure. The Bessalisk are simple creatures, not possessed of speech."

Not human speech, at least. One of the stubby spirits gurgled something as it rushed past Sen's feet. They did seem to be acting out a crude imitation of human society. Hanjo thought it was a bit cute. Ada was mostly curious. The Bessalisk defied a lot of what humans believed they knew about spirits. Not only did they have a settlement, they seemed to be a cohesive species. Most spirits were unique individuals.

"How did you end up being their guardian," Sen asked. "You're clearly not one of them."

"I found them one day, while I was wandering. They are simple creatures, as I said, and I worried that they might be exploited or attacked."

"I can't see anyone coming all this way just for this little village," Suda said. A few of the Bessalisk were armed with crude spears, acting out the role of guards. They actually seemed to be on the lookout for something.

"Threats have been few, I will admit," Aquila said. "A dark spirit now and then, a wandering Bristleback pack occasionally. A group of humans tried to seize the settlement several years ago. All were easily repelled."

Sen nodded. Probably the Seventh Kingdom trying to occupy the village.

"Lately, though, we have come under attack by something that seems between man and spirit."

Hanjo scowled. He had had a gut feeling that there would be a problem in this village. Sen was not surprised either.

"What's it like," He asked. Naturally, his first instinct was to help.

"It is a strange creature," Aquila sighed. "It attacks every few days, striking at our defenses and then retreating. I don't know whether it is some manner of spirit or a human wielding tricks, but it fights with a cloud of fog."

"Oh no," Sen groaned. They had been evading the Fogbender for quite some time. It seemed to have found its way ahead of them somehow. Whistler shook her head.

"We should get out of here, now," she cautioned.

"You know this creature?" Aquila asked.

"Yes," Whistler said. "It's been hunting us. I don't know what it wants with your fish-things, but we're not going to help anything by staying here. The sooner we leave, the better off we'll all be."

"Maybe leading it away would be the best thing to do," Sen said.

"No," Whistler objected. "Not leading it away, just leaving. If we lead it away, it's just hunting us again, and that's not what we want."

"But we can't just leave it here to attack these spirits."

Suda and Ada took a step back. This was clearly going to boil into a full-blown argument. Aquila examined the unfolding spectacle with some curiosity.

"Or we could do exactly that," Whistler argued. "They're spirits, they'll come back. They aren't worth risking ourselves over."

"I reincarnate too," Sen countered. "How much is my life worth to you?"

He had meant it as a simple counterpoint, but Whistler seemed hurt somehow. Her face showed very little change, but Sen could feel a deeper shift within her. Sen bit his tongue. He had apparently crossed a line.

"Sorry."

Whistler tried to act like she didn't know what he was apologizing for. Sen rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just…hold on. We're going about this the wrong way," Sen said quietly. Trying to argue with Whistler about what was right and wrong would never work; she saw it the other way around. Sen had to argue from her point of view. Sen looked around at the Bessalisk wielding their crude spears.

"Aquila, have the Bessalisk been fighting to defend themselves?"

"Yes. A small militia assists me, though our numbers have been…dwindling," Aquila said sadly.

"And you set up barricades, there, and over there," Sen said, pointing to two different fortifications on either side of the canyon.

"Yes. They have greatly assisted in our defense."

Whistler didn't quite understand what Sen was doing. He seemed to have completely forgotten about their disagreement. He asked Aquila a few more questions about their defenses and the Fogbenders attacks, and then turned back to Whistler.

"Okay, just, forget about whether or not it's right or wrong. Just think about it in terms of what's good for us. We've been running from the Fogbender for a while. It keeps us up at night. We haven't been able to fight it effectively. But here, we have the element of surprise, we have a fortified position, and we have Aquila and the Bessalisk giving us an advantage of numbers."

Whistler looked around. The barricades and Bessalisk militia had been holding the line fairly well, by all appearances. Sen pointed up at the cliff-face above.

"We can use the dry timber we saw up on the cliff to build torches, that'll boil away the fog. If we plan it right we might be able to trap the Fogbender in the center of the village, even."

Sen pointed, at last, to Whistler.

"But you're the only one who can see the Fogbender's attacks coming. If we have you actually helping us, we stand a really good chance of winning this. We can get this thing off our tail permanently, and we'll all sleep a little easier."

Whistler locked her jaw and scowled intensely for a moment. Sen made more than a few good points. It would be nice to put an end to the constant pursuit.

"Alright, two things," Whistler said. Sen's plan was not completely foolproof. "First off, I want an escape plan. If this goes wrong, in any way, we leave, and we leave fast. No heroic last stands."

"I'll have Gun dig an escape tunnel," Sen said. He was actually glad Whistler had thought of that. Having a way to evacuate the Bessalisk would come in handy in the worst case scenario. Whistler nodded.

"Second, I'm not putting this whole village on my back," Whistler said. "It's time you got serious about learning airbending. Until the Fogbender shows up, you're mine, got it? We're training, no interruptions."

"Deal," Sen agreed. Whistler extended her hand, and Sen shook it firmly. Satisfied, Whistler gave Sen one final moment to set up the defenses. With a few tactical stomps of his foot, Gun emerged from the ground and then began tunneling downwards. His tunnel was shored up behind him with a thin layer of earth, disguising the tunnel entrance until they needed it. Suda was put in charge of constructing more barricades and torches. Ada was to assist Aquila with training and preparing the Bessalisk militia. With the arrangements made, Sen and Whistler found a quiet spot to train, and began their practice.

***

The attacks by the Fogbender were infrequent, and so they ended up with a few days to prepare, which was all the better for them. The Bessalisk were not very clever creatures, and it took quite a bit of effort to train them how to fight. They wielded crude spears and flimsy shields with very little finesse. It soon became clear to Ada that the training was not going to accomplish much.

"They aren't very good at this," Ada mumbled as one of the Bessalisk tripped and fell over.

"No they are not," Aquila agreed. "But they have the will to fight, and they deserve the chance."

Two of the Bessalisk started hitting each other with their crude wooden clubs. They weren't really sparring, more just randomly flailing at each other. Ada shook her head.

"They're putting themselves at risk," Ada argued.

"Aren't we all?"

Ada looked up at the great metallic spirit. He only had two glowing eyes, which limited his facial expressions quite severely, but he had a rather solemn look on what little face he had.

"You and I are skilled warriors, Ada, but we are no less likely to fall in the coming battle than they are. To fight is to face the risk of defeat. Failing to acknowledge that is the greatest mistake a warrior can make."

Ada nodded. Her teachers in Zaofu had always told her to go into every battle expecting to lose; imagine every scenario that could go wrong and try to prepare for it. Obviously it was impossible to cover every eventuality, but being cautious was always important.

"Where did you learn swordplay, Aquila," Ada asked. She had gotten thinking about her own teachers, and that made her curious about Aquila's origins.

"I never learned. Battle is my nature. I was born with a sword in my hand, the knowledge to use it in my head, and the desire to practice it in my heart. I have never had another purpose."

While some spirits had a measure of free will, and an ability to learn and grow, many others played set roles and embodied specific concepts. Aquila was a guardian spirit; it was in his nature to protect others. Ada thought it must be rather limiting to have no other options in life, but she was not a spirit. Aquila felt no resentment over his singular path through life. It was his nature; he could not change it and he had no desire to.

Another thought occurred to Ada. If Aquila had never been taught by anyone, it was entirely possible that he knew things that no other living thing did. Until today, perhaps.

"Aquila, why don't you teach me some of what you know," Ada asked. While she had been intending to develop her own unique style, this was not an opportunity she could pass up. She might be the first person in history to learn the way of the sword from a Spirit.

"I can't guarantee it will go well," Aquila said. "But I will do my best."

Aquila took up a stance, and Ada mimicked him. After making some considerations for the differences in their various physical differences, the two began to practice.

Aquila's style was unique among all the forms that Ada had studied. His fighting style was based heavily on mobility. Rather than relying on the strength of his arm to give his blows power, he used the inertia of lunges and dives to add force to his strikes. When it came time to defend himself, he preferred to evade away rather than parry the strikes. It took Ada some time to adapt to the more mobile style, but when she had, she found it suited her. She was not large or strong, as many swordsmen were, so typical styles did not suit her body well. Using her smaller size and higher agility to her advantage would aid her greatly.

"You adapt well," Aquila said. It was much easier to learn when she had a good teacher. Ada could remember struggling to learn anything at all from Sorikami's abusive training. Aquila was patient and helpful, and so she learned quite a bit in only a few days. As the days passed, and the Fogbender remained at bay, Ada and Aquila trained in the way of the Spirit's sword.

Aquila approved of his new student, but there was an area of concern for him. After one of their sparring sessions, he had to address the fear he had.

"You are a ferocious warrior, Ada, and that gives you strength," Aquila began. "But there is danger in it as well. It is a fine line between passion and rage."

Ada nodded. Sen had shared the same concern, as had many of Ada's teachers. She enjoyed fighting too much. She acknowledged the danger, but she was confident in her ability to overcome it. She had learned responsibility the hard way, and she had seen in General Rahm what became of those who lost control. She would not lose her way so easily.

***

Finally able to sit in one place and focus on his training, Sen was actually making decent progress in airbending. He was still far from being able to use it effectively in a fight, but he was getting much closer to that point.

"Alright, the next thing would be…dang it, was it an obstacle course or was it meditation," Whistler grunted. She hadn't been sleeping enough lately, and her fatigue was evident in the way she taught. She was absent-minded, and forgot things often.

"Is there actually a curriculum," Sen asked. "I thought we were just doing whatever you felt like doing."

A few Bessalisk spirits wandered by, and Whistler shooed them away. They were fairly easy to boss around, actually. Whistler didn't like telling them what to do, but she didn't want them to be in the way.

"No, Avatar, I actually have a plan, believe it or not," Whistler said sarcastically. "If we were doing what I wanted to do, I'd just be throwing the Pagu-Pagu cards at you. You don't seem to like that, so I'm trying to remember how that old fart taught people things."

"You mean Master Jung, right?"

"I said old fart, didn't I?"

There was a very sour look on Whistler's face. Sen figured he might regret it, but he had to ask.

"Whistler, what happened between you and the Airbenders? Why do you hate them so much?"

Something had happened in her past to drive a wedge between Whistler and her former comrades. She had once been a student to Master Jung alongside Sang Lug, but she had simply left one day to become a rogue thief, disappearing without a trace or an explanation to her former comrades.

The sour look on Whistler's face turned to outright bitterness, but there was also something contemplative to it. She crossed her arms stubbornly, remaining quiet for a moment, but she eventually relented.

"Hypocrisy," She said. "They were…they were hypocrites, is all. They said they wanted freedom, but they were so stupid and controlling, and-"

She stopped for a moment and grew visibly frustrated, stomping a foot on the ground.

"They said they wanted us all to be independent and free, but then they tell us what to eat, how to dress, how long to meditate every day, how to talk to people," Whistler rambled. "And when I said I didn't want to live that way, they just tried to control me even more!"

Whistler could remember all the "training" she'd been put through. Every time she raised objections and tried to change the way she was trained, she'd been put through more and stricter routines, as if they could somehow beat the resistance out of her by putting her through the air gates enough times.

"That sounds…oddly cruel," Sen said. Airbenders were supposed to be pacifistic. He couldn't imagine them being so harsh.

"It wasn't that bad, I mean, technically speaking," Whistler admitted. She was more upset with the fact that they had tried to control her than the ways they did it. Some additional training was not particularly terrible.

The Airbenders attempts at discipline had backfired terribly, though. After running through the harsh exercises so many times, Whistler eventually learned to harness her desire for independence and her frustration with typical airbender philosophy to achieve success. By all appearances the discipline had been a success; her airbending skills improved massively, and Whistler became one of the best students on the island, all while harboring a growing hatred for the airbenders.

"So what was the last straw? Why did you decide to leave?"

"Why do you care," Whistler asked. "You want to try and convince me to go back?"

"I just want to know," Sen said.

Whistler stared him down. He seemed sincere enough. She highly doubted that Sen would lie to her. That changed nothing.

"It doesn't matter," Whistler said, shaking her head. "The point is, the Airbenders were too controlling. They try to teach people there's only one path to success, only one way to be a good airbender, and I'm living proof that they're wrong."

Sen nodded in agreement. Whistler waited for a second, waiting for Sen to try and convince her she was wrong, or try and tell her to go back to the airbenders, but it never came.

"So teach me how you do things," He said. "Do the lessons your way."

Whistler stared at Sen, and past him, her weary eyes looking into the distance. She seemed suddenly confused.

"Whistler, I could have brought Sang Lug, or, I guess you call him Suck Lump," Sen said. Whistler giggled quietly. "But I didn't. I didn't want to be taught by a nomad, so stop trying to teach me like a nomad."

"You know, my kind of training involves throwing Pagu Pagu cards at you."

Sen sighed and nodded. If Korra could learn a lesson from being poisoned, Sen could learn a lesson from having a few playing cards thrown at him.

He certainly wasn't going to like it, though.

***

"Alright, well, seeing as how I once again got left to do my own thing while everyone else was training," Suda said indignantly. "I built a pretty darn good barricade."

Suda gestured proudly to his completed work. The wall was equal parts sturdy and flammable. It would be difficult for the Fogbender to cross, and once it did so, the sparking flames could keep it trapped in the center of the village.

"Looks good," Sen said. His face was covered in small cuts that he refused to discuss the origins of. The look on Whistler's face explained them, though. She shuffled a deck of Pagu-Pagu cards casually.

"Do the Bessalisk know what to do? I can't guarantee I'll be able to get to both sides of the village in time." Sen would be able to light the barricades on fir easily with firebending, but he might get held up on one side of the village. In that case, they would have to rely on the Bessalisk.

"Oh yeah," Suda said. "We practiced setting things on fire, watch."

Suda gave a loud shout, and one of the Bessalisk sprang into action, grabbing a lit torch and setting the nearest thing on fire. Unfortunately, that thing was a house, and the Bessalisk residents began to panic until Whistler doused the flames with a gust of wind. Once the fire subsided, the Bessalisk resumed business as usual.

"It's not a perfect system," Suda admitted.

"They will come through when we need them," Aquila assured them all. He seemed very trusting of the diminutive spirits.

"I'm sure," Whistler sighed. "How's our escape tunnel looking, Avatar?"

"Gun finished a few days ago. About ten feet deep, badgermole sized, of course, plenty big enough for all the Bessalisk to evacuate at once if necessary. Exits about a mile away, but this end is covered, so you need an earthbender to get in or out."

"Or the waterbending skill to dig in or out," Ada cautioned. They shouldn't underestimate their opponent. It was entirely possible that the Fogbender could dig through soil somehow. Waterbending was a versatile art.

"It would seem we are prepared to the best of our ability," Aquila said. "All that remains is to wait, and see if our best is good enough."

"We're not going to let you down, Aquila," Sen promised. He felt confident for the first time in months. His airbending training with Whistler had actually gone fairly well. He was still an amateur, but he was making progress.

"Of that I am sure. I could never be disappointed in what you have done, but this does not guarantee us victory. It is possible to do nothing wrong and still fail."

"You can be a real downer sometimes, you know that," Sen said.

"How can I be down when I am so much taller than you," Aquila retorted.

He held a steely grey hand above Sen's head, demonstrating the extreme difference in their height. Sen frowned slightly and looked away. Aquila laughed. Ada rolled her eyes. Everyone was so sensitive about their heights. She had to put up with this kind of thing all the time, but it rarely bothered her.

After a short chat, Aquila left to stand guard on the shorter of the two cliffs that surrounded the village. Sen and Ada also stood watch on the barricades on either side of the village, leaving Suda and Whistler in the middle of the village. Whistler tried to rest, while Suda watched the Bessalisk go about their business. They were all repeating their usual routines, pretending to act like humans.

Sen kept his eye on the walls of the valley. They were smooth and curved, unlike the steep, jagged walls of some canyons he had seen travelling across the Earth Kingdom with Hanjo. He didn't know why. He turned to Ada.

"Ada, why are some canyons all sharp and straight, and this one is all curves?"

"Oh, well, some canyons are formed by things like earthquakes, where the rock breaks apart," Ada explained. She gestured at the walls of the canyon. "Smooth ones like this are made by rivers. The water runs through and carries away little bits of rock until it's all smooth."

Whistler's ears twitched. She could hear something like a roaring sound in the distance. She dismissed it as a hallucination of her tired mind.

"Rivers?"

"Yeah, rivers, streams, anything with running water will make a canyon eventually. It takes thousands of years, though."

Whistler stopped trying to nap. The sound was getting louder. She looked down the canyon into the twisting walls of the maze. Her hands started to twitch.

"So where did the river go?"

"It probably dried up or…branched off somewhere nearby," Ada said hesitantly.

Sen came to his realization about the same time Whistler did. If there had been a river here once before, it was entirely possible that someone could put the river back.

"Avatar," Whistler shouted in a panic. The roaring sound was getting closer. It wasn't any creature doing that roaring. It was water.

A mile down the canyon, the first wave surged around the corner, scattering into white foam as it broke upon the rocks. The tidal impact made a sound like thunder as it crashed against the stone wall, and then began to flow once more, racing towards the Bessalisk village.

Aquila's guardian instincts kicked in, and he quickly acted to defend his people. He snatched up panicking Bessalisk in his arms and kept them away from danger, jumping towards the cliff-face in massive bounds.

"It's trying to flood the village," Whistler shouted.

"Get to high ground," Aquila bellowed, as the roaring torrent drew ever closer to their fortified village.

The first wall of water hit the walls of the village. The barricades and torches were crushed beneath the wave, shattering their careful construction. Suda did what he could to lift up the ground beneath them, to keep them above the flood waters, but there was only so much to be done. As he watched, Sen could feel the weight of the water come down on the escape tunnel Gun had dug, collapsing it completely. The only way to get out of the valley now was to go up. Whistler and Ada helped lead nearby Bessalisk towards the exit. Sen stayed behind, raising up his own pillars of earth, trying to navigate what was left of the flooded village. There were still Bessalisk in the far reaches of the village, trapped in the rushing waters. Sen helped them out of the flood and tried to get them to safety.

Suda, having made a ramp that would lead those Bessalisk out, caught up to Sen quickly. He tried to forcibly push the Avatar towards the exit, and safety.

"No! No," Sen said. "I have to stay here, I have to get them out!"

"I'll handle it, Sen," Suda assured him.

"I can help!"

"You idiot, you can't swim!"

Sen froze. He had forgotten. Miyani had never finished his swimming lessons. Now he was standing in the middle of a lake that was growing deeper by the second.

A bank of thick fog rolled over the surface of the rising waters. Sen felt an icy chill of fear, and then a much more physical kind of cold as water wrapped around his legs.

Suda did not have time to grab on to his friend before the water pulled at Sen, dragging him into the depths. He quickly wrapped one of his metal lines around a nearby stone and dove into the water after the Avatar.

The depths were unnaturally dark, and filled with currents that pulled Sen deeper and further away from safety. He tried to remember everything he knew about swimming. He had only ever had the most basic lessons, though, hardly enough to prepare him for the swirling maelstrom that was the Fogbender's trap. He clawed at the water, trying to force himself towards the surface, but it accomplished nothing. Something was pulling him down faster than he could pull himself up. He had not had time to take a breath before being pulled under. He could feel the air fading from his lungs. He didn't have long.

Sen's struggling had managed to slow his sinking long enough for Suda to catch up to the Avatar. The Fogbenders currents made sure that Suda was carried directly to Sen. He wrapped a metal coil around Sen's chest just in time to feel the Avatar go limp. Suda pulled them back to the surface with all his might, but the currents pulled stronger. At this rate they would never get out of the water in time.

A subtle blue glow illuminated the surface of the water. With a sudden sharp tug, Suda felt himself dragged upwards. The water began to drag at him harder, tearing at his skin as the Fogbender tried to pull them down, but whatever was on the surface was pulling them faster.

With a last mighty pull, Aquila and a few of the Bessalisk managed to drag Sen and Suda out of the water, pulling on Suda's metal cord like a fisherman reeling in his catch. The waters began to tremble and crash: the Fogbender was not happy to have lost his prey. Great tendrils of water rose up from the surface of the roaring river. Suda and Aquila could evade the waters; their Bessalisk helpers were not so lucky.

Suda tried to catch his breath and make sure Sen was still breathing at the same time, giving him little time to shield himself from the waterbending offensive. Aquila had no need to breathe, and he was forever on guard. He lunged into the water after the Bessalisk that had been swept away.

"Aquila, come on," Suda shouted. The waters racing past were too fast and deep to survive for long. Aquila breached the surface once again, dragging a Bessalisk to safety on the cliff face. He spared a look towards Suda.

"Go," Aquila shouted. "Get the Avatar to safety!"

The waters rose up in a great mass and dragged Aquila down. He tore his way to the surface, pulling another helpless spirit behind him to safety, and then went down again.

"Get out of there," Ada shouted from the edge of the cliff. She could see the entire valley begin to surge with raging water. Staying there much longer would mean disaster.

"Aquila, come on," Suda cried. He used his lines to ascend the cliff as quickly as possible. Aquila did not leave the waters.

"I am a guardian spirit," He rumbled lowly. "I am a defender."

Aquila took another dive, and saved another life, btut he waters were coiling more viciously around him with every second he spent in the water.

"Go!"

Suda tried to think of something to say to Aquila, but he didn't have the words. Better to act than speak, he thought. He obeyed Aquila's demands and carried the Avatar out of the valley, away from the raging waters. Wherever the Fogbender was, it seemed aware that the Avatar was escaping its grasp yet again. The waters surged with a renewed wrath.

They all stood at the edge of the cliff face for a moment, uncertain, as Aquila toiled against the deadly current, trying to save as many Bessalisk as he could. They watched him sink and rise and sink again, pitting himself in a struggle against a living force of nature, until he sank once more, and did not rise.

***

Sen coughed up the last of the water in his lungs. His chest burned like fire, and all his limbs felt weak. It took him a long time to regain his full faculties. He was aware that he was lying on Gun's back, and they were moving at a slow pace. That, presumably, meant they were safe. He allowed himself to relax for a while and let the pain leave him behind.

Sen tried to look around. Things were fuzzy. He tried to rub water out of his eyes, but that wasn't the source of the problem. He soon realized his glasses were gone. They must have been swept away by the water.

"Ada," Sen groaned. Talking hurt more than he expected it to. "Do you still have my spare glasses?"

He was handed a pair of glasses, and placed them on his face. Able to see clearly again, he looked around. Suda, Whistler, and Ada were all walking by Gun's side. They had a solemn look on their faces.

"What happened?"

Sen had been under the impression that they had won. It didn't seem like it now. Nobody would look him in the eye.

Gun stopped for a moment as Sen crawled off the badgermole's back. Sen was still weak, but he managed to walk towards Suda.

"What happened," He demanded. Suda sighed.

"Most of the Bessalisk got away," Suda began.

"Aquila didn't," Whistler said. She would not be so gentle about it.

Sen stared forward blankly. Whistler was not impressed. They glared at each other for a while. They both knew what was coming. It was only a matter of how long Sen would keep it bottled up.

"Aquila's gone?"

"You heard me," Whistler said.

There was another pause. Whistler tapped her foot. She was not feeling patient right now. She could see what was about to happen. It was written all over his face.

"So are you going to do it or what?"

Sen slammed his foot against the ground, shattering stones and sending pieces of rock flying. A loud bellow of frustration echoed through the emptiness of the Spirit World. Sen kicked a stone and shattered it into dust. As a final display of overpowering frustration, Sen sent a lance of fire tearing across the ground. Most of his travelling companions backed away, but Whistler held her ground.

Sen knew in the back of his mind that this tantrum wouldn't solve anything, but he had to do something, anything at all. The past few days had apparently been completely pointless, after all. For all their work, for all their preparation, the Fogbender had forced them to retreat once again. Once again, they'd been completely helpless.

As with most outbursts, Sen's was short-lived. His destruction ceased, and Sen slumped against a raised stone, breathing heavily. He placed his head in his hands.

"I should have done more," Sen whimpered. "I was so stupid, I should have thought it through, I should have had a better plan."

Whistler, oddly, sat down next to him. She was tired, and this was a good excuse to sit down.

"It sucks. Yeah."

It was surprising to hear any kind of sympathy from Whistler. She quickly changed to a more familiar tone.

"It was a good plan. Maybe it wasn't good enough, but it was the best you could do. If you're going to mope about doing the best you could, you're going to be moping forever. Suck it up, take what you learned, and do better next time."

Sen tilted his head. Though her words were caged in hostility, there was some wisdom in them. He had always been so distracted by her harsh tones and sarcasm that he had failed to see that Whistler held her own kind of wisdom. It made him wonder what he had missed in the past.

He'd thought for a long time that Whistler couldn't teach him. Perhaps it was the other way around; maybe he had just been unwilling to learn.

"Teach me some airbending," Sen said.

At Sen's insistence, Whistler removed the Pagu-Pagu cards from her belt. With a careful flick of her wrist, one went sailing at Sen's head.

Sen held his breath. Air scattered randomly, driven by hundreds of forces at once. The breath of the people around him, the motion of plants nearby, and even things miles away that he couldn't see, all created a network of shifting air currents. It was a maelstrom of confusion, a random scattering of motion that no one could ever hope to control completely. Sen stopped distracting himself with all the things he couldn't control.

Moving so slowly and gently he barely disturbed the patterns of air, Sen moved his wrist, and snatched the playing card out of the air. He then tossed it right back at Whistler. She could have moved out of the way easily, but she allowed it to sail forward, gently tapping her on the forehead.

"Well, we'll make an airbender of you yet."


	50. Book 3 Ch16: Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's airbending is growing stronger, and the Spirit Portals are close at hand, but escape from the Spirit World will take Sen and his friends through a dangerous gauntlet of conflicts both external and internal as the greatest enemies they've faced in the Spirit World gather in one place -and a threat from within is revealed.

"I want you to promise you aren't going to push me," Sen said.

Whistler backed a few steps away. Sen was holding her staff, and the two of them were standing on the edge of a rather large cliff. It was fairly reasonable for Sen not to trust her. He nodded approvingly as she backed away.

"And no airbending pushes either," He said. "I'll know."

Whistler raised her shaking hands in surrender and held them behind her back. Sen nodded, satisfied, and turned his attention to the cliff. He flipped a switch, and the glider unfolded. This was not going to be fun. He hated flying in general.

Whistler had insisted that he was ready to use the glider, but Sen was not fully convinced. It took him a few false starts to finally muster the courage to run over the cliff's edge. He assured himself that he knew enough about bending to stop himself safely if he should fall, nodded to himself, and then took the plunge.

For a while, the forward momentum of his dive carried him aloft, but he quickly began to veer downwards as gravity overcame momentum. After a brief moment of panic, Sen picked out a favorable air current and guided it around himself, raising his glider from the steep dive.

"That's right," Whistler shouted after him. "Try a turn."

Sen drifted forward for a while until he picked out a cross-breeze. Pitching to the side, Sen caught the wind and veered sharp to the left. It turned him a little farther than he wanted, but he was mostly on the right track.

"Okay, good! Now come back to me," Whistler instructed.

"I'm too low," Sen shouted back. His early dive had taken him several feet below the cliff's edge. "Can't I meet you on the ground?"

"No, it's fine," Whistler said. "Just take a dive, then use that momentum to swing upwards real fast."

Sen took a deep breath. He was not looking forward to taking an intentional plummet. He steeled his nerves and plunged into a steep dive. Barreling headfirst towards the ground was exactly as terrifying as he had expected it to be. He was quite happy to end the dive and begin an upward climb, using a surge of airbending to give himself an upward push. He overshot the cliff by a fair distance, and was forced into a sudden and awkward descent. A little air kept him from crashing too spectacularly, but it was still not a very good landing. Whistler came over to congratulate him.

"Alright, alright, you need a lot of work, but that was good."

"A lot? That was my first time! I did spectacular," Sen objected. He was mostly looking for a reason not to have to practice more. Whistler insisted that gliding was an important part of airbending, but Sen wanted to stay on the ground as much as possible.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Whistler took her staff back and tapped Sen lightly on the head with it. "You over-steered, and you land like a brick."

"I'm an earthbender, I am a brick," Sen objected.

"Don't I know it," Whistler sighed.

Sen's airbending had improved dramatically in the past few days. He still had some difficulty with the amount of patience and reactivity that airbending required, but he was well on his way to mastering the art. Watching him progress had actually improved Whistler's mood as well. There was still a troubling darkness gnawing at the back of her mind, but it was hidden further away now. Sen considered that progress.

Hanjo was trying to applaud, but his hands didn't make any noise when they met. Stupid spirit form, he thought to himself, and then settled for some lazy cheering.

"Alright, fantastic," Hanjo said. He turned to Ada and Suda. "When are you guys going to take your turn?"

"See, you joke about that, but Ada weighs almost nothing," Suda said. "She could probably go pretty far."

"I have done enough plummeting for one lifetime," Ada said. She had taken a fall once in the Spirit Metal canyon, and she had no desire to do it again.

"You know, if more of you could fly, this would probably go a lot faster," Hanjo suggested. "Maybe you should've gotten yourself a sky bison before you ditched the airbenders."

Whistler's face took on a strangely sour look. Sen gave Hanjo a look that said he had messed up, and they all proceeded forward. There was not much time left before they exited the Spirit World. According to Hanjo, they were only about a day's journey away. Suda generally led the way, being the most eager of them all to leave the Spirit World. Hanjo and Sen usually took the rear, walking side by side. They knew that once Sen left the Spirit World, they would be separated once again. They were making the most of the time they had.

Even though he wanted nothing more than to keep talking to Hanjo, life had a way of making that difficult. The ground beneath his feet rumbled slightly, and then Gun clawed his way forth from the dirt. That was odd. Gun rarely left the ground unless he was called. The massive badgermole wandered over to Sen and expressed no small amount of distress.

"What's the furballs problem," Whistler grunted. Sen placed his hands on Gun's broad forehead and communed with him briefly.

"He can't tunnel," Sen said aloud. "There's something blocking his way."

"That's never happened before," Ada said. Gun had always followed them from below, even when they'd been driving a satomobile. He'd even tunneled through a mountain. Occasionally his path had been blocked temporarily, but he'd never been forced to stop tunneling completely.

"I guess he'll walk with us for now," Sen said. He rubbed Gun's snout and carried on his way. He looked around, and found Hanjo suspiciously absent.

"Did Hanjo disappear again?"

"I guess he did," Suda said. "He does that sometimes, right?"

Whistler scowled. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her gut. They were once again distracted, though, by a new arrival.

"You lose your friend?"

The sound of a strange voice made them all jump. Nearly everyone they'd met in the past few months had tried to kill them, so it was justifiable paranoia. They calmed quickly when they saw the strangers uniform. He was wearing a Northern Water Tribe security uniform, complete with the insignia of the Chieftain on the chest. Other than a glove on his left hand, he was as proper a security guard as you could hope for.

The sight of him was actually a welcome relief. If people were wearing Northern Tribe uniforms now, they were probably closer to the portals than they thought.

"Uh, no, we're fine actually," Sen said. "My, uhh, pet here, is just having a little trouble."

"Yeah, makes sense," The guard said. "This whole area is a motherload of Spirit Metal. Your 'mole probably can't tunnel through it."

Sen frowned. Spirit Metal. Every time they'd come across Spirit Metal, they'd found Seventh Kingdom, and after that, General Rahm.

"My names Soku," The guard said. "Can I help you folks?"

"Yeah, if you could just point us towards the Spirit Portals, that'd be fantastic," Suda said. "The sooner we leave the better."

"No problem," Soku said happily. He gestured to the north with his left hand. Sen's right hand twitched. "You can follow me right this way."

"It's alright, we can find our own way," Sen said. He had a bad feeling about this stranger. "We don't need to bother you."

"Well, I have to go that way anyway," Soku joked. "So unless you walk much slower or faster than me, we're walking together."

Sen hardly liked it, but it would be easier just to play along. Despite Sen's gut instinct, nothing about Soku seemed directly threatening. He had no intention of hurting them at the moment, at least.

"What're you doing all this way out here anyway," Ada asked.

"I work for the Northern Water Tribe," Soku explained. "We watch the road near that Spirit Metal quarry. The North wants to keep an eye on it, in case they ever find out how to use it."

Many groups had tried and failed to work with the nigh-indestructible Spirit Metal, but only one person had ever succeeded.

"Doesn't that get boring?"

"Oh yeah," Soku said. "Mostly we play cards."

Soku gestured to the right. A small cluster of shacks stood alone amidst the Spirit World. Ada found them vaguely familiar in an unsettling way.

"So are we very close to the portals or what," Suda asked impatiently. "We've been here way too long."

"It's about a days walk down the road," Soku told them. Suda breathed a sigh of relief.

"We've put up with way too much garbage," He said. "I'll be glad to put all this garbage with spirits and fog and Rahm behind us."

The shaking of the metal shack made it harder for Sen to read heartbeats, but there was no mistaking it. Soku's heart stopped for a moment. The Northern guide bit his lip.

"Rahm" He asked nervously.

"Yeah, that's a long story," Suda said. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that.

Soku's hands flexed anxiously. Sen looked at the glove on his left hand. Some of his fingers weren't moving quite the same as the others. They were unreactive, almost like they were fake.

Sen's right hand twitched, and the bracelet on his wrist shifted slightly.

In a rapid flurry of moment, Sen lunged forward, grabbed Soku by the arm, and pulled off the glove that covered his hand. Sure enough, his fingers were false. The pink and ring finger on his left hand had been completely removed, and his entire hand was covered in a red scar. Sen pulled up the sleeve covering his forearm. The scar extended nearly all the way up to the elbow.

"Excuse you," Soku shouted. He tried to cover his exposed hand. "What's gotten into you?"

"You're Lokus," Sen said. Miyani had described her prisonkeeper in great detail, including the accident that had scarred his left hand and cost him two fingers. It was one of the few details that she remembered about her captivity in the Seventh Kingdom.

Lokus gave a half-hearted chuckle, and shook his head dismissively. He seemed to find the notion that he was Lokus amusing. Sen didn't. Lokus saw the look of intensity on Sen's face, then tried to run. Suda didn't let him get more than a few steps. A metal cord wrapped around his waist brought the last General of the Seventh Kingdom to a dead halt. Suda dragged him back to face their judgment. Whistler took a few steps back. Her last encounter with the Seventh Kingdom had ended poorly. She didn't want to be reminded of what she had nearly done.

"What are you doing here," Sen asked.

"I don't have to answer to you," Lokus spat.

"Oh, right, you only answer to physical strength."

Sen clenched his fist, but hesitated slightly. He looked to Whistler for a moment.

"Eh, remind me, what's that one insult you're always repeating?"

"Get slagged?"

"Yes, that's the one."

Sen grabbed Lokus by the collar with one hand and punched him in the face with the other.

"Get slagged," He spat.

Sen was not the strongest individual, so it didn't hurt that badly, but the point had been made. Whistler was legitimately surprised that Sen had that kind of anger in him. She'd never taken him as the kind of person to engage in petty vengeances like a punch to the face.

"I'm just hiding, alright," Lokus said, his voice laden with obvious panic. "I'm not hurting anything, I'm just trying to stay alive. I even have a job!"

"Don't lie to me," Sen said. "We know you've been running the Seventh Kingdom for years."

Lokus sighed. It had been worth a shot.

"Fine," He said calmly. He shed his panicked demeanor and gained a sudden aura of cold intensity. "I've been organizing the Seventh Kingdom, yes. I use my post here to keep an eye on traffic in and out of the Spirit World, to make sure my people stay safe. Speaking of."

The door of the metal shack opened, and two other men emerged. They posed threateningly. Sen was unimpressed.

"Now you can answer a few of my questions," Lokus said, as if having two mediocre soldiers at his back suddenly put him in charge. "How do you know about us?"

"We've visited a few of your outposts," Sen said. "Just a little bit before Rahm got to them."

"Rahm is dead," One of Lokus' troopers said. "You're lying."

"Of course, because Lokus killed him," Sen said. "Why don't you tell them more about it, Lokus?"

Lokus started to sweat visibly. He glanced nervously between his own soldiers and Sen. Eventually, his proud shoulders dropped with shame.

"We needed a strong leader," He shouted, trying desperately to justify himself. "We'd lost our territory, our champions! We needed something to believe in! If I'd known Rahm would follow us all this time, I never would have-"

"You lied to us," One of the troopers said.

"I did what was best for our people," Lokus shouted back.

"I suppose that's how you justified torture too," Sen said.

"Oh don't patronize me, boy," Loksu snapped back. "You tortured me for information not a minute ago."

"Torture? I only punched you-" Sen stopped himself. Trying to justify his actions was pointless. Lokus deserved a good punch to the face, and everyone knew it. They weren't here to discuss Sen's flaws anyway.

"It doesn't matter," Sen continued. "I want you to know something. There is a girl out there, that you did terrible things to."

Lokus had personally overseen Miyani's "care" when she had been a prisoner of the Seventh Kingdom. Every scar she had was his fault. Lokus knew exactly what girl Sen was talking about. The combustion bender girl should have been his greatest achievement, a weapon to match Gohrman's power.

"All those things you did, all the ways you hurt her," Sen said. "They don't matter."

That had not been what Lokus had expected to hear. Sen stepped away.

"You tried to break her, but she didn't break," Sen said. "The things you did to her don't matter anymore. Not to her, and not to me."

Sen turned his back on Lokus and his solders. Whistler was surprised to see it. Sen had spoken before about how angry he was, how he wanted to do something, anything, to the people who had hurt his friend, but now he was leaving, with nothing between him and Lokus but a single punch and a few cruel words.

"If I were you, I would run," Sen advised. "Rahm will be coming for you, sooner or later."

And there was that, too. The constant thought of the black-armored madman who would pursue Lokus to the ends of the earth –and past that, even. Sen had little need to take anything into his own hands when Rahm was around.

Sen led them all away from the last remnants of the Seventh Kingdom. They were nearly at the Spirit Portals now, too close to get distracted by petty conflicts. Lokus and his soldiers watched the strangers flee. The leader of the fallen Kingdom contemplated his course in silence. All was quiet for a moment. The only noise was a barely audible thunder from the horizon.

Despite the fact that he walked away, there was still anger visible in the way that Sen walked, and the look on his face. Ada stepped to his side. She knew anger better than most.

"I'm surprised you're walking away," She said. She had been expecting a fight. Lokus and his minions were of the Seventh Kingdom, after all. Sen was the hero, and they were the villains. They were practically born to fight.

"We only hurt people when we have to," Sen said. "That's why we're the good guys."

Whistler twitched visibly. Sen glanced at her for a moment. She had been reacting like that to many situations, lately. Simple statements and actions seemed to strike a chord in her. Sen felt like he was gradually approaching an answer to the mysterious problem that plagued her, but he was not quite there yet.

"I mean, I wouldn't have been opposed to slapping them around some more," Suda said. "I'm sure Whistler would be in, right Whistler?"

"Shut up!"

Whistler snapped quite suddenly and rushed forward, towards the summit of the hill in front of them. She paused atop the ridge and froze staring at the terrain on the other side. Sen hurried after her.

"Whistler!"

He meant to ask her what was wrong. He lost that train of thought the moment he reached the peak of the hill, and saw what was before them.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Spread out before them, as far as the eye could see, was a massive ocean of fog. Every nook and cranny was filled with the cold mist. Sen took a few steps back from the peak of the hill. There was just a few feet between him and the icy grip of the Fogbender. Ada and Suda reached the summit as well. Ada's jaw dropped.

"How is this even possible," She said aloud. "We left it behind at Aquila's village. How did it get ahead of us? How is it waiting for us?"

Sen clenched his teeth. That was the question of the day. The Fogbender had crossed their path like this one too many times for it to be a coincidence. Somehow, some way, it was always waiting for them.

They lingered briefly by the hill, contemplating their next course of action. Sen looked for a way around the ocean of fog. The Fogbender hadn't noticed them yet, so it seemed, so they had a little time to plan their next step. Sen knew that he was smart enough to figure a way around this. He just needed enough time and the right information about the situation.

The fog shifted slightly, and they retreated a few steps. As they took cover, Hanjo reappeared.

"Good timing," Sen said. Whistler's hands started to shake.

"You guys look like you're in your usual mess," Hanjo said. "Need some help?"

"If you don't mind," Sen said. Hanjo was filled in on the situation, and he quickly vanished in search of a workaround. Sen waited patiently while his best friend returned. Whistler watched her hands carefully. The famous sixth sense that had kept her out of trouble for so many years had been on the fritz for the past few weeks, but now it seemed to be working clearly again. But it hadn't clued her into the Seventh Kingdom, or to the Fogbender. Only one person had set it off.

Hanjo reappeared, and her hands started to shake again.

"Alright, I found just what you're looking for," Hanjo boasted. "Let me lead-"

"No," Whistler declared.

Hanjo looked wounded. Sen glanced back and forth between the two of them for a moment. Whistler stood up, wobbling slightly as she did so, and pointed accusingly at Hanjo.

"Every time you lead us somewhere, troubles waiting for us. It happened at the Undying Bloom, it happened the first time we met the Fogbender, it happened at Aquila's village, and it happened again today. We follow your directions, and we end up running right into trouble."

The air itself froze in that moment of tension. Hanjo was stunned by the audacity of her accusations. Gun shuffled backwards, away from the group, pressing his ears against his head. He was keenly aware that a fight was happening, and he didn't like it.

"What is wrong with you," Hanjo shot back. He was legitimately enraged now. "Sen is my best friend, and you think I'd try to get him killed?"

Sen took a few steps back. Whistler and Hanjo faced off, baring their teeth in angry scowls. Neither of the two blinked.

"Everything comes back to you," Whistler said, taking firm hold of her staff. The anger was helping to clear a head that had been clouded for weeks. "Every time we've crossed paths with the Fogbender, it's been because of your directions."

"You want to put this on me? I nearly died trying to help Sen, you idiot."

"But you got captured instead. I don't know why, or how, but the Energybender is using you," Whistler said accusingly. "Maybe you're not doing this on purpose, but you're definitely involved."

"You're just lucky I can't touch you," Hanjo growled. "Or I'd beat you senseless for talking to me like that. Sen is my best friend. I would never do anything to hurt him."

Whistler snorted derisively and made an about face. She started walking away from the group.

"Whatever. You can all follow the fruitcake into your graves. I'm done."

Whistler headed on her own direction. She had always intended on parting ways one day, she might as well make it now. She knew from the airbenders that she was never meant to be one of the good guys.

"Whistler."

She came to a halt. She had been worried that Sen would try to convince her to come back. What really worried her, though, was that she might listen.

"I'm not-"

"You're right," Sen said. The look on Hanjo's face shifted to one of absolute betrayal. Whistler slowly turned around.

"I'm sorry, Hanjo," Sen mumbled. His expression was one of profound guilt. "Sarin is…using you. To bait me."

Hanjo shook his head in disbelief. Ada and Suda found it hard to believe as well, but they didn't know everything that Sen knew.

It had to be the Hssk. The Mind-Eater was playing a part in Sarin's game, twisting Hanjo's mind somehow. It was the perfect crime, after all. All the Hssk had to do was devour the right memories, and Hanjo would betray Sen without even knowing he was doing it. That was what made it all the more painful. Hanjo had no idea he was even being used. There was no way that Sen could explain what was happening thanks to the Hssk's memory-erasing nature, so Sen was forced to simply watch as his best friend, still looking betrayed, vanished completely. Hanjo was gone again.

There was a moment of silence on the ridge. Sen stared at the empty space where his friend had once been with a forlorn look on his face. Gun sidled up to Sen's side and pressed his furry forehead against his masters arm, trying to comfort him.

Whistler's hands wrung a tight grip on her staff. She still stood on the outskirts of Sen's group. There was still time for her to leave, if she wanted. She wasn't sure she did.

A long time ago, she had abandoned Air Temple Island, because she had felt she could never belong. She was selfish, rude, and aggressive, something no other Airbender was. The Airbenders had tried to make her a part of their group at the expense of her individuality and freedom, and she had refused it violently. She had thought that because she could never a part of that group, she could never be a part of any "good" group. She wasn't cut out to be a good person, she thought, so she had become the worst kind of person.

Whistler bowed her head, to hide the sudden look of shame on her face. She realized her mistake now. She had been controlling herself just as much as the Airbenders had ever wanted to control her. She'd been forcing herself to play the role of the villain, even when she didn't want to. Even when fighting Chanchai. Whistler sighed and lifted her head.

"Time to move," Whistler shouted. She walked up to the Avatar and tapped him on the back with her staff.

"We're still caught between a rock and a hard place here," Whistler said. She was eager to get a move on. She had a lot of lost time to make up for. "We got the Fogbender in front of us, and the Seventh Kingdom behind us. What's the plan, Sen?"

Sen shook his head. Whistler was right. They still had a mission that needed to be completed. He could apologize to Hanjo some other time. Right now, their focus had to be getting out of the Spirit World. He thought about what she'd said, and, for a moment, he smiled. Whistler didn't see a reason why he'd be smiling, but then, she hadn't realized her own slip up. For the first time since they'd met, Whistler had actually called Sen by his real name.

"Give me a moment to think," Sen said. He knew he could find a way. As many times as Hanjo had gotten them into trouble, Sen had gotten them out of it. He could think of a plan. Tunneling was out of the question, with all the metal beneath them. The fogbank stretch out to either side of the horizon, so walking around was impractical as well. Sen figured the first step would be to work backwards a distance, to give themselves more room to maneuver.

"Uh, Sen, we may not have a moment," Suda observed.

The forces of the Seventh Kingdom had not taken kindly to Sen punching their leader in the face. Though they had been scattered across the area at Sen's arrival, they had amassed rather quickly. Sen looked over the approaching forces.

"Looks like not even a hundred of them," Sen said.

"Not even? There's no combustion bender here, we've-"

Sen held up his hands for silence. Suda promptly shut up. Sen had a smile on his face.

"Wait a moment," He ordered. "Let them catch up. Then we're going into the fog."

The forces of the Seventh Kingdom would follow them into the fog, unaware of the Fogbender's presence, and give them cover. With a hundred extra bodies in the mix, it would become difficult if not impossible for the fogbender to track them. Hopefully the distraction would last long enough for Sen and company to make it through the fog unharmed.

The Seventh Kingdom army was close enough now that Sen could see Lokus' face clearly, leading the head of the charge. Sen smiled and waved.

"Now!"

With a sudden turn, Sen and the rest plunged into the fog-filled valley, vanishing into the layer of mist. The cold air clung to their skin, chilling them to the bone as the mist enfolded them. Soon the Seventh Kingdom charged in after them, bringing with them noise and motion and confusion. The chilling fog shifted slightly at the disturbance.

Sen led a blind charge forward. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew that so long as he was going somewhere, he would escape the fog eventually. His allies packed in close around him, always staying near enough that they could see him through the mist. The tight-knit group of four, with Gun charging closely behind, made a mad dash across the barren terrain of the Spirit World.

From behind, an unfamiliar voice screamed, and then was silent. It seemed that the Fogbender had found their distraction. Confusion filled the air behind them as the mysterious Fogbender worked its way through the noisy Seventh Kingdom.

Sen bit his lip. He was tempted to say he was glad this was working, but so long as the fog encircled them, the plan had not gone off without a hitch. He could brag when they had escaped entirely.

Their pace slowed gradually, as fatigue set in. The expanse of the fog was wide and spacious; it would not be easy to run the distance. Sen allowed himself to slow. It didn't matter how fast they were moving, so long as they did not stop. All they had to do was keep going, and they would reach safety eventually.

It distressed him, then, that Gun suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Sen grinded to a halt himself, wondering what had become of his badgermole.

Sen tapped his heels against the ground firmly, his method of shouting at Gun. The badgermole responded with his own series of impacts. A warning. Sen focused on the ground, trying to see what his badgermole saw. It couldn't be the Fogbender; the ice he layered in the soil would block Gun's seismic sense. There was something else approaching.

"Oh, slag," Sen said aloud.

"Actually, that's not how you use it, it's more of a verb," Whistler corrected.

Whistler's attempted pontification on the usage of made-up swear words was interrupted by a sudden shockwave through the ground. Only one thing could make an impact like that.

Far behind, lost in the fog, Lokus shot gouts of flame into the cold mist. Something in the fog was preying on them, costing him his men. What remained of his forces stayed in a close circle around him, never losing themselves in the fog. Though the lies of Rahm had called his leadership into question, he was still the de facto commander here, and they needed some kind of coordination.

Any semblance of organization came to a brutal end as a massive black lump of metal hurtled downwards from the sky, raining down on the men to Lokus' left and crushing them beneath. Lokus backed away from the impact in fear. The black ingot was unmistakable; it was the very Spirit Metal they had been seeking to mine all these years. He had no idea how anyone could have moved it, though.

Another black stone rained down, and the Seventh Kingdom scattered. The area was consumed in a crushing hail of Spirit Metal. Lokus was knocked to the ground by an all too close impact. He scrambled backwards and came to a sudden halt as he backed into another wall of black metal. He rested against it for a moment. What were the odds of two stones landing in the same place, he thought.

Then the wall of black metal stepped forward.

Lokus turned around just in time to watch an ironclad fist swing through the air and slam into his torso. He couldn't even hope to count how many bones were broken by that single impact. He was thrown to the ground, wheezing and gasping for breath.

Rahm stepped forward, drawing his blade. The hail of Spirit Metal had done its part to cull the Seventh Kingdom, but this war had begun with his blade, and that was how it would end. Lokus could see him, just barely, like a living shadow in the mist. For Lokus, he was nothing less than the shadow of death itself.

The air was cold, but there was nothing more chilling than the quiet sound of metal cutting through the air as Rahm's goliath blade slowly found its course. The sword larger than some men came to a halt just above Lokus' neck.

"Please," The Seventh Kingdom torturer begged. "The war is over-"

"No."

Rahm's blade made a dull thud as it reached the ground below Lokus' neck.

"Now it's over."

Rahm replaced his blade. A disappointment to the end. None of the Seventh Kingdom had even come close to matching his might, but it had been his sworn duty to eradicate them and eradicated they were. Rahm was a beast of unstoppable purpose. Not all were so dedicated, however. Rahm turned his thoughts to those who had not followed through on his glorious crusade. There were many traitors in the world who had abandoned Rahm's army before the end of the war.

Rahm returned his blade to its resting place and set out for the material plane. The traitors would have to be dealt with, after all.

Nearer to the Spirit Portals, Sen and his allies were still charging towards safety. Sen knew that with Rahm battling the Seventh Kingdom forces, their distraction would not last much longer. They were running out of time.

Sen and Whistler felt the same shift in the air. They turned to Ada at once.

"Above you," they cried out together.

Ada stopped suddenly and ducked low, letting the tendril of water flail overhead. Suda used a metal cord to slice the watery tentacle in half, but it accomplished very little. The water dissipated back into the fog, ready to reform for another attack.

The two airbenders worked side by side to push the fog back, but that only made the Fogbender redouble his efforts. It was fully aware that they were close to the portals now; it would not get a second chance. The chilling cloud of mist was more aggressive than it had ever been before, and Whistler and Sen were strained to hold the fog back. Sen's airbending was still unrefined; he was not cut out for this kind of effort.

With his airbending not up to the task, Sen switched focus to his more developed skills. He slammed a foot down, sending a discernible ripple through the earth. The Fogbender, as usual, had placed a layer of ice in the soil to block Sen's seismic sense, but Sen's shockwave shattered that layer and enabled him to see again. It was still very difficult to read, but Sen could get a general sense of where the Fogbender was. He looked to the right. He could feel a faint heartbeat from that direction.

It was too far for the Fogbender to be able to see them directly. As a waterbender, it wasn't possible for it to use any kind of seismic sense, so there had to be some other kind of workaround for its visibility issues.

Sen watched another coiled limb of water strike out, hunting down Sen and his friends. He had an idea. The Fogbender used the airborne fog just like Sen could use the earth. It could see empty spaces and feel motion in the fog. Sen could use that, somehow. He just had to buy himself time to think.

He called out the position of the Fogbender, giving his allies a concrete target to aim at. Bolts of air and earth launched into the fog, to little effect. Whenever they struck, the fog solidified into a wall of water that brought their attacks to a dead stop.

Highly unsatisfied with this situation, Ada began to dig around in her pack. Her swords were not much use against an enemy made of mist, but perhaps there was a tool to be had that would let her join the fight. Ada's hands closed around one specific object, and she smiled broadly.

"Sen, you usually have a plan," Whistler said. "You come up with anything yet?"

"I'm working on something," Sen declared. "Just let me-"

Sen's plan was interrupted by the arrival of Ada. She was eagerly clutching a small orb of metal. She held it out to Sen.

"Very Dangerous, Do Not Build," She said.

The last invention of Varrick was held in her hand. Ada had been carrying it around for months, unaware of what it even did. Now was as good a chance as any to test it out.

"We don't know what it does," Sen said.

"We know it's dangerous," Ada suggested. "Very dangerous."

"It doesn't matter," Whistler said. "The Fogbender will never let us get close to it."

Whistler demonstrated her point by launching a surge of air flying into the depths of the fog. The mist solidified and blocked the attack completely. Wisps of air scattered around the wall of water.

Whistler heard an audible grinding as the gears in Sen's head stopped turning. He had an idea. The Avatar snatched the Very Dangerous Do Not Build from Ada and turned to Whistler.

"Follow the way I move," Sen ordered. "And keep attacking."

Whistler nodded. Sen set out into the fog. Whistler tracked his progress with rushing blasts of air, sending the fog scattering around him. He felt the air moving around him, and he moved with it, following the scattered, random paths of the aimless air. He rolled gently around every obstacle, spiraled with every twisting current of air, slowed and quickened his pace randomly. His motions followed no pattern, no predictability; he was formless, directionless, and weightless, like a leaf on the wind.

With Sen's motions indistinguishable from the air around him, the Fogbender had no way to realize that the Avatar was rapidly approaching. Not until Sen's silhouette became visible in the fog did the minion of the Energybender realize what was happening, and by then it was far too late. Sen caught sight of the cloaked figure. Even with the Fogbender in his sights, Sen was uncertain as to what it truly was. It wore thick robes and a mask obscuring its identity. Sen ignored the mysterious being's appearance for now. What it looked like didn't matter much to Sen anyway.

With his enemy in sight, Sen was quick to attack with overwhelming force. He unleashed everything he had, striking out with fire, earth, and air in equal amounts. He would not allow the Fogbender to slip back into its foggy shroud. He'd been frustrated for months, unable to strike back at the problems that plagued him, and he unleashed all that anger in a furious assault on the Fogbender.

Despite all Sen's skills and all his anger, he wasn't quite a match for the Fogbender. Whoever it was behind the mask and cloak, they were obviously a master waterbender. Sen's skill were great, but he was not the equal of the Fogbender quite yet. Fortunately, he had the advantage of numbers.

The Fogbender was forced into a sudden defensive as he was struck from all directions at once. Ada, Suda, and Sen boxed the Fogbender in with their attacks, while Whistler struck from above and Gun attacked from below. The cloud of fog suddenly withdrew, closing into a shell of ice that surrounded the Fogbender, shielding it from all attacks. The icy shell exploded into a blast of splinters that forced Sen's allies backwards. Sen held his hands in front of his face to shield his eyes from the sudden blast.

He felt a few splinters of ice bounce off his skin. To his surprise, a few struck and didn't bounce off. He felt sharp tips of bladed icicles dig into the soft skin of his neck. He was quick to roll away from the blows, letting the blades of ice cut across his unshaven chin to little effect. The icy splinters continued their hunt, seeking out the Avatar.

The hail of bladed frost came from every direction at once, but Sen was not concerned. He felt the air warp around the icy blades, sensing in advance how they cut through the sky, and dodged them with ease. He hoped Whistler wasn't looking. She'd never let him live it down if all those hours of tossing Pagu-Pagu cards at his head turned out to be worthwhile.

Whistler had her own problems at the moment. The bladed ice was seeking her as well, and she had not been sleeping well recently, making it harder for her to move quickly. She silently cursed herself for all her emotional confusion as she barely stayed abreast of the spears of ice.

It only took one stumble across uneven ground for Whistler to lose her footing, lose a step, and come dangerously close to being caught by one of the blades flying through the air. Before the lance of frost found its mark, Whistler was struck from behind by something that was decidedly not an icy spear. Ada's quick tackle knocked Whistler out of the way as the blade of ice sailed just behind them, slicing through Ada's pack.

Whistler hit the ground hard, but it was better than being hit by a spear. As they hit the ground, Gun took place between them and the Fogbender. His hide was far too thick and tough for the Fogbenders paltry icicles to pierce, so he made for an effective shield as the two women recovered.

"Thanks, Ada," Whistler gasped.

"Well, I did owe you one," Ada replied jokingly. Whistler grit her teeth. Gratitude was a foreign concept to her. Whistler made sure they were still hidden safe behind Gun before she looked around. The contents of Ada's pack had scattered across the ground, covering the soil in tools and supplies.

Ada's eyes narrowed. She took hold of a small metal orb and a small sheet of paper, inscribed with the words "Very Dangerous, Do Not Build". Whistler and Ada looked at each other.

"Do you think we should-"

"We don't know what it does," Whistler countered.

"There's only one way to find out," Ada said. She was just as eager as Sen to be rid of the Fogbender. If the Very Dangerous object could help them, then she was willing to give it a try. She had been carrying this small metal object since the day shed left Zaofu: it was time for the Very Dangerous Do Not Build to earn the space it took up in her backpack.

The instructions were simple: pull the pin, and run away. Ada diligently followed both steps, and shouted for her allies to do the same. The Fogbender was quick to notice the incoming object and attempted to block it. The Very Dangerous Do Not Build was captured in a small sphere of ice, seeming for a moment to have no effect. Then it went click.

Sen was sent flying backwards through the air as a concussive blast unfolded, filling the cold, misty air with a sudden wave of heat and fire. A booming shockwave travelled through the air, scattering the Fogbender's gathered water, and sending the mist-shrouded hunter itself flying backwards. Ada was knocked over by the explosion.

"Miyani?"

Suda flexed his jaw. The explosion had popped his eardrums. Once that injury had been set right, he looked at the newly created crater.

"No, no," He mumbled. "I think that was the Very Dangerous Do Not Build."

Ada's jaw was hanging low. Whistler gave her a concerned look.

"You've been carrying that in your backpack this whole time," She shouted incredulously.

"I didn't know! I didn't- Oh spirits, I think I'm going to be sick," She muttered. The thought of all the months she'd spent carrying an explosive filled her with a sudden dread. One errant pluck of the pin and she'd have been completely vaporized.

While the others were still shell-shocked by the sudden burst, Sen sprang into action. He had slightly more experience with explosions than most. Seizing the brief opportunity, Sen lunged at the disoriented Fogbender and struck hard. Sen's masked opponent barely managed a retaliation as Sen carried a hammer of earth towards the mask that covered the Fogbender's face. Sen moved to the side slightly as a blade of ice soared past his neck, and the Fogbender took a step back just as the hammer of earth came to rest on his mask.

The battle paused for a moment. The heavy boulder rested gently on the Fogbender's mask, and the icy sword lingered just below Sen's unshaven chin. The slightest twitch would be enough to end the stand off. Neither was the first to move. Sen stared into the blank eyes of the Fogbender's mask.

"Walk away," he said. The simple act of talking made the ice-sword dig into his neck slightly. The potentially lethal blade concerned him very little.

"We know your tricks," Sen said. "You won't be able to use Hanjo to ambush us again. Every time you fight us from here on out, it'll get harder for you, and you're just barely holding your own as it is."

The heavy cloak and mask the Fogbender wore disguised most of its body, but there were subtle shifts in its stance that betrayed its thoughts. The ice blade drifted slightly from Sen's neck.

"If you take off your mask we'll never be able to find you," Sen said. "You walk away now and you can live the rest of your life pretending this never happened."

The ice blade stayed in place for a moment. Sen's allies recovered from their brush with the explosion and approached the Fogbender cautiously. The mask shifted slightly from side to side as the Fogbender saw that it was rapidly losing what little advantage it still possessed. It had to strike now, or not at all.

The featureless mask stared into Sen's eyes for a while, looking past the boulder held before its face. Sen stared right back. The Fogbender was the first to blink.

The ice blade melted and vanished. Sen withdrew his hammer of earth from the Fogbender's mask. It withdrew, slowly at first, not taking its eyes off Sen, until it was a few steps away. With a sudden spiral of motion, a cloud of mist rose up and covered the Fogbender entirely. Suspecting treachery, Whistler leapt forward and unleashed a massive burst of wind to scatter the sudden cloud of fog.

The mist scattered, and nothing was revealed. The Fogbender was already gone. Sen stared at the empty void where it had once been.

"I hope we never see that prick again," Whistler grumbled.

"We won't," Sen said confidently.

Whistler sighed, and her shoulders drooped visibly. A heavy weight had been lifted today, for all of them. They'd finally rid themselves of the hunter that had pursued their footsteps for months –among other burdens, in Whistler's case. Sen was quick to wave them away from the battleground, towards the Spirit Portals. The problems of the Spirit World were behind them now. It was time to move on.


	51. Book 3 Ch17: Frozen Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally at the portals, Sen and Whistler reconcile their troubled past, and look to the next step of the Avatar's journey.

Chapter 17: Frozen Crossroads

The Tree of Time was a welcoming sight. Twin beacons of light soared into the sky, and into infinity, a marker light of safe haven amidst the inhospitable Spirit World. Suda hadn't been so happy in months.

The settlement near the polar portals was spare, but it was civilization. The buildings were on the outskirts of the Tree of Time's crater, as the crater itself was holy ground, but it was close enough to see the tree out the windows. Sen stared at the center of the Spirit World out the window as Ada talked with a Polar Guard. A real one this time, not an imposter like Lokus.

"We've been travelling quite a ways," Ada said. "Do you keep supplies around here for people coming from warmer climates?"

"Oh yeah, there's a store right around here selling cold weather gear."

Ada was relieved to hear that. As much as she detested the overly furry clothing of the poles, it was necessary to stay alive in the frigid polar regions. She had one more question that needed answered before they set out on a shopping trip.

"So how long have we been on the road," She asked. "We left the same day as that announcement the Energybender made."

"Oh yeah, that," The guard said casually. "That was eleven months ago."

Sen's head whipped around so fast he almost hurt his neck.

"Eleven months?"

They had all known they'd be spending a lot of time in the Spirit World, but they had never realized it would be that much. Their time in the Spirit World made up nearly half of Sen's entire journey. It was almost mind-boggling. Sen had been learning the elements for nearly two years.

Ada backed away from the counter. Nearly two years since she'd been home. Almost two years since the last time she had hugged her parents, or kissed Canto. She was suddenly overcome with a wave of homesickness. Suda was quickly at her side with a comforting hand on her shoulder, a reminder that while she was far from home, she was not far from family. Ada felt much better very quickly.

Whistler took a long look at the Tree of Time. While the others moved on to shop for supplies and clothing for the journey to the poles, Whistler moved towards the great tree.

Spirits always clustered around the tree, and they were often defensive of it, but they parted ways as Whistler approached. She climbed upwards, slowly and cautiously, until she was in the center of the Tree of Time. She sat down, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and focused.

This was the place where Vaatu had been imprisoned for ten-thousand years, and also where Korra had found the strength to seal him away for another ten-thousand. It was the tree whose roots bonded the planes of the material and spiritual worlds. Ancient ones throughout had come here to meditate. What she was doing now was something thousands of the greatest spiritual masters in history had only ever dreamed of doing.

She found it uncomfortable. Whistler stood, and left the Tree of Time behind her. She must have been in there longer than she thought, because Sen was waiting for her.

"Find your enlightenment?"

"Not yet," Whistler said. "Whatever enlightenment is, I don't think I'm going to find it in a tree."

"I don't know, trees seem really important for some reason," Sen mused. "Maybe try the Banyan Grove next."

Whistler leaned on her staff for a while. She seemed uncertain about what to say next. There was a lot to be said, and it was a novel idea for Whistler. She had not spent much time being honest.

"Can I talk to you in private?"

Sen nodded. Whistler led a short but solemn walk to the far side of the Tree of Time. Shimmering auroras illuminated the sky here, and their light bathed Whistler and Sen in strange luminescence as Whistler began to bare her heart.

"A while ago…In that Seventh Kingdom city, I tried to-" Whistler bit her lip for a moment. "I tried to take someone's life. But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to-"

She found it hard to elaborate her point further. Sen was shocked to hear that she would try to do such a thing. He had never anticipated that she would try to go that far. He waited patiently until she was ready to speak again.

"It's why I've been so mixed up lately," Whistler said. "I thought that I was one of the bad guys this whole time, I mean, I'm a thief, I'm a liar, I'm all kinds of bad things…But I can't go that far. And now I'm not sure what I am anymore."

She wasn't sure what category she fit into anymore. She was too arrogant and selfish to be a real hero, but neither was she uncaring or cruel enough to be a monster. She wasn't sure what part she played in the grand scheme of things. Sen had a notion of his own.

"You're a jerk," Sen said. Whistler looked up. Sen elaborated.

"You are rude, selfish, arrogant, and aggressive," Sen continued. He started counting off Whistler's negative character traits on his fingers. "You're also cruel, lazy, needlessly spiteful, and short-tempered."

"This is the worst pep-talk ever," Whistler mumbled sadly.

"I can say a lot of things about you, Whistler," Sen concluded. He'd actually left quite a few things out of his list. "But not one of those things is 'evil'. Despite all evidence to the contrary…I don't think you're a bad person."

Whistler lifted her head and rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"So you think I'm bad…but not actually 'bad'."

She made little air-quotes with her fingers as she spoke. Sen nodded.

"Yep. You're not evil. You're just a jerk."

Her metal staff slammed triumphantly into the ground as Whistler finally realized her true self. She raised her voice and declared it aloud to the whole world.

"I'm a jerk!"

"I could have told you that," Suda shouted back. Whistler shouldered her metal staff and started walking towards him menacingly. Suda backed away by a few steps. Whistler gave chase.

As the two of them began the stupidest game of cat and mouse in history, Ada joined the Avatar alongside the Tree of Time and looked across the landscape at the two portals.

"You made a decision where we're going yet?"

"Not yet," Sen said. His eyes glanced across the Spirit World, examining everything but the portals. Ada sighed.

"I don't think he's going to come back, Sen," Ada said. Hanjo had not made an appearance since Whistler had accused him of aiding the Energybender. Sen shook his head.

"I figured. I just kind of hoped…"

Ada put a firm hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly.

"We'll rescue him," Ada assured him. Sen picked his chin up and nodded. Hanjo was still out there somewhere in the material world, waiting on a rescue. Sen intended to end that wait sooner rather than later. With Sen's resolve regained, Ada continued their discussion of the future.

"You know, I heard a rumor from one of the guards that there's a combustion bender in the South," Ada said. Sen smiled slightly. "I figure you miss her a lot more than I do. What do you say?"

Sen glanced to the side, at the Spirit Portal that would lead them to the frozen wastes of the South Pole. It had been nearly a year since he'd seen Miyani. A part of him ached to be reunited with her, just as his heart ached for the absent Hanjo. He looked at the faded scar on his wrist, and the bracelet wrapped around it. He pursed his lips and thought quietly for a moment. He tucked his hand in his pocket.

"Let's go North," Sen said. Ada raised her eyebrows. That was not the answer she'd been expecting.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Sen said. It wasn't an easy choice, but he felt quite firmly that it was the right one. "We parted ways for a reason. Miyani can handle herself for now."

Ada nodded in agreement. Sen stood up and shouted for Suda and Whistler's attention, before waving them towards the Northern Portal. Together they crossed the broad roots of the Tree of Time, taking their last few steps in the Spirit World.

***

Sarin stepped lightly though the makeshift prison. Dei Sensheng followed behind, dragging his feet. Sarin seemed far less bothered by recent developments than he should have been. Tan Lung was waiting for the duo, looking stressed.

"He's been talking about your plans," Tan Lung mumbled. "He figured it out somehow."

"I highly doubt that," Sarin said. Unseen by all others, the black form of the Hssk swam about Sarin's shadow. Only the Avatar could resist the powers of the Mind-Eater. "It had to have been the Avatar."

"The only thing that matters is that we were found out," Sensheng said. He was far more stressed by this situation than anyone else. Their plans had all hinged on finding the Avatar before he mastered all four elements, and they were dangerously close to failing. Their lost time was not nearly as valuable, however, as their lost assets were. First they'd lost the Harrier, and now the Fogbender had been neutralized as well. With the combustion bender cutting through their foot soldiers, they'd soon be out of manpower. Yet the Energybender didn't seem worried.

Sarin ignored Dei Sensheng's stressful demeanor and proceeded onwards to oversee his captive. Hanjo was sitting sullenly in the corner of the room, staring intently at the wall. Sarin watched over him for a while. Sensheng watched his commander carefully.

"Why'd you have to use me," Hanjo grunted. "Why did I have to be the bait?"

Sarin hummed quietly to himself. So they really had figured it out. Hanjo had never developed the ability to meditate into the Spirit World on his own; Sarin had opened the gates of his mind for him using Energybending. From there it was a simple matter for the Hssk to track Hanjo's thoughts, and seed his mind with instructions that would lead the Avatar into traps. The plan had been ingenious, but not, apparently, foolproof.

"Inevitability," Sarin said. "We all have a destiny. It is the Avatar's to die. It is mine to kill him. It is yours to be the bait. This is the order of things."

Behind the Energybender, unseen to Sarin, Dei Sensheng scowled. Sarin often spoke of destiny, as if his victory were guaranteed, but took few steps to ensure it. He would like to meet whatever oracle that Sarin was apparently consulting to be so confident in his future.

Hanjo didn't respond to Sarin's dismal commentary. Sarin glanced at the prisoner for a while longer before returning to business. One plan had failed, but there were others. The battle between the Avatar and the Energybender would not end until one destroyed the other. Sarin was self-assured of his own victory, but for many the future was still uncertain.

***

"Why is there always a boat," Suda asked. "There was no need for a boat this time."

Suda was getting a little sick of this pattern. Every time they had one of their big climactic moments, a boat ride followed not long afterwards.

Ada did not bother explaining it to him a second time. They were taking a boat because the Energybender would be looking for people travelling from the Spirit Portal to the capitol. By swinging around to one of the outlying ports and taking a boat from there, they avoided a good chunk of surveillance. There probably weren't many spies in the first place, but it always paid to be careful.

They were in the waters of the Northern Arctic now, sailing just a few miles away from the massive ice shelves and glacial cliffs of the polar continent. Occasionally an iceberg drifted by, and they had to swerve to avoid it. Other than that, the frozen North was fairly peaceful.

The safety and security to be found here was part of the reason they had chosen the North over the South as their destination. The Shorewatchers kept the North Pole secure, and they were supremely efficient at rooting out any Energybender intrusions. It would be the safest possible place for Sen to learn waterbending and wrap up his long journey.

It put an odd feeling in Ada's stomach when she thought about their journey ending. They had been at it a long time. She had to wonder how things would change when Sen was finally ready to act as the Avatar. It was going to change the whole world, much less Ada's life.

Suda started complaining, and Ada was dragged back to the present.

"Really, we couldn't have just walked?"

"If you feel like marching through blizzards and tundra, you go right ahead," Ada scolded. Suda was far too glad to be rid of the Spirit World. He wasn't ready to realize that the North had its own share of problems.

"Besides, it's just the boat that's the same," Ada said. "You'll notice there's one major difference this time."

There was a loud thudding sound as Sen was launched bodily into the window of the boat's cabin. He stuck to the glass for a moment before sliding downwards, his coat squeaking along the glass as he slid.

"Come on, Avatar, you can do better than that."

Sen picked himself up and rushed back into his sparring match with Whistler. His airbending lessons were still ongoing, and Whistler was determined to make a master out of him before they reached the Northern capitol.

Despite Suda's best attempts, Whistler had chosen to accompany them for the remainder of their journey. She gave a variety of excuses and justifications, but it was obvious to everyone that she had finally made a friend. She wouldn't leave that behind so easily. As usual, a boat carried them forward to a new journey, but this time, no one was left behind.

**END OF BOOK THREE**


	52. Book 4 Ch1: The Drifting Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the frozen waters of the North, Sen comes across the strange vessel known as The Drifting Spring, a manmade island where a deadly flower blossoms.

The ship bobbed idly in the waves as they travelled. They were on the open seas now, far from the coastline. They wanted to act the part of travelers from the United Republic, so they had to approach the port from a very wide angle. It would cost them some travel time, but they needed to have a steady alibi.

Sen was idly toying with his new airbending talents, blowing around playing cards and small bits of scrap that were lying around the ships hold. A sense of finality was starting to sink in. He was close to mastering airbending, and that made three of the four elements were behind him. It wouldn't be long now before he was a fully realized Avatar. That would change things.

He sighed and continued toying with the playing cards. That was still a ways away. It would be better to focus on learning waterbending than to worry about the future. Sen still wasn't sure where he would go to find a master.

Ada had suggested seeking out the Shorewatchers first. They were master waterbenders and enemies of the Energybender, so it would be fairly easy to find a teacher for Sen among them. After being told about their violent methods, Sen had been very reluctant to follow through on that. If possible, he would prefer a teacher more in line with his own ideals. There would be no shortage of waterbenders in the North, after all. They had plenty of options.

Gun huffed slightly as Sen's airbending disturbed his rest. Gun had been on boats before, but he never really got used to it. He spent most of his time napping or grumbling about not being able to tunnel. Sen gave him a quick scratch behind the ears and moved away, back up to the ship's deck.

The top deck of the ship was not much livelier. Whistler was leaning on the railings near the prow of the vessel, watching the horizon roll in. Ada was almost always occupied captaining the ship, and Suda was left to sit around and toy with spare metal bits on the ship. He had disassembled and reassembled a small section of railing a few hundred times now. Sen sat down next to Suda and tried to spark up a conversation.

"So, what do you think you're going to do while I'm training?"

"Find a very large, fluffy coat, and stay warm," Suda said. The cold chill of the north had finally sunk in, and he was not happy about it. Suda and Ada were both getting the worst of the cold temperatures. Whistler and Sen both knew how to regulate their body temperatures, but the others were not so lucky.

"I'm starting to wonder if we shouldn't have headed for the Foggy Swamp," Sen declared.

"It's not too late to change course," Suda suggested.

"Yes it is," Whistler snapped. "There's land right there."

Suda was the first to join her at the prow of the ship. Sen followed behind, slightly more slowly. There did seem to be something on the horizon. It was too small to be the North Pole, but too large to be any conventional ship. Sen walked into the cabin with Ada.

Their temporary captain was looking at a nautical chart with some confusion. Unless she had committed a massive error while charting their progress, they were still a few hundred miles from any landmass. Sen took a brief look at the nautical map, and then glared at the horizon.

"So, we have an island where there shouldn't be an island," Sen said aloud.

"I think the more plausible explanation is that I steered us wrong," Ada said.

"Ada, think about who I am for a minute."

There was a brief pause.

"Okay, yes, it's very likely that there's a mystery island out there," Ada admitted. Anything was possible when the Avatar was around.

"Should we investigate?"

"I don't know," Ada said. "Given how our luck runs, it's quite likely that something on that island will try to hurt us."

"Very good point, Captain Ada," Sen quipped. "I say we get close enough to examine it with the binoculars and make our appraisal."

Ada nodded. Sen grabbed the binoculars and proceeded to the front of the ship. The strange landmass was getting closer now, but it had not taken shape just yet. Sen raised the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the horizon.

It took quite some time for the mystery island to come into focus, but as it did so, it became apparent that it was no island at all. Though there was soil and even growing plants, it was all held above the water level by wooden struts and an elaborate system of floating platforms. Sen examined it further. Four wooden towers rose in the center of the structure. It was clearly manmade, but Sen saw no one aboard. At least not from this angle.

"Keep an eye on it," Sen ordered, handing the binoculars over to Suda. The Avatar walked back to the cabin to talk to Ada.

"Definitely a manmade structure," He explained. "No sign of anyone aboard, but we're at a bad angle."

"I can't imagine they're hiding from us," Ada said. "If it's obviously manmade they'd be foolish to try and use it for ambushes."

"I don't think it's meant for any kind of combat or pursuit," Sen said. "I didn't see any sails or engines. Even a waterbender would have a hard time getting that thing moving."

Their line of thought was interrupted as Suda called for attention.

"Hey Sen! There are people on that thing!"

Sen peered out the window. The floating island was still far in the distance, but a group of people had clearly gathered around its edge. Suda examined them more closely with his binoculars.

"Uh, they're signaling with some flags or something," He said.

"Do they have black triangles on them," Ada asked. Suda took another look.

"Yep."

"Nautical code flags," Ada said. "I don't know the exact codes myself, but they're definitely trying to communicate something."

Sen Sat down on a chair and rested his chin in his hands. Eventually he gave a resigned sigh.

"I won't be surprised if I regret this," Sen said. "But I think we should check it out."

Ada began to steer the ship closer and closer to the strange man-made island. Sen journeyed out to the railing of the ship to keep a close eye on the situation. The persons waiting on the edge of the floating island made no sudden moves as they approached. Sen liked to assume it was because they were peaceful, but he remained on guard.

Soon enough the Avatar's ship and the floating island were side by side. The man looking up at them was dressed like a monk, right down to the shaved head. All of his companions were dressed similarly. A few of the monks had bandaged limbs and faces. There was a moment of silence as the two groups appraised one another. Sen decided to take the initiative.

"I'm sorry, we couldn't read your flag signals. I hope we aren't imposing."

"Not at all," The lead monk said. "We were actually asking for assistance, if it's not too much trouble."

Sen nodded. That was good. Unless it was bait, in which case it was bad. He decided to keep up the conversation.

"We're not very well equipped," Sen said. "I'm afraid we might not be much help."

"We don't need much," The monk replied. "There was a bad storm recently, and some of our own were injured. We need bandages and medicine, mostly. We are willing to trade, of course."

Sen looked around at his allies. Whistler and Suda both nodded. They had a decent amount of medical supplies to spare, and there was little chance of them being injured until they reached the North Pole. Suda waved at Ada to stop the ship and come to the deck. She was their resident medical expert, at any rate. Ada retrieved their supplies, left her swords behind, and came out.

As Sen agreed to help, the monks waved their hands gently, raising up a ramp of ocean water and freezing it into a solid staircase of ice. Ada proceeded cautiously down the newly formed stairway, followed closely after by Whistler. Sen stayed behind to give one last order to Suda.

"Don't leave the ship unattended. We can handle ourselves if things go wrong."

"Got it. I'll keep an eye on things."

With that said, Sen proceeded down the icy staircase. The monk who had greeted them before directed them towards the heart of the vessel, closer to the 4 wooden towers at the center of the floating island.

"We greatly appreciate your assistance," He said. "We try to be self-sufficient, but in desperate times it's comforting to know we can count on human kindness."

"It's just good we happened to cross paths," Sen said. "That said…"

"You're wondering about the floating island," The monk said with a laugh. "Yes, it is a matter of some curiosity."

"If you don't mind explaining," Sen said.

"We should tend to our own first," The monk began. "But I will answer all your questions as soon as I can."

"Can I at least get your name?"

"Of course. My name is Hua Kai."

Hua Kai led them across a wooden walkway that connected two of the floating platforms that made up the islands superstructure. The further they went into the structure, the less Whistler liked it. Even for a floating island, this place seemed empty. There were too few people. With so much space, there should have been at least twice as many people wandering the island. They had lost people recently.

The group soon found its way to the center of medical care on the floating island. A large number of cots had been set up to house patients. It had been many years since some of these people had seen outsiders, but nobody shied away as Ada unpacked bandages and went to work mending their injuries. No sooner had she done so than Hua Kai turned to his new guests.

"With that aside, allow me to give you a proper welcome to the Drifting Spring."

He ushered them a few steps away from the wounded monks and gestured towards the full breadth of their vessel. There was a wide variety of different platforms; some had houses, others had open field for growing crops. Though the ship was intact, there were scars on the platforms and several of the structures that told Sen that something disastrous had occurred recently.

"Ours is a community meant to be separate from the world," Hua Kai continued. "Of course, you being here proves that completely separating is both impossible and foolhardy."

Sen felt like Hua Kai was making a joke, but it didn't make him laugh.

"We have come very close, though. Our self-sustaining system of crops and materials mean we must only make landfall to replenish our supplies once every three years."

"That's pretty efficient," Sen admitted. He had no idea how the mathematics of that worked and nothing to compare it to, of course. He was just saying it to be polite. "But I have to ask why? Is it for spiritual purposes?"

"Our community has a unique viewpoint," Hua Kai explained. "We don't believe that men were meant to lord over other men. We wanted a life where all were equal, and worked for mutual good. This dream was proven…unfeasible on the mainland, so we moved it to the ocean."

The ship swayed slightly. Sen adjusted his glasses and looked around. Everyone was very similar in dress and build here. Nobody was ostentatious or over-fed. If it was an experiment in equality, it had succeeded.

Ada looked up from her chosen patient. She beckoned to Whistler quickly.

"Whistler, could you give me a hand here for a moment?"

Whistler shrugged. She was trying to be a little more helpful nowadays. It wouldn't hurt her to hold a bandage in place just one time. A little teamwork went a long way sometimes. She walked over to Ada and listened to what she had to say.

"Just hold this right here and…Oh, I left that over there."

Whistler stood in place as Ada leaned in close, trying to grab something on a nearby table. She got closer, until she was practically resting her chin on Whistler's shoulder, and whispered into her ear.

"These cuts are from weapons. Tell Sen."

Then, acting like nothing had ever happened, Ada grabbed her medical supplies and went back to work, cordially thanking Whistler for her help. Whistler glanced down at the dozens of injured monks. They'd claimed they'd been injured in a storm, but Ada knew that cuts like those could only come from bladed weapons. Whistler wandered back to Sen. Hua Kai was elaborating on how they sustained the Drifting Spring's floating farmland.

Whistler tapped her elbow into Sen's side and held up her hand, shaking it slightly. To most people that would mean nothing, but Whistler's shaking hands were practically synonymous with danger at this point. There was no way Sen wouldn't get the message.

"Can I help you," Hua Kai asked, in response to Whistler's strange gesturing.

"She's just wondering about our own supplies," Sen said without skipping a beat. "There are more of you than we expected, we're wondering if we have enough to go around."

Whistler nodded. She was an old pro at lying, but she was surprised that Sen was taking to it so naturally. She'd been rubbing off on him, apparently.

"If you're that concerned," Sen said. "Why don't you go back to the ship, take a good look around, and then get back to me with what you find."

Sen did everything but wink. Whistler got the picture. Scout out the Drifting Spring, find what (if anything) was suspicious, and report back. Just because the monks were lying about the source of their injuries didn't mean they were a threat. Sen wanted more information.

Whistler casually strolled away from the makeshift hospital. Most of the monks were caught up in caring for their injured, so the rest of the Drifting Spring was sparsely populated. Whistler didn't have a hard time sneaking around, even on the cramped confines of the ship. Years spent as a pickpocket in the Copper Slums had honed her ability to sneak through small, crowded spaces.

She already had a solid hunch on where to start looking. The four wooden watchtowers at the center of the Drifting Spring stood out like a sore thumb. Everything else was very small and fairly new, but the four towers looked like they had been weathered by age. Whistler cautiously snuck that direction.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she reached the center of the floating island and found out that the structure with the four towers had been walled off. There were a few monks at the only entrance, trying to act casual, but the way they watched the surroundings made it clear they were guarding the entrance. Whistler strolled past. Walls and guards always meant something interesting.

Whistler walked to the opposite side of the walled structure and vaulted over the walls, assisting her leaps with careful bursts of air. She paused briefly at the top of the wall to examine the structure from above.

Getting her hands on the wood only made it more obvious that it was an old structure. The wood was partially rotted and encrusted in thick layers of dried salt and other things besides. This structure had been on the ocean for a very long time. Whistler crept to the edge of the wall and observed the area below.

The courtyard below seemed to be empty of any monk, so Whistler relaxed slightly. There was a second structure in the center of the towers and walls; a few makeshift walls and cloth coverings. A handful candles and offerings around the tent marked it as a place of worship or spiritual importance. Whistler wondered for a moment if she wasn't just infiltrating an ordinary shrine, but she had to be certain. She jumped down onto the floor.

Her landing was slightly off put by a strange breach in the wood. She stumbled slightly as her foot slipped on a cracked and broken section of wood. She stepped back quickly as the wood creaked. Luckily the sounds of the ocean beneath disguised her misstep, and no guards came looking. Whistler examined the broken section she had landed on. The splinters had long since been worn out of the crack. This damage was old, but had gone unrepaired for some reason. Whistler clenched her jaw and moved forward.

The tent structure at the center demanded her attention. Whistler carefully tip-toed around the cloth walls and towards the entrance. She pushed aside the curtain flap and quickly replaced it. There was very little light inside the tent, and it took Whistler's eyes a moment to acclimate to the darkness. She felt her way around for a moment as she did so.

The first thing to reach her fingertips was a beam of rotten wood, just as old and worn as the rest of the structure. Whistler focused, and shifted her hands to the left slightly. The wooden beam came to a sudden halt at a sharp angle. Cut, perhaps, a long time ago.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and Whistler took a closer look at the wooden beam. It was one of several; a thick wooden grate meant to cover something. It had been cut to pieces, though. A large chunk of the wooden wall was missing. The cut portion was odd and interesting: it had been separated at a sharp angle, by some kind of blade, but it had also been burned. The wood was blackened by fire and heat. Whistler wondered if it had been burned, and then cut, or if somehow both had happened at the same time.

Whistler stepped into the core of the strange structure, past the cut and burned walls. There did seem to be a shrine here at the center of everything, but Whistler could not see what it was built around. She felt around the shrine and found a few matches to light the candles. She lit one and took a look at the banner hanging on the back wall. She stared at it for a moment before ripping the banner off the wall.

Sen was still caught in conversation with Hua Kai when the sounds of violence reached his ear. He and Hua Kai both marched out to look for the source of the sudden conflict. Hua Kai seemed particularly worried for some reason. The wounded monks shared his concern. They knew in the back of their minds that they might have been found out.

One monk toppled around the corner, pushed out by a surging blast of air. Whistler followed close after him, wielding her staff in one hand and carrying a black banner in the other.

"What have you-"

Hua Kai was about to shout in outrage, but then his eyes fell upon the black banner Whistler carried. Sen felt the monks blood run cold. Ada stood up to watch the airbender's sudden arrival. Whistler held up her hand, and the banner unfurled, displaying its emblem to all. A red sun at the center, surrounded by three intricately patterned circles of flower petals.

"They're Red Lotus," Whistler declared. "This whole place is built around Ghazan's old prison!"

Ada spun and swung her fist before Hua Kai had a chance to do anything. She hit him with a punch to the gut, doubling him over in pain. A few of the other Red Lotus monks sprang into action, but Whistler was already prepared. She swept them all aside with a single wave of her staff. They were already wounded, and they put up little fight. Most of the monks actively retreated from conflict. Sen and his friends, despite being ready for a fight, found none. Hua Kai and his fellow monks surrendered almost immediately.

"Please," Hua Kai gasped. "Please, no more. We've lost too much already."

Hua Kai stayed on his knees, partially out of pain, and partially to beg. Sen felt an unnatural anger rising in him. The Red Lotus had been responsible for some of the most devastating events of Korra's life. Her anger bled over into him across the ages, and he found himself feeling inclined to ignore Hua Kai's pleas. He restrained himself, however. There were questions that needed to be answered.

"How are you here," Sen asked. "Korra wiped out the Red Lotus decades ago."

"She did," Hua Kai said. "We are not connected in to Zaheer or the others."

Sen relaxed slightly. Ada did not. Even if they weren't directly connected to the old Red Lotus, they were still inspired by them. That made them a threat.

"You cannot kill an ideal," Hua Kai explained. "We believed in a world without leaders, so we made our own. We carried on the ideals of the old Red Lotus, and we took up their banner."

"For your sake," Sen said. "I hope that's the only way you've followed in their footsteps."

Hua Kai hesitated. Sen was about to question the Red Lotus acolyte further, but he was interrupted by a sudden swelling of the water, and a violently rising tide.

"The Blade Ship!"

The water split in a violent crash as a massive sword-shaped vessel emerged from beneath the tides. As the breaching vessel came to rest on the surface, it surged forward suddenly, stabbing at the heart of the Drifting Spring. The massive ship's sharp prow crashed into the wooden hull of the Red Lotus haven, shattering the support struts and sending splinters flying through the air.

The submarine finished its impact, and several hatches on the top and sides opened up. Speedboats were deployed from the sides of the vessel to patrol the waters and make sure none escaped the island, while soldiers began to pour outwards from the open pits on the top, brandishing spears against the wounded monks of the Red Lotus. The new arrivals were quick and violent in their work, wielding spears and icy blades against their chosen targets with brutal efficiency.

Hua Kai fled, and one of the spear-wielding warriors chased after him. One of the soldiers took a long look at Sen, and then passed him by. Sen decided that now would be a good time to sit down. He kept his head down and let the soldiers march around him. His friends followed suit.

"Shorewatchers," Ada said. "Probably the source of their injuries in the first place."

Sen grit his teeth. He knew very little of the Shorewatchers, other than that he did not approve of their violent ways. What he was seeing now was not changing his mind in the slightest.

The Shorewatchers went about their work as they usually did. Sen and his friends were, for the most part, ignored, though the Shorewatchers were naturally suspicious. After a short time, Suda was led to join the rest of them at the point of a spear. Sen overheard one of the Shorewatchers mumble something about a badgermole to one of the others. Sen was getting a lot of strange looks after that.

Eventually, the hunt came to an end. The Huntswoman in charge of this operation meticulously cleaned her spear and turned her attention to their guests.

"You have found yourself in unfortunate company," She declared.

"It's a coincidence, I assure you."

"I did not give you permission to speak yet," The Huntswoman declared. "I will take your explanations now."

"Please excuse us, we're not from around here," Ada said. The Huntswoman frowned.

"Well, pardon me," She said apologetically. "I see you're unaware with how we operate. This does not, however, explain your presence here."

"We're travelers," Sen said. "The ones who live- lived here, flagged us down, and asked for aid. We didn't know they were Red Lotus. Until just recently, that is."

"I totally trashed a few of their guys, just so you know," Whistler said. She was a former criminal herself, so she was eager to endear herself to the violent crimefighters pointing spears at her.

"If you need documentation, we have it available on our vessel," Ada suggested. The passports and IDs were all technically fake, but they were such good forgeries that even a Shorewatcher wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"I will be having a look at that before we leave," The Huntswoman said. "All the same, you'll be accompanying us back to port."

"That's not necessary, I'm sure everything will check out-"

"Your documentation is irrelevant," The Huntswoman declared. "Your vessel, along with everything and everyone on it are presumed to be connected to the Red Lotus until we declare it otherwise. You will accompany us to our headquarters and await our judgment."

Ada sighed. The Shorewatchers were certainly thorough in their work. A few of the Shorewatchers gestured with their spears, and Sen and his friends got to their feet and proceeded back towards their ship.

"A word of warning," The Huntswoman said. "The Blade Ship is the fastest vessel in existence. You try to go off course, and we will chase you down."

"That will not be a problem, ma'am," Sen assured her. The mighty steel hull of the Blade Ship cut an imposing figure; Sen did not doubt that it could hunt them down with ease.

The Huntswoman turned to what was left of the Drifting Spring. Her Hunters were rooting out the last of the Red Lotus rebels. She looked at the sun in the sky, and decided that the hunt was taking too long.

"We need to be back in time for the full moon. Sink the vessel," she declared. "Let the waves have them."

The Shorewatchers complied, shattering the tethers that held the Drifting Spring together, sinking the successors of the Red Lotus beneath the waves. As their vessel was towed to the North by the mighty Blade Ship, Sen watched the floating island sink, condemning the Red Lotus to the darkest depths. Sen had to wonder; if the Red Lotus could come back, even briefly, what else might return?

Sen ignored the foreboding thoughts of the past and turned his eyes to the Blade Ship that cut through the waves. He was in the company of Shorewatchers now. That would be interesting.


	53. Book 4 Ch2: Hunters of Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen journeys to the headquarters of the violent peacekeepers known as the Shorewatchers. A figure from Miyani's past, the former Huntsman Ariak, recruits Sen's help to take on Ariak's misguided father.

The headquarters of the Shorewatchers was every bit as imposing as Sen had imagined it. It was a massive structure, towering above everything else in view. The walls were shaped of a dark grey stone, which made it a prominent and threatening sight amidst the white plains of snow that surrounded it. It was a building designed to strike fear into the hearts of those who saw it.

The Blade Ship led the way to the docks of the imposing tower, and Ada pulled their vessel ashore. Several Shorewatchers lined up to watch their vessel arrive. The Shorewatchers were not used to taking in guests. They examined every one of the new arrivals curiously as they disembarked.

A few of the dock workers tried to corral Gun and lead him into the structure. He was actually fairly compliant when he was on the docks, but the moment Gun's feet reached the soil, he punched his way through the permafrost and vanished into the depths of the earth. Sen felt the vibrations as Gun got settled. Once he was a few dozen feet below the surface, the arctic cold faded and Gun was perfectly comfortable. The Shorewatchers who had been trying to corral him stared at the ground and then turned to Sen.

"Trust me, you don't want him to come back," Sen said with a shrug. "He's not very fond of strangers."

The Shorewatchers looked at one another. Offending an animal the size of a house was not on their to-do list. The commanding officer waved them down. She was concerned with people, not animals.

"It's a shame we had to drag you along," One of the Shorewatchers said. "The Blade Ship is the fastest ship on the waters. We could have made it back before nightfall."

Sen looked up at the moon. It was full, or nearly full, he couldn't quite tell. His sleep schedule still hadn't recovered from the strange lack of a day and night in the Spirit World, so it being the middle of the night did not exhaust him. He was glad of that. If it was a full moon after all, the Waterbenders would be very lively.

Sen was ushered inside the dark stone structure. It was just as imposing and utilitarian on the inside. Whatever architect had designed this place had clearly had no mind for artistry. Everything was square corners and sharp angles. Sen found the whole place oddly uncomfortable.

The Hunters escorting them led Sen and his friends to a side room with a large table. One Shorewatcher gestured to it.

"Any weapons go one the table," He commanded. "Anything metal or stone as well."

Ada looked to Sen. He nodded, and she began to unbuckle their sword belt. They were technically on the same side as the Shorewatchers. It would be pointless to cause trouble. The sooner they got in and out, the better.

Swords, staffs, and metal reels all lay upon the table soon enough. Last of all, and quite reluctantly, Sen placed his bracelet upon the table. One of the Shorewatchers began to look over the assorted weapons and trinkets as Sen was led to a secure room in another part of the building. A hooded figure in the corner of the room kept a careful eye on Sen as he was led away.

"They sure are well-equipped for a bunch of kids," One remarked. He took hold of Suda's metal reels and examined them. "These are the same kind of thing the Republic City Police use, aren't they?"

"Forget that," Another one of them began. "Take a look at these swords."

Ada's swords were held out, with a careful warning not to touch the trigger sitting just above the handle. The style of forging was very familiar to the Shorewatchers.

"That's Yakkul's work," The Shorewatcher holding the blades declared. Master Yakkul had crafted many of the spears used by the highest ranking members of the Shorewatchers. The fact that a young girl was carrying around a matching set of Yakkul's blades was strange.

"There's something odd about these ones," Somebody said. He fiddled with Whistler's staff, and accidentally unfolded the glider mechanism. Yet another surprise amidst the piles of gear. The Shorewatchers began to take a second look at even the more innocuous items. Somebody eventually noticed that a piece was missing.

"Wasn't there a bracelet here a moment ago?"

There had been, but there no longer was. A certain Shorewatcher had snapped it up, and was making a determined march towards their makeshift "guest" rooms. He didn't bother knocking. The person inside couldn't open the door from the inside anyway. He had a key, and he let himself in. Sen glanced up at his new visitor with concern and curiosity.

"My name is Ariak," He declared. He held out the small, rectangular brick attached to the chain. "You and I have a mutual friend."

***

The story of Ariak and Miyani's first meeting was a long one, and the fact that Sen asked numerous questions about his old firebending master didn't speed up the process. By the end of it, though, Sen was well-acquainted with the conflict of ideals between Ariak and the rest of the Shorewatchers. Tinaaki's frequent overstepping of boundaries was causing an irreconcilable tension between the North and South.

"After I turned Inok in to the Southern government, and explained my role in the events to Tinaaki, I was stripped of my rank. I no longer possess any sway in the Shorewatcher court, and there are no other Huntsmen on the council who are quite so opposed to my fathers views. I cannot rely on anyone inside the system, and there are few people outside the Shorewatchers who could demand Tinaaki's attention."

"So you need the Avatar," Sen said.

"I know it's presumptuous of me to ask for help so soon," Ariak said with a slight bow. "But I hope you can see the urgency of the situation. If I haven't convinced you, there is far more evidence of Tinnaki's-"

Sen interrupted Ariak by walking forward and extending his hand.

"Any friend of Miyani's is a friend of mine," Sen declared. "Whatever you have planned, I'm on board."

Ariak seemed a little surprised that Sen was so quick to trust him. Nonetheless, he took Sen's extended hand and shook it firmly. Ariak had been waiting a long time for a moment like this. Part of him didn't yet believe that he was standing before the Avatar. It was a strange experience. Sen was not exactly what he had been expecting.

Ariak put those thoughts at the back of his mind. For now, it was not so much about what the Avatar was capable of as what he represented. The Avatar was an ultimate authority. Tinaaki would not be able to dismiss the word of the Avatar as easily as he did everyone else who disagreed with him. Ariak elaborated on his plans.

"The first step, as you are an outsider, will be for you to earn the right to speak. Since the Shorewatchers are a martial organization, this will be done through a trial by combat."

"I'm not sure I agree with that," Sen said. He'd rather not fight anyone today.

"It's hardly worth worrying about," Ariak said. "You don't have to win the fight, or even finish it entirely. As long as you prove yourself an able warrior, you'll earn the Shorewatchers respect."

Sen shrugged. He could live with some sparring if it meant gaining the opportunity to enact change.

"Once you've done so, it'll be a simple matter of coercing the council of Huntsmen."

"Where do we stand on that? Are there any who'd already be sympathetic?"

"Only two that I know of. Surma and Letho are known to oppose my father on occasion. If the Avatar- you- call on them, they will most certainly sympathize."

Sen nodded. Winning over five people couldn't be too hard, depending on how many obstacles they had in the way. Sen wasn't completely sure he wanted to reveal himself as the Avatar to the entire host of Huntsmen just yet. He would only use that as a last resort.

"What about on Tinaaki's side? How many people would support him?"

"Most of the Huntsmen are at least passively loyal to my father, but I believe they can be convinced. There's only one who will stay with my father no matter what. Kyros."

Sen found those odds favorable. Two already on their side, one on the opposition, leaving eight to be persuaded, of which they only really needed five. They could work with this.

"Alright, so, what's the plan," Sen concluded. "How do we convince them?"

"It'll be a simple matter of challenging his authority. All you have to do is convince them that Tinaaki is misguided in his actions."

"It shouldn't be difficult," Sen said. "If Tinaaki's really breaking the laws of the South, it should be easy to take him down."

"Did I say he was breaking any laws?"

"You sort of implied it," Sen continued.

"Then that is my error," Ariak said. "My father is…technically within his rights in the way he acts."

That was certainly a speedbump in their plans. Ariak was treating Sen like an unbeatable trump card. Sen was not a skilled debater or even particularly knowledgeable about the political situation here in the North. If push came to shove, he might be unable to argue against Tinaaki properly.

"You know, we should have a backup plan," Sen suggested. "Something we can do if arguments fail."

"We do," Ariak said. "The Shorewatchers are a martial organization, as I said. If all else fails, you can simply challenge him to trial by combat. Defeat him, and he'll cede full control of the Shorewatchers to you."

Sen stared at Ariak for a while. The young Shorewatcher seemed wholly convinced that this was a sound plan of action. At least part of him did. Ariak seemed to be split down the middle. He wasn't entirely certain of anything, though he tried his hardest to act as if he was.

"I think we should talk to the rest of my group first."

Ariak managed to retrieve the others from their individual rooms without being questioned. One by one the team was reunited, until all had been gathered, and Ariak explained the situation once again. The reaction was less than ideal.

"I don't think we should be doing this," Ada began

"The sooner we leave this place the better," Suda agreed.

"I'm with them," Whistler concluded.

Ariak seemed frozen for a moment.

"I don't believe you've given this the proper thought," He said.

"The Shorewatchers are a very effective police force," Ada said. "They have the resources and the reason to expand into the South, and their presence would definitely lower crime. If anything we should be convincing Kesuk to allow them to expand. It would solve the problem and make the South considerably safer."

"I don't know anything about the politics here, but speaking as a former criminal, the sooner I get out of this place the better," Suda said.

"Same for me," Whistler said.

Ariak froze again. A look of slight concern appeared on his face.

"You're criminals?"

"Hey, I'm not proud of it, but I did what I had to do to get by," Suda said. "I'm on the straight and narrow now, though. Completely reformed."

"Not me," Whistler chimed in. "I'm still kind of a jerk. Not sure yet about the criminal thing. Still kind of in transition. You can trust me for now, though. Mostly."

Ariak shook his head. This was hardly what he had been expecting. Sen saw the way the disappointment sank in Ariak's heart. It was a good time to change the subject.

"Alright, just give me one minute," Sen said. "I want to ask Korra about this. She's been through this kind of thing before."

This was the kind of situation that the Avatar should be able to handle, but the more Sen heard, the more he doubted. Hopefully Korra would be able to provide some additional guidance. She had resolved a conflict between the North and South before.

The rest of the rooms occupants took a step back as Sen sat down to meditate. He found it much harder to connect with Korra nowadays. The enhanced energy of the Spirit World had been a great help in contacting her regularly. Back in the material plane, it became much harder to focus his energy. Sen slid the armband hidden up his sleeve down to his wrist, giving him a more physical connection to his past life.

With a last burst of intense concentration, Sen found himself alone with Korra. She offered a greeting, and then her wisdom. Sen explained the entire scenario with the Shorewatchers and the South.

"I'm not sure the situation is simple enough for you to solve right now," Korra said. "When I faced troubles between the North and South, it was all solved by me turning into a giant and punching an evil spirit. I assume that's not an option here."

"I think that's a safe assumption," Sen agreed. He was mildly amused by the notion. If only everything were so simple.

"But, in all seriousness, I think the best thing to do here might be nothing at all," Korra advised. "You're not informed or educated enough to know all the circumstances and how to deal with them appropriately. Trying to get involved before you're ready might only make things worse."

"I was worried you'd say that," Sen said. "This seems like the kind of problem I should be solving, doesn't it?"

"In some ways it is," Korra said. "But the Shorewatchers don't present an immediate threat –at least not to anyone innocent- and I think Tinaaki and Kesuk are both smart enough to keep the peace for now. Be patient, and act only when you're ready."

With a thankful nod to Korra, Sen severed the connection and returned to the real world. Ariak was looking at him with hope in his eyes. The rest already seemed to be planning what to do after they left. Sen stood up and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Ariak," Sen began. "But this just isn't the kind of situation I can deal with right now."

Ariak maintained a certain sense of stoic pride, but Sen could feel conflict boiling inside him. Ariak had a very personal stake in this, after all. For him it was a matter of family as well as politics. He gave a subtle shake of his head.

"I understand."

There was a moment of pause where Ariak seemed to be thinking about several things all at once.

"That said," He continued. "I think we can perhaps agree that we should convince my father to call off the kill order on Miyani."

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea," Sen said. His companions seemed to agree. The Shorewatchers and Miyani would both be very powerful allies in the coming battles against the Energybender's forces. It wouldn't do to have the two of them fighting each other.

Ariak and Sen left the others behind as they proceeded to the court of the Huntsmen. Sen was not knowledgeable on complex politics, but he knew Miyani very well. He would be able to argue on her behalf quite easily.

There was no hesitation in Ariak as he slammed open the doors of the Huntsman's council room. Their monthly meeting had been directionless up until now; the North Pole had been quiet recently. That was about to change.

The great meeting hall spread out in a grand circle, as much a coliseum as an auditorium. The Huntsmen sat on a high circle of stone benches, elevated on a wall of grey rock. The stone was scarred and pitted by duels that had taken place in the central ring. Ariak stepped into the midst of the makeshift arena.

"Huntsmaster Tinaaki," Ariak opened. "A friend seeks an audience."

The Huntsmaster of the Shorewatchers stood and observed his new guest as Sen stepped forward. The two looked over each other for a moment. Tinaaki was not perceptive enough to see the power that Sen wielded, but Sen could see quite a bit about TInaaki. He was imposing and proud, but it seemed oddly hollow. Like a wolf without fangs, all bark and no bite.

"If you earn the right to speak, then we will hear you," Tinaaki said.

The Huntsmen leaned forward to look at Sen, in particular the female Huntsman who had brought Sen here in the first place. At least there would be some entertainment tonight. One of the Huntsmen, a tall man with dark features, examined Sen with a peculiar predatory interest.

"Who would give this outsider the chance to prove himself?"

As Sen had anticipated, the dark-eyed stranger was the first to stand. Nobody else in the room seemed surprised. Ariak actually seemed a bit worried.

"Very well. Kyros the Blood will be your challenger."

That certainly explained his eagerness. Ariak had named Kyros as one of Tinaaki's most ardent supporters. The title he bore was a slight surprise, though. Sen did not want to imagine what kind of things Kyros had done to earn the title "the Blood".

Kyros slowly walked around the circular chamber and descended a staircase from his lofty post. He stripped his heavy robe away, exposing muscular arms scarred by all manner of blades and elements. Before he stepped into the arena, Kyros took his spear from the wall, muttering a short prayer as he removed the bladed weapon from its resting place.

At Tinaaki's signal, a grating in the wall was pulled back, and crystal clear water began to flow into a trench that surrounded the room. Kyros flexed his hands, and the water shifted visibly.

"We can do this man to man, if you'd like," Kyros declared. "I can see you're no waterbender."

"Firebender," Sen declared. It was his best option at the moment. Earthbending would dismantle this entire chamber, and his airbending was still unrefined. Plus, firebending would fit his narrative later on, when he had to convince Tinaaki of Miyani's good intentions.

Kyros seemed amused by the fact that Sen would wield fire against him. He gestured to one of his fellows.

"We have a firebender among us. It might be a more fair fight."

Sen looked over his shoulder at Ariak. He shrugged.

"The Shorewatchers don't discriminate," Ariak said. Sen shook his head. So they were a law enforcement organization and an equal-opportunity employer. Sen was finding it hard to dislike the Shorewatchers as much as Ariak wanted him to.

"The challenge stands. Fire versus water."

"Very well then. You are the challenger," Kyros proclaimed. "To you goes the first blow."

Sen took a deep breath and steeled himself. According to Ariak, he didn't really need to win this fight, but he sought to do his best all the same. The better he did, the more respect he would command from the Shorewatchers, and the easier it would be to convince them. With that thought in mind, Sen centered himself and called forth the flames.

No sooner had the first spark left his fingertips than Sen felt the water rise behind him. Kyros was taking advantage of the circular water trench; he sought to strike from behind. His actions were quick and stealthy, but Kyros was no Fogbender. Sen easily sidestepped the tendril of water and counterattacked in kind.

Kyros seemed surprised that his opponent had managed to avoid even a single attack, but he was not caught off guard for long. The Huntsman blocked Sen's attacks with a wall of ice and moved for a new angle. As Kyros ran, he sent out bolts of water and ice, trying to force Sen to split his focus. It did not work. Sen was more than capable of dodging Kyros' attacks and retaliating at once.

Kyros nearly stumbled and fell as a lance of fire from Sen roared in front of his feet, forcing him to a sudden halt. He used his spear to adjust his balance and recovered his footing. Sen worked with the momentary disadvantage to close the gap between himself and his opponent. Sen had the advantage at close range; his enhanced senses made it far easier for him to predict his opponents actions and react quickly. Kyros was forced backwards to keep the distance between himself and Sen, and Sen did not waste that advantage.

Kyros' scowled broadly, and Sen felt a slight shift. He had, perhaps, been holding back before. Now Sen had proven himself a legitimate threat.

The Huntsman put his foot forward and swept his hands in a broad motion, drawing more and more water out of the grating. The circular trench that surrounded the arena was flooded and then overflowed, coating the battlefield in a thin layer of cold water. Sen did what he could to keep the water back, but the flood was ultimately unstoppable. As the water rose, it froze in place around Sen's feet, locking him in place.

Kyros surfed atop the layer of shallow water, drawing closer to Sen, imagining now that he had the advantage. Sen would not let it be so easy. With a quick redirection of heat, Sen melted the ice around his ankles and jumped upwards, launching a bolt of fire at Kyros. The waterbender swerved to the side to avoid it and froze the flooded battlefield entirely. Sen attempted to find his footing, but the ice was slick and he found it difficult to balance.

Kyros pushed his advantage, and Sen was forced backwards, inevitably slipping on the ice and falling. As he fell, he tried to spin, and he managed to kick up a cyclone of fire around himself, enough to prevent Kyros from closing in until he regained his footing.

The ice melted beneath him, and Sen took a moment to retreat backwards. By pressing himself against the walls of the arena, Sen could probably manage to keep himself upright in the future. He kept his back to the wall and continued his battle with Kyros.

Ariak watched the battle with no small amount of stress. The Avatar had been winning for only a short time; now that Kyros was no longer holding back, he was rapidly losing the advantage with every step. Ariak had been expecting a decisive victory. Sen was the Avatar, after all, how could he lose to a mere Huntsman?

The frozen battlefield melted suddenly, and pushed forward as a single wave of water. With no way around it and no way over, Sen was forced to stand and bear the impact of the ice-cold wave. The surging water pressed him against the stone wall, and Sen felt the water freeze in place around his arms and legs. As the water passed, Sen found himself pinned to the wall. Kyros stood before him with a smug smile on his face.

"A respectable showing, I think," Kyros said. He turned his back on Sen and looked up to Tinaaki. "What say you, Huntsmaster?"

"I say you should not turn your back on an undefeated opponent."

Kyros looked over his shoulder suddenly. Sen took a deep breath. His arms and legs were frozen, but this did not disable Sen as easily as it would another bender. He had studied the firebending of the Dragons once. He was a good mimic.

Sen opened his mouth, and a jet of fire burst forth. It was not strong, but the sudden rush of dragon's breath caught Kyros off guard and forced him backwards. Sen wasted no time in melting his icy bond while Kyros was occupied with his retreat. Sen broke free from his icy bonds and rushed forward.

Kyros help up his hands, and Sen froze in place. His veins suddenly burned like his blood was on fire, and his muscles would not move with his will. Kyros slowly stood up. His fingers twitched slightly as he exerted his dark influence on the Avatar's blood.

All too familiar fear crept into Sen's mind in that brief instant. Bloodbending. A dark art with an unfortunate history, especially where the Avatar was concerned.

Sen pushed against the arcane hold that Kyros Bloodbending had on him. Bloodbending was potent, but it was not absolute. He could resist. He could break the hold. It took everything Sen had just to move his arms, but he managed to push against the burning in his veins and move his hands forward.

The grip suddenly released, and Sen fell to the floor, clutching at wounded veins. He felt a strong arm grab him by the shoulder, and he nearly pulled away in panic, but he soon realized that Kyros was trying to help him to his feet.

"I'm sorry," Kyros said, clearly apologetic. "I'm sorry. The full moon –instinct took hold, I-"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Kyros," Tinaaki said. Sen wasn't sure he agreed. There was no excuse for using bloodbending on an innocent.

"You've more than proven yourself, stranger," Tinaaki continued. There were few alive who could hold their own against Kyros, much less resist his Bloodbending. Sen was a rare breed indeed. "You may speak your piece."

Sen took a moment to compose himself. It took some time for his heart to regain a steady pace. Bloodbending did unnatural things to the body. The Huntsmen waited patiently for him to speak. Kyros backed away slowly, hanging his head low.

"My name is Sen. I've come to you about Miyani," Sen finally said. "The Combustion Bender. She's my friend, and I won't have her being hunted."

"We've had this discussion before," One of the Huntsmen said dismissively.

"Yes, months ago, when she first emerged," A male Shorewatcher, presumably Letho, said. "New reports have appeared since then. Perhaps this discussion is worth re-opening."

"As long as it has that tattoo, it's a threat," One of the others shot back. Surma stood up.

"She's been through more than a dozen Energybender bases at this point, and not a single civilian wounded," She argued. "How can we seriously call her a threat when she's fighting the same enemies we are?"

"The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend," Kyros said. "Do not forget what it did to Inok."

Kyros cast an angry glare towards Ariak. Tinaaki stood up.

"Inok was in defiance of my orders," He said. "In that case, its actions were justified."

Tinaaki turned his attention to Sen, still standing in the middle of the arena. The Huntsmasters eyes glanced briefly towards his son. Ariak did not meet his gaze.

"Come with me, stranger," Tinaaki commanded.

The master of the Shorewatchers took hold of his spear and led Sen out of the meeting chamber. Kyros nodded solemnly at their passing. Within moments Sen was taken into a very sparse office. Tinaaki sat down at a wooden desk stacked high with paperwork, and gestured for Sen to sit across from him.

"Did my son put you up to this?"

"Ariak brought it to my attention," Sen said firmly. "But Miyani really is my friend. I'm not going to let you hunt her like an animal."

"Mm. I thought this might be about his sister…It's irrelevant. If the combustion bender truly is your friend, speak on their behalf. I will listen."

Sen was beginning to realize that Ariak's vendetta against Tinaaki was a very personal endeavor. That was a matter to be settled another time, though. Tinaaki relaxed in his chair as Sen began his story.

"Miyani's been the victim before," Sen said. "She was taken from her home when she was young, and she was hurt, over and over, even though she had done nothing wrong. She would never do that to another. She would never hurt an innocent."

Tinaaki put a hand on his bearded chin and contemplated Sen's words. Sen continued.

"Blind hatred for her kind is what drove her to hide for so many years," Sen said. "It was acceptance and understanding that turned her into a force for good. I'm only one person, and look at all that she's done because of our friendship."

The Shorewatchers were highly critical of Miyani, but there was no denying that she had cut a considerable wound in the Energybender's forces, and his position in the United Earth Kingdom. If she kept up her actions, she would soon have done more single-handedly than all the Shorewatchers had done together.

"I suppose I can't expect you to understand this as I do," Sen continued. "Not right away. All I ask is that you wait, and watch. Give her a chance to prove herself. I know she won't disappoint you."

Tinaaki placed his hands on the small desk before him.

"Have you any more to say?"

"No."

"Then I will say my part," Tinaaki said. He carefully folded his hands on the desk. "You said that 'Miyani' was in hiding for many years?"

"Yes."

"Then tell it to go back," Tinaaki said coldly. "It does not matter what the combustion bender intends, whether it is good or evil. Their kind is dangerous and destructive by nature. We cannot let them run free."

Sen froze in his seat. Tinaaki leaned backwards and looked away from Sen, examining some trophy hanging on his walls.

"I will call off my hunters," He said finally. "On the condition that the combustion bender is never seen again."

Sen quietly leaned forward, placing a palm over his mouth. He looked around the room a few times, and made a few half-hearted gestures, trying and failing to begin a sentence. Eventually he gave up and placed a single hand on the corner of Tinaaki's desk.

"No."

Asking Miyani to go back to Hayao's island was the worst thing Sen could think of. She would never do it, and Sen would never ask her to. Tinaaki had a fundamental misunderstanding of Miyani's character, even after Sen's explanation.

"Then the hunt will continue," Tinaaki said.

"No it won't," Sen said. "You're going to go back, and you're going to call off the hunt."

"No."

There was a look on Tinaaki's face that said he thought he was being clever. Sen was not impressed.

"And I was so hoping I wouldn't have to play this card," Sen said. He rubbed his eyes for a moment.

With a flick of Sen's wrist, the grey stone beneath Tinaaki's desk sailed to the right, taking the desk with it. Tinaaki had barely a moment to comprehend the sudden movement before Sen pushed his hand forward, launching Tinaaki back with a surge of air. Sen stood from his chair and stepped forward.

"I am the Avatar," Sen said. "Miyani fights on my behalf. You will leave her alone."

"Yes, absolutely, understood," Tinaaki mumbled. His bravado collapsed quickly when faced with a higher power. He pressed his back against his chair and did not dare to look Sen in the eye. Sen crossed his arms. He was hardly impressed by the Huntsmasters behavior.

"Don't tell anyone who I am, or that I was here," Sen said. Tinaaki nodded nervously. Sen held his hand out.

"We're all on the same side, Tinaaki," Sen said. "You, me, Miyani, we can all work together."

Tinaaki grabbed Sen's outstretched hand, but not firmly. Sen pulled him to his feet all the same. The Huntsmaster was reluctant to move, until Sen gestured that he should do so. Tinaaki forgot that he was meant to appear in charge here. Tinaaki shook his head clear and led the way back to the meeting chamber. He took his seat at the center of the circular and placed his hands firmly on the small desk before him.

"The…Our guest has made his position abundantly clear," Tinaaki said. "We will no longer be hunting the combustion bender."

With the Huntsmasters judgment being absolute, there was no need to call a vote on the matter of Miyani. Some of the Huntsmen seemed confused by the sudden change of tone, but most were willing to accept Tinaaki's judgment. Ariak was the most visibly relieved by the news. His father had finally seen the truth. Perhaps there was hope for him to come around on other matters.

Tinaaki adjourned the meeting and dismissed his Huntsmen. Sen left the room first, returning to his friends, while Ariak remained behind briefly to speak with his father.

"I'm glad that you-"

"Leave. You are no Shorewatcher."

Tinaaki walked past his son without so much as turning his head. Ariak had gone behind his back one to many times. Tinaaki could not work with someone who was constantly trying to subvert his authority and undermine his goals. He said none of this to Ariak, though, and the boy was left behind, alone, without any understanding.

Silence choked the air, and Ariak. He had spent his entire life serving the Shorewatchers. Even his actions against Tinaaki had been for their benefit. His father had stripped all of that away in one sentence, and Ariak didn't even understand why.

The silence was suddenly broken by Sen pushing the door open.

"Are you coming, Ariak?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well I assumed you were following me," Sen explained. "I was going to talk with my team about what to do next. You should be there."

"I'd be happy to help, but I assumed our business was concluded."

"Not hardly. I still need to learn waterbending, after all. Unless you don't want to teach me?"

Ariak clenched his jaw. Was he even worthy to teach an Avatar? He was apparently unworthy to be a Shorewatcher.

But no, Ariak thought, it was Tinaaki who was unworthy to lead. Once upon a time Ariak had blindly followed his father's judgment, but that had been a mistake. The Avatar, on the other hand, was a different matter. The Avatar was someone Ariak could always trust to do the right thing.

Sen led, and Ariak followed.


	54. Book 4 Ch3: Black Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Journeying into the ice caves of the frozen North, Sen has another encounter with the mind-devouring spirit known as the Hssk. Deep in the blackness of the icy pit, Sen uncovers the terrible truth of why only he can see the Hssk.

Ariak did not ingratiate himself with the group easily. He and Ada got along well at first; they had a common history with combat training, and similar attitudes on world politics. Their interactions became less friendly, though, as Ariak's deliberate avoidance of Suda and Whistler became more apparent. He had not yet reconciled himself with their former lives as criminals. While Ariak had been exiled from the Shorewatchers, he still carried some of his old biases with him.

Luckily Sen's training was going much more smoothly. Water was coming as naturally to him as Earth and Fire had. Ariak was impressed by the Avatar's rapid progress.

He was still an amateur by any accounts, but he was learning much faster than could be reasonably expected. Ariak demonstrated a technique, and after just one or two attempts, Sen matched the feat, sometimes even exceeding it. They manipulated ice and snow as they walked, shaping the icy wastes with their bending.

"You are a very quick study, Avatar," Ariak said.

"Well, it all gets easier after the first element," Sen said. Few people had the privilege of learning multiple elements. While they were very different arts, every bending style shared common roots, and it became easier to learn new ones as you worked through them. Waterbending, as the most adaptable and fluid style, was perhaps even the easiest to learn.

"And, also, not to brag, but I am quite perceptive."

"So you've told me," Ariak said. "You can see things no one else can."

Ariak's statement was innocuous, but it called to mind an old worry. The Hssk was still out there, and Sen was still the only person who could tell it existed. Part of him worried about how he would handle that. He tried to put that fear behind him. The best thing to do now would be to focus on learning waterbending.

Despite his best attempts to shake it off, Sen found that the questions lingered with him. Wan Shi Tong had told him once that how he could see the Mind-Eater was irrelevant, only that he could, but Sen didn't feel that way. There had to be some kind of explanation for why he could remember the Hssk and no one else could. If he understood how his strange insight worked, it was possible he could share it and make his future battles much easier.

"Sen, focus," Ada scolded.

"I was," Sen protested.

Sen's lengthy thoughts on the Hssk had not detracted in any way from his studying. He had learned to multitask at this point; he could easily split his focus between bending and thinking. Nobody else would have even noticed his lack of focus. Ada, of all his friends, seemed the most keenly aware that Sen had a hidden worry, something he would not or could not tell them about.

The snow moved in a steady wave of motion as Ariak demonstrated another technique. Sen focused entirely on his waterbending practice. His mind drifted occasionally, but he always managed to pull himself back. It was an ironic twist on the very principles of waterbending; push and pull. Sen was pulled away by thoughts of the future and his enemies, and had to push himself back to focus on the task at hand. Sen found it almost humorous. Almost.

As time went on, Ariak ran out of lessons that could be taught on the road. More intensive training would have to wait until they had a safe and stable training environment.

"We may be able to make more progress before we retire for the evening, depending on how late we arrive," Ariak said. "But the real training will not proceed until we have reached the North Pole."

Sen could live with that arrangement. It wouldn't be long before they reached the northern capitol anyway. The harsh tundra of the polar continent made it impossible to create any rail lines, or even real roads, but it also meant that settlements weren't that far apart in the first place. The place they were stopping for the night would only be about a day's journey from the North Pole, provided there were no sudden blizzards or avalanches impeding their progress.

The icy wind cut across his face for a moment, and Sen pulled his hood closer around him. He took a moment to chip some ice flakes off his glasses as well. The lenses were becoming fairly problematic in the north. Every now and then Sen removed them entirely. It wasn't hard to see where he was going in the middle of the tundra. Everything here was white, and anything alive stuck out quite obviously.

A brief shred of black among the white caught Sen's eye, and it was gone as soon as it appeared. Sen scowled.

"Where are we stopping tonight, Ariak?"

"A tourist trap," Ariak spat. "A small settlement struck up around the Halka Ice Caves. Tacky and materialistic, but they have warm beds."

"Sounds good to me," Whistler grumbled.

"Why are the ice caves so special," Suda asked. "Why do so many people want to see them?"

"It's a safe haven for people who want to feel like they're exploring without actually taking any risks," Ariak explained. "Tourists walk around in the first few chambers, but the caves have never been fully explored. Most of the ones who go into the depths never come out."

Suda frowned. That was one tourist attraction he wouldn't be visiting any time soon. Sen looked at the icy hills that stretched out in front of them.

"Some people say that if you wander far enough into the Caves, you'll find a path into the Spirit World," Ariak said. "Though that rumor became much less prominent when we got an actual portal into the Spirit World."

That was all Suda needed to hear to know he didn't want anything to do with the Ice Caves. He'd had quite enough of the Spirit World for one lifetime. Possibly several. He sincerely hoped that whoever he reincarnated as hated the Spirit World too.

The ice-covered white hills took on a brief streak of black, and Sen's stress became apparent to everyone. Whistler caught up to him and walked alongside him, at his left.

"You look like those hills are calling you names," She observed. "What's going on, Avatar?"

"Just thinking about things," Sen lied. "I'm almost done training, after all. Going to have to be a part of the real world soon, you know."

Ada walked up to his right and tapped him on the shoulder playfully.

"You may be able to tell when everyone else is lying, but you sure can't fake it yourself," Ada said. "What's really bothering you?"

"Alright, I'll tell you," Sen said. "There's an evil spirit out there eating everyone's thoughts and memories, and I'm the only one who can remember it, and I'm pretty sure it's watching us from those hills right now!"

Sen pointed at the icy slopes before them, and sure enough, a shadow retreated from his sudden attention. Ada and Whistler shared a brief look of concern that quickly melted away into nothingness as their memories of the incident faded.

Sen sighed deeply and moved away from the women. The Hssk had not made any direct attacks on them since their first meeting, perhaps out of fear, but it could still affect them from a distance somehow. No matter who he told or how he said it, any memory of the Hssk simply slipped between the cracks of the mind and vanished entirely. Soon enough Ada and Whistler barely even remembered that they had been speaking to Sen in the first place.

The sun began to vanish behind the shadowed hills that hid the Hssk. Ariak encouraged them to pick up the pace a bit. Being caught outside after sunset in the arctic could be a death sentence for the unprepared. Luckily, as the sun set, the lights of the settlement became more visible, and Ariak's worries faded slightly.

The only incident that evening was the howl of a wolf in the distance, causing some minor fear that a pack might come hunting them, but such things never happened. Ariak led the way into the settlement surrounding the Halka Ice Caves. It was, as Ariak said, a tourist trap, filled with more souvenir shops and cheap hotels than houses. Sen somehow managed to resist the urge to purchase an aggressive salesman's snowglobes and followed Ariak into the least seedy of all the hotels. It was warm and comfortable, and the travelers were all too eager to remove their thick coats and relax. Whistler flopped down on a bed and asked them all a question.

"So, all things considered, better or worse than hiking through the Spirit World?"

"Better," Suda said. He was glad to be rid of that strange world where everything had strange properties and danger lurked around every corner.

"Worse," Ada grumbled. She hated the cold, she hated the clothes she had to wear, and she hated the fact that the environment itself would try to hurt you. At least in the Spirit World the battles had been with enemies. Ada couldn't fight a blizzard.

Whistler rolled over on the bed and looked at Sen. They were in the same room for now. Sen and the rest would leave the girls for their own room later.

"What about you, Sen? What do you think?"

"It's just more of the same," Sen mumbled. He was looking at the hills again. The reflection of moonlight on the snow meant that even the hills were fairly visible in the darkness. All but a single patch of blackness that crawled along the icy slopes, worming its way across the peaks until it vanished into the ice caves. Ada saw the look on his face and shook her head.

"It's a bit late, Avatar, but if you'd like to train before we go to sleep, I am willing," Ariak offered.

"Not tonight, Ariak," Sen said dismissively. "We should all get some sleep."

He said it, but he had no intention of sleeping any time soon. He waited a while for the rest of the group to fall asleep, and then he grabbed his cold weather gear and prepared to leave.

Ariak heard sounds of motion and sprang quickly to his feet. He took a quick look around and saw Sen geared up to head into the ice and snow.

"Sorry, Avatar, old hunters instinct," Ariak said apologetically. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing important," Sen said evasively. "You should go back to sleep."

It was almost surprising how quickly Ariak complied. He was back in bed as quickly as he had sprung out of it. Sen turned and left. He used a little more caution as he walked past the girls room. Ada would certainly hear him trying to leave, just as Ariak had. Whistler was, to say the least, less of a problem. She was a heavy sleeper.

Sen tightened the fasteners on his coat as he left the seedy hotel and headed up the hill towards the ice cave. The city was abandoned now to the dark and cold; no one watched the streets or monitored the entrance to the caverns. Sen hopped the fence and walked inside the darkened chambers of the Halka Ice Caves.

The caverns were a strange and unnatural thing. The icy walls were shaped in sweeping curves and slopes, twisting in precarious ways. Ripples of different colored ice waved through every wall, making the entire cavern look as if it had been painted with a massive brush. It might have been beautiful on any other day.

"Looks nice, right," Ada said. Sen spun around so quickly he nearly slipped and fell on the ice.

Ada was sitting on a ledge, examining one of her swords. They were getting a bit worn. She'd need to have them sharpened later. She sheathed her blade and looked to Sen.

"What are you doing here?"

"Wondering what you're doing here," Ada replied. "I thought if I came here, I could see whatever it is you're hoping to see."

"That's not the way it works, Ada."

"I should've figured," She sighed. She stood up and looked at the icy walls for a moment. The rippling patterns in the ice varied in color, from dark to light. Sen saw them for darker than they really were. Shadows were lurking in the ice.

"Sen, ever since we met the Ta Jide Shui, you've gotten this strange look every now and again," Ada declared. "Like you can see something that we can't."

"That's…exactly what's happening," Sen said. He was surprised that she had come to that conclusion on her own. He had feared the Hssk would steal the thoughts from her head.

Ada nodded. She was glad to have her explanation for Sen's strange behavior, but the thought of an enemy she couldn't even see was distressing. She liked her opponents to be tangible.

"So there's nothing I can do?"

"I don't really understand it myself," Sen said. "If I ever find a way, though, you'll be the first to know."

Ada paused for a moment and then nodded in acceptance. She trusted Sen to find an answer eventually. She would prefer sooner rather than later, though.

"So do the caves have something to with it?"

"I think so," Sen mumbled. Even his quietest whispers seemed to echo off the walls of the icy cave.

"Three chambers down that way there's a sign that says 'point of no return'," Ada said, pointing down an icy hall. "If you're looking for something, it'll probably be in the place you're not supposed to go."

It was a strange thing for that to be completely true. Sen looked through the icy chambers. Ada called his attention back for a moment.

"Good luck."

Ada jumped up and put her arms around his shoulders for a quick hug. Sen really was getting taller. She hadn't had to jump just to hug him before. Ada quickly released him and returned to her room. Sen lingered for a moment before proceeding into the ice caves. He adjusted his glasses and set out.

He walked past the point of no return sign and ventured into the lost depths of the cavern. Light bounced off of crystalline walls, illuminating even the deepest depths of the twisted caves, but a shadow wormed its way through every refracted beam of light. Sen watched carefully as the serpentine shadow crawled through the cracks in the blue ice.

"Why are you here?"

His voice echoed back to him, but it was not quite his voice. There were whispers hidden inside the echoes, words at first incomprehensible.

"This can't be a trap," Sen surmised. "You're here alone."

The quiet voices returned. The words the Hssk spoke seemed like nonsense, but they had structure of some kind. A language, perhaps, that every mortal had forgotten. Sen had the feeling that the Hssk was trying to tell him something. Though he could not understand the words, as he listened and paid closer attention to the shadowy whispers, he drew some semblance of a conclusion.

"You want to bargain," Sen said. The whispers took on a confirmatory hum. Sen waved his hand dismissively.

"You're afraid," He said.

The shadows screamed for a minute, but they settled soon enough. The Hssk knew it was true. Its powers, though impressive, were not absolute. Things were constantly slipping. Despite all its best efforts, new ideas, new inventions, were slipping through. People like Ada could see and remember things they shouldn't be able to. In the old days, when it had been completely invisible, such minor slips had been pointless. But now there was the Avatar, the Avatar who could see it and chase it and wound it without the help of Wan Shi Tong. For the first time, the Hssk was truly vulnerable.

Sen proceeded deeper into the caves. The slopes became harsher, the rooms and walls more twisted and strangely aligned, and the shadows grew deeper and deeper. If the Halka Ice Caves were in fact a gateway to the Spirit World, they were not a gate to any of the good places. Sen could feel a darkness slipping between every facet of reality. His chest started to burn slightly.

"You're wasting your time," Sen said.

The Hssk would not surrender so easily. Sen saw a pattern in the ice, a wave of motion that he could follow. The Avatar traced the black pattern deeper into the blue caves, seeking out its source.

As he proceeded further into the depths, the whispers of the Hssk became something more coherent. They became familiar sounds, speaking in the voices of old friends and allies. He heard Suda, Ada, Miyani, Hanjo, and others, their voices faint and in the distance, always speaking of their deepest secrets and greatest fears, and always becoming quiet just before revealing the truth.

Sen ignored the voices. He trusted his friends. He knew they had their secrets, but he didn't care to know them. If they mattered, they would be revealed in time.

The voices changed again, and they became the words of masters and monsters. He heard Bolin, the Harrier, General Rahm, Kyros the Blood, among others, and they spoke of the secrets of lava and lightning, metal and blood, and other things even more unique and strange. These too Sen ignored. If he learned such things, it would be on his own terms. Power had to be earned, not given.

One last time, in desperation, the voices changed, and this time they were not voices that Sen recognized. There seemed to be gasping at first, a woman desperate and tired, and a man encouraging her. There was a piercing scream, a moment of silence, and then crying, quiet but sustained. A newborn. There was a sound of fussing and shuffling feet, and then calm.

"Look at him," the man's voice said. Sen had never heard the voice before, but it resonated with him all the same.

"He's amazing," An exhausted woman said. Her voice was ragged and tired, but her words pierced Sen's ears and into his heart.

His mother. He knew it on some primal level. He was listening to his mother and father. The Hssk was taunting him with his origins, the history he had never known. Where had had been born, who his parents were, why he had been in the orphanage in the first place- things he had never known, and perhaps never would. But the Hssk was the keeper of all secrets. Through him all things could be revealed.

"Welcome home," Sen's mother said, her phantom voice echoing off the icy walls. The sound of her voice only intensified the burning in Sen's chest.

"You're going to do amazing things-" The echo of Sen's father said. Sen had the feeling that he was being cut off. The Hssk had taunted him enough.

Sen clenched his teeth, and was silent. The Hssk crept out of the shadows, taking shape. The icy blue of its narrow eyes slipped free from the shadowed walls and crept closer and closer to Sen, encircling him. The Hssk's four jaws flexed hungrily as Sen waited. Soon the Hssk's serpentine body, from its horrid jaws to its winding tail, wrapped around Sen in a shadowy circle. The twin blue specks of the Hssk's cold eyes stared at Sen expectantly.

Sen raised his hand, and a jet of flame roared towards the Hssk's head. The Mind-Eater shrieked in rage and frustration, screaming curses in forgotten tongues, before slipping into the shadowed bands of ice. It circled around him, still shrieking unfamiliar tones. Red light bounced across the icy walls in spectacular streaks of color as the light of the flame flashed across the twisted walls.

The Avatar shook off what little regret he felt quickly enough. He'd never known his parents, his birthplace, or any of that. It had never mattered to him. He was the product of his own actions, not what his parents had made him.

"You know what I want," Sen shouted at the icy walls. "I want to know why I can see you! I want to know why I'm the only one! Why is it me, and not Korra? Why not anyone else?"

Sen would get his answer, but not from the Hssk. Even the secret keeper did not know the answer to that question. There was only one shadow darker then the Hssk, and only one that could keep secrets hidden from the Mind-Eater.

Sen felt the burning in his chest first, and then the burning became an inferno, like a blazing knife cutting slowly through his heart. The Hssk looked on in curiosity as the burning became a crippling agony, and the Avatar fell to his knees.

The pain came to a point as a spear of blackness, darker than even the Hssk's shadow, burst forth, striking through the Hssk and pinning it to the icy walls. Soon came another and another, crucifying the Hssk to the icy walls of the black cavern.

"I should tear you to shreds now," A deep voice proclaimed, its hostile baritone echoing off the walls of the ice caves.

One last ray of darkness burst forth from Sen's chest in a slow and painful burn, but this one did not strike quickly. It was slow, sadistic, and predatory in the way it moved, like a venomous snake preparing to strike. The final fragment of darkness finally took shape, and the blue cave was illuminated by a pattern of red light.

"But such a simple destruction would be too much mercy for you," Vaatu declared.

Vaatu's spears of darkness twisted cruelly through the Hssk's spectral flesh, inflicting an unspeakable agony upon the Mind-Eater. The Spirit of Shadow and Pain took a moment to appreciate the tortured cries of the tormented spirit.

"You were the most favored of all my shadows once, Hssk," Vaatu elaborated. "The pain and chaos you wrought with your powers was a thing of legend."

For a brief moment, Vaatu relented the painful tearing of his dark spears. Only for a brief moment, though. Constant pain was a mere nuisance. True pain came from the interval between wounds, the brief moment when it seemed that the torture was over.

Vaatu allowed the Hssk to feel that one moment of hope, and then he redoubled his efforts, driving bladed shadows through the heart of the beast over and over again.

"But you sought to betray me," Vaatu said coldly as the Hssk screamed in unspeakable curses. "You would end me completely!"

The icy cave rang with the sounds of the Hssk's torture, and it resonated far and above. The city above was plagued with nightmares as darkness and pain overflowed from the ice caverns.

"I will not die," Vaatu declared proudly. "I _am_ death! I _am_ pain! I _am_ darkness! I am _Vaatu_!"

Vaatu's relentless spearing came to a halt, and the black blades became shadowy tendrils that encircled the Hssk and held him in place. Vaatu turned away from his traitorous shadow and faced the Avatar. Sen was frozen, by pain and by fear, as the Spirit of Chaos faced him down.

"I have shrouded your mind in the only darkness deeper than his: my own," Vaatu said. "I give you this, so that you can hunt the traitor. You will learn the arts that it would seek to use against us, and you will use them to deliver it to the same fate that it would deliver to me."

Vaatu turned back to the Hssk and delivered one last cutting threat.

"No rebirth for you, traitor. You have seen your last Convergence. You will go to oblivion."

Vaatu's tendrils unraveled, and the Hssk fled into deepest darkness, running down roads that Sen could not walk. Vaatu could have simply torn the beast to pieces then and there, but that would not have put a permanent end to the Hssk. Vaatu wanted the traitorous Hssk to die eternal, his essence unbound by Energybending.

With his shards of darkness no longer occupied, Vaatu turned his full attention to the young Avatar. The black tendrils slowly but gently wound their way around him, lifting Sen to his feet.

"We find ourselves aligned for the moment," Vaatu declared. There was reluctance in his harsh voice. He had no desire to be dependent on a human once again.

"You- I can't, not you," Sen said. He had no idea what to say. He had always believed that Vaatu was just a fragment, a tiny shard of darkness locked inside Raava's light.

"But you must," Vaatu boomed. "Only by my power do you see the Hssk for what it is, do you understand? Without me you are merely prey for the Mind-Eater!"

Vaatu recoiled from Sen, and his shadowy tendrils diminished, until there was merely the great black kite, and the red pattern amidst the blackness.

"The fool Energybender would seek to remove me and Raava both from this world," Vaatu declared. "This I will not allow. By my strength you will gain the power to overcome his twisted alliance of traitors and fools."

Sen looked at the twisted red pattern stretched out in front of him. Vaatu was chaos incarnate, of that there could be no doubt. It was not like allying himself with Whistler, where there was decency hidden beneath the selfishness and violence. Vaatu was pure evil.

But if Vaatu was the only way to hunt the Hssk, then he'd have Vaatu for an ally. Sen had known since Sarin's address to the world that he was fighting for chaos as well as order. If he was already fighting for chaos, he might as well fight with chaos. Sen nodded weakly.

"Then we have our accord," Vaatu declared. "Do not call upon me as some pet guide as you might Raava. I will grant my strength when it is needed."

With that, Vaatu retreated back from whence he'd came, winding back into the shadows of Sen's heart. It was slightly less painful going the other way. Sen placed a hand upon his chest. It felt like he'd had every one of his ribs torn out, but his shirt wasn't even wrinkled.

A gradual warmth spread across his palm, a comforting glow that washed away the pain of Vaatu's emergence.

"My apologies, Sen," A comforting female voice said.

"A little warning would have been nice," Sen grumbled. He'd been hoping to connect to Raava one day, but under slightly better circumstances.

"Pain is a part of life," Raava said. "It is no more pleasant for me than it is you when he is released, I assure you."

"You have him under control, right?"

"He is a fragment of his former self," Raava said. "He has no more power than I allow him to possess."

Sen took a deep breath and started heading back through the icy caves. He kept a hand on his chest, as if that somehow helped him connect to Raava. It made him feel better, at least.

"Thank you for the answers, at least," Sen said to himself. "I'm glad to have one mystery solved."

"I wish I could do more," Raava said. She had been privy to the Hssk's temptations. Though Sen had overcome the offers of the Mind-Eater, there was a painful curiosity burning in his heart. About his parents, and many other things besides. It was admirable how Sen sought knowledge, but some things were better left unknown.

***

Sen wasn't particularly talkative the next morning. It was difficult for him to pretend that the physical incarnation of evil hadn't burst out of his chest last night. His reluctance to talk made it an awkward morning.

They set out early for the North Pole, hoping to reach it before nightfall. As Ariak began to lead the way, Ada hung back slightly with Sen and they talked privately about what had happened. Sen had to speak very vaguely, as Ada still could not remember the Hssk's existence, but she managed to get a grasp on the situation.

"Well," she said blankly. "That's certainly something."

"Yeah. It's not a story I want getting around."

"I can see why," Ada agreed. While the circumstances were perfectly understandable, there were a lot of people who wouldn't be happy to hear that the Avatar had allied himself with the world's greatest evil.

"I think I can make it work," Sen said. "I'm not worried about Vaatu. I just wish it could be some other way."

"If Vaatu's power is what you need to do…whatever it is you need to do, than you take it" Ada said. "We're no strangers to doing things we're uncomfortable with."

"Yeah, well I want to draw the line somewhere," Sen said. "We're getting close to the end now, Ada. It's time we stopped getting pushed around. We're going to be doing things our way soon."

"Then I'm going to need to get my swords sharpened," Ada said. "I have a feeling our way will involve a lot of violence."

"That's a reasonable assumption," Sen admitted.


	55. Book 4 Ch4: North Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Journeying through the North Pole, Sen is introduced to the people and places that will define his stay in the North, and the return of a deadly enemy is brought to light.

The North Pole was much more than Sen had been expecting. It was certainly less expansive and brimming with life than Zaofu or Republic City, but of all the major cities Sen had ever visited, it seemed to possess the most charm. The city's streets and buildings were architectural wonders, each one beautifully handcrafted by master artisans. The city itself was a work of art, from the simplest homes to the grand palace that presided over the city.

Though the city was a masterwork, the people who lived in it were decidedly less artisanal. The beautiful architecture was a holdover of another age; the modern era belonged to the Shorewatchers.

One could hardly walk down the street without seeing at least one of the violent police men on patrol, holding their spear at the ready. The citizens of the North gave the Shorewatchers a wide berth as they walked. Ariak kept his head low, but a few of his former comrades recognized him all the same, though the most he got were sneers of derision. Ariak was no longer one of them; he did not deserve any acknowledgment.

Ariak ignored the rejection of his former comrades and proceeded onwards through the city. He had planned this walk in his head many times over, but he still hesitated.

"My brother lives in the city, near the Yoguda Hospital," Ariak said, trying to delay slightly. "He will know the lay of the land much better than us. As well, he has contacts within the Hospital. I feel that Sen may benefit from learning healing."

Sen nodded. Waterbending healing seemed like a useful talent to have, and there would be no better place to learn it than the Yoguda Hospital. It was the center of all waterbending healers in the world, built up from the same school that had once taught Katara. People came from all over the world to have illnesses and injuries treated.

"We might as well plan what the rest of us are doing while we're at it," Suda suggested. "I don't want to end up stuck on the sidelines while you and Ada go off training again."

"I will say right now that I am perfectly happy on the sidelines," Whistler declared. "So long as we're staying someplace with comfy beds."

"The North Pole is a big place," Ada said to Suda. "You'll find something to do. Just try not to date anyone who nearly gets us killed this time."

Suda gave a very sarcastic thumbs up and then kept his mouth shut. Ada turned to Ariak.

"Any place you can think of for me, Ariak?"

"I have a feeling you'll be interested in Master Yakkul," Ariak said. Ada nodded. He was one of the worlds four greatest swordsmen, and two of the other three had tried to kill Ada at one point, so her options were limited. He was also the most talented smith of the four, and would easily be able to repair Ada's well-worn swords. He stayed in the North often, despite being a native of the South. He was sympathetic to the Shorewatchers, which made him very unpopular in the more pacifistic South Pole.

"We'll look into him after we meet your brother," Ada said.

Ariak hesitated slightly before leading the group down the icy streets of the North Pole. Sen could easily sense the fear that Ariak felt over this long-overdue reunion. His family situation had gotten very complex in a very short time. Reconciliation with his father might be impossible, but Ariak still had a chance to reconnect with his siblings. Sen wanted to make sure that happened.

"Ariak, I don't mean to pry," Sen said. He kept his voice low, so as not to be overheard. "But when I talked to your father, he mentioned you had a sister. Should we see her too?"

Ariak opened his mouths slightly as if to speak, and then reconsidered. He thought intensely for a moment.

"My sister Tsunatak is…That situation is far more complex than I am prepared to explain," Ariak said. "Perhaps my brother can be more illuminating."

Sen shrugged. He wanted to be involved, but it wouldn't do to push the issue too far too fast. Better to approach these things at a steady pace. Sen patiently followed as Ariak led the way through the winding streets, before he came to a sudden halt at a seemingly innocuous door.

Ariak stared at the door blankly for a moment before stepping forward and knocking lightly on the wooden frame. He did not have to wait long for an answer.

The door opened, and Ariak's brother stepped forward, looking more than slightly surprised to see his younger brother. There was definitely a family resemblance, but Ariak's brother was certainly softer around the edges compared to his hard-lined sibling. Sen found that strange.

"Ariak," He said flatly. "I thought you might show up. I heard you left the Shorewatchers."

"Yes. I have my new, err, friends, to thank for that," Ariak said. He gestured to Sen and company. Whistler waved.

"Everyone, this is my brother-"

"Tlun."

Ariak looked at Tlun for a while and then nodded firmly.

"My brother Tlun," Ariak said affirmatively. Tlun seemed to smile slightly.

"If you're looking for a place to say, I only have one couch to offer," Tlun said. "You're welcome to stay, Ariak, but your friends will have to look elsewhere."

"Well, that is not, umm, completely what we are here about," Ariak said awkwardly. "Can we speak privately for a moment?"

Ariak stepped inside, leaving the rest of them outside in the cold. They tried to relax, but there was little to do while waiting on the curb. They got strange looks from pedestrians as they waited, and it made the entire experience very awkward. It only got worse when the sounds of muffled shouting began to leak out of Tlun's home.

After a few minutes of dull shouting, everything quieted down, and Ariak and Tlun returned from their brief yet intense debate. Tlun's face was red, and barely contained anger was visible on his features, so that answered the question of who had been doing the shouting.

"I'll see you at the Hospital at noon in three days," Tlun said to Sen. "Do not be late."

Tlun adjusted the collar of his coat and then went back inside his home, slamming the door behind him. Sen looked at Ariak.

"Is that it?"

"My brother can be impatient," Ariak said. "Better not to impose on his hospitality."

"Sounds like a real peach," Suda said. "Now what do we do?"

"Well my vote is to go see Master Yakkul," Ada said. "That's just me, though."

"No, no, I think that's the next step," Sen said. "Yakkul will have connections. We need to get ourselves a place to stay and some supplies. He should be the best place to start."

Sen commanded it, and they obeyed, marching away from Tlun's house and towards the outskirts of the city. Master Yakkul had situated his home at the far edge of the city, where there was more room to expand. Unlike many of the world's great masters, he was not a recluse; he took in a great deal of students and was deeply involved in society. Yakkul had built himself a large compound that allowed him to host a great deal of students as well as dignitaries and important guests. The massive structure was surrounded by a large gate that was, apparently, guarded.

A young man sprung to attention as Sen and company approached the gate. He had a sword in his hand, and he wielded it with apparent skill. Ada raised her eyebrow. His stance was excellent, though not perfect. They were clearly in the right place. As the group approached, the guard relaxed visibly. He seemed to be slightly younger than Sen.

"I see you're a practitioner yourself," The guard said to Ada. He glanced at her swords briefly, and then his eyes wandered to things other than her swords. "If you seek training, I can get you started. I happen to be one of Yakkul's star pupils."

Suda leered at the gate guard. Ada was less defensive.

"We have business with your master, actually," Ada said. She drew one of her swords and presented it.

"Ah, one of his works," The guard said, examining the damaged blade carefully. "This one has clearly been through a great ordeal, as have you. Such a fine masterpiece should never be so mistreated."

The guard swung the gate open and bowed theatrically.

"My name is Kunik," He said. "If you ever have need, merely call on me."

"I'll remember that," Ada said. She flashed him a quick smile. She had absolutely no interest in Kunik's obvious flirtations, but it always paid to have friends.

Kunik resumed his guard duty, sparing one last glance at Ada as she walked away, and then locking his eyes on the horizon. Ada led the way into Master Yakkul's expansive home. As artistic as the entire North Pole was, the home of Yakkul was a masterpiece among masterpieces. Sculptures and murals lined the wall, presiding above racks of training equipment and various memorabilia. There was a conspicuously empty spot above the mantle, the seat of honor in Yakkul's display. He had lobbied to be the caretaker of Sokka's sword, but the blade had ultimately gone to Zaofu, leaving a hole in Yakkul's collection. He was still sore about that.

Yakkul himself was found on the third floor. He could have been an impressive warrior; he was tall, muscular, with a thick head of black hair and a short beard. His ability to intimidate was, however, disrupted by the fact that he was planted in front of a Televarrick, watching a mover and eating snacks out of a large bowl. A thick layer of crumbs in his beard said he had been there for some time.

"Master Yakkul," Ariak said. "You have guests."

Yakkul shook the crumbs off and looked over his shoulder. His sharp eyes immediately locked on to Ada's swords. He shook his head.

"And today was supposed to be my day off," He sighed.

Yakkul kicked his feet against something, and a sword appeared seemingly from nowhere. Yakkul quickly snatched the sword off the ground and snapped to attention, brandishing the blade at Ada.

"Where did that sword come from?" She asked incredulously.

"Where don't swords come from?" Yakkul snapped back. He then stuck his hand in between two couch cushions and withdrew another blade. Yakkul was polite enough to allow Ada to draw her own swords before he went to work.

Suda took a slight step backwards as the sudden duel was carried backwards out of the room and into the main chamber of the compound. He watched the two swordsmen clash blades for a while.

"Is he always like that?"

"Not really," Ariak said. "He's actually quite disciplined when he puts his mind to it."

It was his day off, after all. Yakkul might have put the girl through some standard tests or made her do some paperwork on any other day, but this was the day he tried to relax and have fun. The duel, however, was less entertaining than he had anticipated. Ada was more skilled than his usual applicants.

Ada was fully aware from the beginning that this was no typical sparring match. Yakkul was testing her. Rather than attempting to win, Yakkul was following a set list of styles, seeing how Ada responded to them. He went on the offensive and gauged Ada's defense, then he allowed Ada to claim the advantage and saw how she handled her offense. He stepped lightly and moved quickly, evaluating her reflexes and footwork. Once he had run through the full litany of tests, he abruptly tucked both his swords into hiding places and bowed to Ada, ending the duel.

As the sudden clash of blades came to an abrupt halt, Ada found herself slightly confused by Yakkul's behavior. He simply sat down in a nearby chair.

"You're good," He said. "Good stance, nice offense. Defense needs some work. I've got a program for that. You need better swords, too."

Yakkul held out his hand and gestured for Ada to hand her blades over. Yakkul observed the damage blades carefully for a moment. A spark of comprehension filled his eyes.

"Ah, you must be Ada," He said. "I remember making these. What was it, five years ago now?"

Ada nodded. The twin blades had been a gift from Ko Rin, but Yakkul was their original creator. She was surprised that he recognized them after all this time. Yakkul took great pride in his work, and he recognized every blade, as well as its owner.

"You know, I talk with your master a lot," Yakkul said. That seemed to be common. Ko Rin had a startling number of connections. "He mentioned what you were up to. I suppose all of these ones are Team Avatar, then?"

Yakkul gestured to Sen and his gathered friends. Yakkul bowed slightly in Sen's direction before turning his attention back to Ada. He nodded to Ariak as well. The two of them had a passing familiarity thanks to the Shorewatchers.

"You should have mentioned that first. Would've skipped the duel."

Yakkul turned the sword over in his hand and examined the various nicks and scrapes along the run of the blade. He did not approve.

"Normally I'd chastise you for making such a mess of my work," Yakkul said. "But given what they're made of, I'll allow it."

"What are they made of?"

Ada was not aware that the blades were made of any unconventional materials. Yakkul elaborated.

"There's iron at the heart of those blades. There's an alloy layer around them, but the core is just plain iron. Hard to notice unless the outer layer is put under a lot of stress."

The pockmarks on the blade caught Ada's eye. Why would Ko Rin give her a blade with such an obvious defect? Her mind flittered briefly to the platinum-plated stones that Sen had once used. A bendable material hidden inside an unbendable one. Was there a similar intention to the iron in her blade?

"I can repair them for you, if you like," Yakkul suggested, snapping Ada back into her immediate problems. "Or we could get you a new set."

"If you wouldn't mind," Ada said. She was not particularly attached to her swords. Having a new set would certainly be a boon, especially considering her first pair seemed to be intentionally defective.

"I was actually hoping you'd say that," Yakkul said. "These blades have room for improvement. The length is a bit off. Ko Rin was, well…"

Yakkul rolled his eyes over Ada from top to bottom for a moment.

"He was expecting you to get taller."

Whistler started laughing. Everyone else wisely kept their mouths shut. Ada stared blankly forward as Whistler worked the laughter out of her system.

"I'd appreciate that," Ada said. Yakkul nodded and put the swords aside.

"I'll have one of my apprentices do a patch job on those, so you have something to train with in the meantime," Yakkul said. "You will be training here, won't you?"

"As long as you promise not to stab me," Ada said. "That was a problem with my last master."

Ada rolled up her sleeve and showed off the scar that Sorikami had given her. Yakkul was not impressed. It was fairly weak, as far as scars went.

"What kind of lunatic gave you that?"

"Master Sorikami," Ada said, rolling her sleeve down. "Hopefully I'll get to pay her back someday."

Yakkul's face suddenly dropped into an expression of sour displeasure and disbelief. Ariak had a similar look of surprise and sadness. Those who had known Sorikami looked around, somewhat clueless. Whistler had never met Sorikami, and so she was utterly clueless instead of only slightly.

"Ada…you should follow me."

Yakkul led the way into another room. It was less ostentatiously decorated than most of the rest of house. The only ornamentation on the walls was a single sword hung upon the walls, with memorial candles lit around it. Upon closer examination, Ada noticed two things about the sword; first, that it was broken in half, and secondly, that it was Sorikami's. She recognized the same blade that had once been driven into her arm.

"Why do you have this?"

Sorikami was jealous, paranoid, and isolationist. She would not give gifts, even of a broken sword. Something extreme must have happened for this blade to be in Yakkul's possession.

"In memorial," Yakkul said. "Because Sorikami is dead."

Ada took a few steps back. She'd held a grudge against Sorikami, certainly, but she had never wished the old swordswoman dead.

"What? How?"

"The same way as several others across the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation," Ariak elaborated. "They call the suspect the Black Beast. All his victims have the same wounds-"

"A massive slice," Sen interrupted. "Like they were cut by a giant blade."

"Yes," Ariak said. The Shorewatchers had been investigating the Black Beast, but the news was only a few weeks old, and Sen had been out at sea for most of that time. There should have been no way for him to know that. There was a look of fear on the faces of everyone but Ariak and Yakkul.

"General Rahm," Ada said quietly. Master Sorikami's worst fears were finally coming true. The General had returned to the mortal plane, and he had brought death with him. Sen quickly explained the situation with Rahm to Ariak and Yakkul, getting them caught up on the General's acquisition of Spirit Metal armor and his one-man war against the Seventh Kingdom.

"Rahm's alive," Yakkul said in shock. He had never served in the war, but he had been well-acquainted with Rahm all the same. The Black General had been reluctantly accepted as a master swordsman, one of the world's four greatest masters. Or perhaps it was three, now that Sorikami was gone.

"He must have escaped the Spirit World via the Southern Portal," Sen concluded. "While we were drifting at sea, he was going to work."

"That doesn't make any sense, Sorikami was on his side in the war," Suda protested. "Why would he go after her?"

"Because she wasn't there," Sen said. "You remember what he said. As far as Rahm is concerned, the war never ended. Everyone who didn't follow him to fight the Seventh Kingdom was a traitor."

"And now he's pulling his own twisted court martial," Yakkul said. "Punishing all the so-called traitors."

"All the victims so far have been former soldiers," Ariak said. "But he's been selective, skipping some soldiers arbitrarily."

"If I had to guess, I'd say he's only going after soldiers he served with personally," Sen deduced. He looked again at Sorikami's broken sword. "The ones he had direct command over."

"Then we're blessed that Rahm preferred to use small strike teams," Yakkul said. "I'll get in touch with my contacts and make sure authorities across the world are informed. We should be able to keep all of Rahm's known associates safe."

Ariak tapped Sen on the shoulder and called for his attention.

"If what you say about Rahm is true, then you will need all your strength to face him," Ariak said. "We should redouble our training."

"You can use my facilities," Yakkul said. "And you're all welcome to stay here as long as you need. We have plenty of spare rooms and training equipment. It should be more than sufficient."

Sen nodded and thanked Yakkul for his help. After that, he did not waste much time in accompanying Ariak to the courtyard and beginning a swift and brutal lesson in waterbending. His training had acquired a new sense of urgency. Sen had been avoiding facing General Rahm for a long time. Time was running out. One day, sooner or later, they would clash. Sen intended to win.


	56. Book 4 Ch5: Mind and Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen's training takes a less combative turn as he studies the art of healing., but studying medicine may prove too much for an Avatar who has never been to school.

Sen limped his way out of Yakkul's gate. At Sen's insistence, Ariak had put him through a particularly intense training session. He figured it didn't matter if he got hurt badly, as he was heading to a hospital anyway.

"Now, patience is not exactly Tlun's strength, so please forgive him if he seems a bit troublesome," Ariak pleaded. "Focus on your training. Don't try to talk with him about anything else, and it will go smoothly."

"I'll manage," Sen said. Ariak was very concerned about Sen and Tlun getting along. There was a damaged relationship between the two brothers, and Sen felt like he was being used as a proxy to repair it. He didn't mind that so much as the fact that no one was telling him exactly what had happened with Ariak's family, his sister in particular.

Sen began his walk to the hospital, and Suda, concerned as always, decided to accompany the slightly injured Avatar to the hospital. Sen was perfectly capable of walking on his own, albeit slowly, but Suda insisted on coming with all the same. Sen mostly suspected that Suda was bored and felt like he needed something to do.

The receptionist at the front desk seemed to have the wrong impression about Sen.

"Emergency room is that way," He said, looking at Sen's obvious limp, and the few bruises he had on his arm.

"Uh, actually, I'm here to meet Tlun," Sen explained. "Did he leave any kind of note?"

The receptionist looked over a massive stack of papers and scrolled through them all. He occasionally took a break to help a patient or another person approaching the desk. Sen couldn't blame the receptionist for putting him on the lower part of his priority list. The hospital was filled to the brim with the sick and injured. Suda kept looking around the room, and it seemed like every time he turned his head there was some new patient waiting. The most striking sight was a teary-eyed woman arguing with a nurse. A young boy in a metal leg brace was standing next to her.

"Oh, yes, he reserved one of the training rooms," The Receptionist said. He then provided Sen with directions to the room where Tlun was waiting. Sen nodded and turned to Suda. The boy in the leg brace had caught Suda's attention, and he snapped back to focus when Sen called his name.

"Alright, I figure you can probably sit in if you really want something to do," Sen said. "But I don't think it it'll be-"

"No, no, you go on ahead without me," Suda said absentmindedly. "I'll find something to do."

Sen shrugged his shoulders and said goodbye. Suda immediately moved to the other side of the room. The voice of the teary-eyed woman became much clearer.

"You have to have some kind of spare, something just lying around," She pleaded.

Suda took a closer look at the boy in the leg brace. It was obvious that his legs were misshapen somehow, and the metal rods were meant to keep them in alignment. However, the metal braces seemed too small, and the boys legs could not move properly.

"We can't simply give out hospital property, ma'am," the nurse said. She was keeping a surprisingly level head. "You have to pay for a new brace, or wait until your insurance provider agrees to cover for a new one."

"But it's not right for him," The mother protested. "It's only making his legs worse!"

"Hey, umm, excuse me," Suda said, suddenly interrupting. He pointed at the leg braces. "What are these made of? I mean, I'm a metalbender, could I just…?"

The mother turned to the nurse with fresh hope in her eyes. The boy in the leg brace stayed quiet. He seemed like the shy type. The nurse shrugged her shoulders.

"Stretching the material might make it more fragile," The nurse cautioned. "But if your boy can be careful, I don't see any reason it won't work."

Suda immediately knelt down and took a closer look at the leg brace. The bracing on the lower leg was too short, which put the knee joint in an awkward and painful location. Suda carefully pushed and pulled on the various beams, joints, and hinges of the elaborate metallic construction, readjusting them until the knee joint sat at the right angle.

"Alright, how's that?"

The boy took a few steps around and declared that the brace now fit perfectly. The mother nearly burst into tears and hugged Suda for an uncomfortable length of time. Suda fended off her offers of repayment and eventually wormed his way out of her arms. The young boy said a simple thank you and started to run off, forcing his mother to chase after.

"Thank you for that," The nurse said. "Fine luck, that was. You're probably the only metalbender for miles."

"Hey, it all works out," Suda said with a shrug. "I needed something to do anyway."

"Well, we can always use a spare hand," The nurse said. "Ask the guy at the desk about volunteering if you need something to do. See you around."

The nurse waved goodbye and went back to her duties. Suda looked at the desk and rubbed his chin.

Sen walked through the halls of the Yoguda Hospital for quite some time. His journey might have only taken a few minutes, but for the fact that he was stopping every other minute to examine something. He was seeing a lot of things and hearing a lot of words that he had never seen or heard before. Medicine had never been brought up much in his life, not even after leaving the orphanage.

Eventually Sen worked his way through the hospital, to the room where Tlun was waiting. The doctor had clearly been pacing the room back and forth for a while now.

"Where have you been," Tlun snapped.

"Sorry, sorry, I got held up," Sen said, weakly raising his hands. Tlun noticed the bruises along his forearm.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh this, this is nothing," Sen said. "Just a bit of training with Ariak. I've had worse."

"Worse?"

"Oh yeah, it's an occupational hazard," Sen said. "I had Sozin Syndrome for a few weeks, and then after that there was the time I got electrocuted –two times, actually- and the time I got thrown around on this big rock and was unconscious for a few hours, and then another time I nearly drowned."

Tlun tilted his head up and down as he looked Sen over. He pointed at a small tub of water sunk into the ground.

"Get in."

"What?"

Tlun walked behind Sen and pushed him towards the tub of water.

"You should be dead. Several times. I'm not doing anything with you until you've had a checkup."

"Alright, alright, you can stop pushing," Sen said. He shook Tlun off and sank into the water himself. It was actually pleasantly warm, in contrast to everything else up North. Tlun waved his hand over the warm pool of water, and Sen felt a noticeable pulse through the liquid. It felt like it was seeping into his skin.

"Well, you're not dead," Tlun mumbled. "You don't even seem to have any noticeable health problems. Skin's a little scarred around the left leg…"

"That would be one of two electrocutions," Sen explained.

"Fantastic," Tlun said idly. "Well, as your doctor, I think I should advise you that the third time is not the charm when it comes to electrocution."

"I didn't plan on it."

Tlun offered his hand to help Sen out of the submerged tank, and Sen crawled out of the water. With a wave of his hands, Tlun dispelled the water that clung to Sen's skin and clothing, leaving him just as dry as if he'd never entered the pool in the first place. Sen readjusted his clothes and followed Tlun to the first official step of his healing lessons.

A large mannequin with deep rivets cut throughout its body laid on a table before Tlun. The doctor waved his hand over a small bowl of water, and the water gradually spread through the trenches cut across the mannequin's body, glowing slightly as it did so.

"Waterbending healing lies at the crossroads of the body's physical and spiritual aspects," Tlun began. "It follows the path of both the circulatory system that pumps blood through the body, and the Chakra network through which Chi flows."

Sen was familiar with the flow of Chi, but he knew significantly less about the circulatory system. He saved his questions about that for the end, allowing Tlun to continue.

"The water itself can prevent bleeding and reshape wounded skin and muscle, but the real potency comes from enhancing the flow of spiritual power, improving the body's ability to heal itself," Tlun said.

He waved his hands again, and the water flowed across the surface of the mannequin, demonstrating the most potent channels through which chi and blood flowed. Knowing these channels was the fundamental factor on which all healing was based. Sen paid close attention as the crystalline water rolled across the surface.

Tlun waved his hand again, and the water flowed out of the mannequin and back into the bowl. He held out his hand, gesturing for Sen to try and repeat his demonstration. Sen stepped up to the table and focused on the bowl of water. It took him slightly longer to put everything precisely in place, but Sen had little trouble replicating Tlun's technique. The young doctor nodded approvingly.

"That's just a dummy, though," Tlun said. He grabbed Sen by the sleeve and rolled the arm of his shirt up slightly. The bruises from Ariak's training were still present. With a flick of his wrist, Tlun called up a small amount of water and and worked the glowing liquid into Sen's skin, repairing the broken tissue. The bruise faded from a purple spot into normal skin in just a few moments. Sen paid close attention to everything he felt while the healing was at work.

It was a smooth and comfortable sensation, like resting in a soft bed, as the healing did its work. There was no discomfort as the liquid seeped into his skin and reshaped what laid beneath. There was a moment of odd coldness as Tlun pulled the water away, but it quickly passed. Sen looked at his newly healed skin.

"It's always easiest to practice on yourself," Tlun elaborated. "You know the inside of your body better than anyone, after all. Give it a try."

Sent turned his arm to find another bruise and then took hold of a small amount of water. The small sphere of liquid wobbled slightly as Sen brought into place. He managed to replicate Tlun's healing technique with ease, although when he pulled the water away, the bruise was only slightly faded, not completely gone.

"Very good, all things considered," Tlun said. He was a hard man to impress, but the Avatar managed. "Working on the subcutaneous layer isn't very easy for a first timer."

"Subcu-what?"

"Subcutaneous," Tlun repeated. "Beneath the skin. You know, the subdermal layer."

"Wait, what does subdermal mean then?"

"Beneath the skin."

"Why do they have two words for the same thing?"

Tlun didn't actually have an answer for that. The nature of synonyms was not the point of this discussion, though.

"You didn't know either of those words?"

"Nope. Never really had to know those kinds of things before."

Tlun's fist clenched slightly.

"Do you have any idea where your kidneys are?"

"In…this general area," Sen said, waving a hand over his midsection. Tlun's fist clenched even tighter.

"Do you know what a femur is?"

Sen's first instinct was something about Lemur's, but he restrained that urge. He admitted that he had no idea what Tlun was talking about, and Tlun's fist began to shake as he clenched it tighter and tighter.

"I think it would be…easier on us both, if you were to study anatomy before we continued," Tlun said through a tightly clenched jaw.

"Okay, well, where would I start-"

"The library," Tlun said. He provided a detailed set of directions to the library, and then nearly pushed Sen out the door. As an afterthought, Tlun actually said goodbye, just before slamming the door in Sen's face.

Sen looked around at the hospital hallway. He did not entirely know what Tlun was doing. Now Tlun was just alone in a room with a bunch of mannequins. Apparently getting rid of Sen ranked above doing something sensible. Sen shrugged and decided to follow Tlun's directions to the library.

***

Finding the library was easy. Finding the books he needed was considerably harder. Understanding what was in those books was harder still.

It finally sunk in to Sen that he was well behind where he should be when it came to education. In the past few years he had been mostly concerned with spiritual or combative pursuits. He had rarely, if ever, learned something practical. As Sen dove deeper into the books on anatomy and medicine, he found himself with more questions than answers. The books assumed that the reader already knew the basics; Sen did not. He had to make a second trip to the library to find less advanced material.

As Sen returned to Yakkul's compound for the second time, he found that Suda had made it home as well. Suda did not offer much in the way of conversation. He was tired, and worked to the bone, but he had a satisfied smile on his face. Volunteering at the hospital had been exhausting, but rewarding in a way Suda did not fully understand. He made a little small talk and then collapsed into his bed. Sen was glad that someone was having a good day, at least.

With his books in hand, Sen sat down on the icy ground and waited for Gun to show up. The young animal guide did not waste much time. His appearance raised no concern from Yakkul's students; the esoteric swordsman simply told them that he had purchased a badgermole on a whim recently. It said a great deal about Yakkul that his students did not question this. Sen leaned against the badgermole's hide and tried to relax as he began to catch himself up on several years of education.

Gun's fur ruffled slightly as someone new approached. Ariak took a quick step back, and Gun relaxed slightly. Sen looked up for a moment to see what Ariak wanted.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, Avatar," Ariak said. "I was just wondering how things went with my brother."

"Eh, I didn't get much done," Sen said. "Tlun wouldn't teach me anything until I learned more about anatomy."

"I'm terribly sorry, he can be very impatient."

"No, he's fine, he has a point," Sen sighed. "I really don't know a lot."

Sen looked back to his book. He was currently engrossed in, and grossed out by, the human pituitary system. Ariak shuffled his feet for a moment, perhaps feeling as if he had more to say, before deciding against it and moving away. Sen returned entirely to his studies. He had to swap between books frequently, looking for an explanation on some information he didn't understand.

The scholarly endeavor lasted much longer than Sen was comfortable with. He was a quick learner, but there was so much information to learn that he felt like he was making no progress at all. He worked his way through the numerous books over the course of hours, and as he did so, he didn't feel any smarter. In fact, Sen was becoming keenly aware that he was a complete idiot. If there was this much to learn about medicine, how much was he missing in math, or science, or history?

The sun began to set over the arctic horizon, and Sen decided to pack up and go inside. Gun quickly vanished under the soil as well. It was about to get very cold in the North Pole.

Sen dragged his feet against the rough floor as he made his way to his room. He did hesitate slightly. There was someone he wanted to talk to. Setting his pile of books aside for a moment, Sen knocked on the door to Whistler's room.

There was a sound of shuffling feet and muttering behind the door. Whistler didn't do much nowadays. She gave Sen a few lessons on airbending now and again to keep his skills up, but mostly she kept to herself and tried to stay warm. Sen had rudely interrupted one of the many naps that took up her time. She very sleepily opened her door.

"What do you want," She mumbled.

"Can we talk?"

"We're talking now," Whistler said dismissively. "But yeah. What's on your mind?"

Sen stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Whistler contained the urge to roll her eyes. He probably wanted to have an important chat. She hated those things.

"I can trust you to be brutally honest with me, right?"

"Probably too much so," Whistler said. She was not known for being considerate of anyone's feelings.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Whistler restrained herself from blurting out an answer. There was a lot going on with that question, she could tell. Sen looked wounded somehow. Whistler had seen him physically hurt, quite badly even, but this was a different kind of pain. Something had hit him right in the heart. Whistler considered her answer.

"No, but also…yeah, kind of."

Sen gave her a strange look.

"What do you mean? Is it one or the other?"

Whistler held up her hand to ask for a moment. She didn't exactly know how to put this. She took a moment to think of a good metaphor.

"Sen, you're like…like a really good satomobile engine, but without any gas. Like, you've got all the machinery and the pieces you need to work, but you just haven't got any of the stuff you need to make it go."

Whistler grabbed him by the sides of his head, tilted his head slightly down, and then tapped her knuckles against his forehead.

"I have seen you come up with some really clever stuff, and you learn really quickly," Whistler said. "There's just a lot of stuff you haven't learned yet. Once you catch up, you're going to be a really smart guy."

Sen considered her words. He had thought of himself as fairly clever before all this, and he supposed he still was. He did not know much, but what he did know, he knew very well, and could use to great effect. Sen picked his head up and smiled.

"Thanks, Whistler."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," Whistler scoffed. "Speaking of being empty, I'm going to need at least a week to get back all that human decency I used just now, so don't come to me for advice any time soon."

"I'll just let you nap, then," Sen said.

"Good man. See you in a week."

Whistler leapt backwards and landed quite solidly in her bed, returning to her nap with almost alarming speed. Sen silently excused himself and went to his own room.

***

Sen's next visit to the library was much more relaxed. He'd worked through the material of a few books, so he returned those, and took a quick look around for something else to study. He wasn't quite sure where to start. Searching for random books wasn't of much help. He needed some kind of direction.

Sen looked through the cracks of a bookshelf, past a book on spinal surgery and over a guide on field medicine, to another shelf leaning against a far wall. Next to the shelf, in a bit of empty space, was a bulletin board. Something on it caught Sen's eye. It was hard not to pay attention to such a strangely festive flyer. Sen walked over and read the message.

"Group Tutoring, Noon to Four, Library Main Area."

He turned his eyes to a nearby clock. It was ten in the morning now. He turned back to the flyer. Between a small amount of glitter and a red sticker, there was another, smaller message.

"Ask for Taina."

Tutoring sounded like a good idea, but the arts-and-crafts decoration of the flyer made him wonder if it was meant for children. He was probably on the same level as some children, unfortunately, but he still had his dignity. Sen figured he could wait until noon and see what the situation was.

Sen buried his face in a book until it was nearly noon. A young woman walked into the library and set up her papers. She was taller than Sen, and very skinny, but she had a certain intellectual flair about her. Sen had a feeling that she was Taina, but he didn't want to be too presumptuous. He waited for a moment. Soon enough, a young boy about his age showed up and confirmed his suspicions by calling Taina by name. She did not seem excited to see him.

"Hey Taina, how's things?"

"As good as they can be," Taina mumbled. "You're early, as usual."

"I like to get my time in," The bothersome boy said. "You're the best teacher I ever had, you know. I like to show my appreciation."

Sen decided this was the time to interrupt. He'd confirmed that this tutoring was meant for people his age, so it wouldn't be too embarrassing to get involved.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, quick question," he began. "Is this where that tutoring session is?"

"Yes, yes it is," Taina said, glad to have a distraction. "I'm working as part of a course with North Aurora University, we take students between the ages of seventeen and nineteen and help prepare them for higher education, or catch up on schoolwork they missed in the previous year. You can sign up right here and I'll get you caught up with the rest of the class by the end of the week."

Now that her pre-rehearsed speech was over, Taina could talk more naturally.

"So, here's the paperwork," she said, handing over a small sheet of information to Sen. "Now, to give me an idea of what material to cover: what grade were you in last year, and what was your final test score?"

"Uh, I didn't go to school last year."

"Not a problem, lots of people skip a year at our age," Taina said. The bothersome boy sitting next to her had a strange smile on his face. "What was the last year of school you attended, then?"

"Well…about that," Sen began. The friendly smile dropped off Taina's face quite quickly. Alrok's twisted grin only got bigger.

"Have you been to school, ever?"

Sen gave her a blank stare and pursed his lips. Taina went through a variety of facial expressions and hand gestures, before finally pressing her clenched fist against her lips with a look of intense concern on her face. She briefly pulled her hand away.

"Can you read and write," she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I can do that," Sen said, handing back his completed paperwork. Taina looked it over. Nothing was spelled wrong and his handwriting was coherent, so he had that going for him, at the very least.

"Then I can teach you," Taina said proudly. This was a challenging situation, to be sure, but she lived for moments like this. It would look astounding on all her scholarship applications, after all. She could take a fresh, completely empty mind, and teach him the ways of the world. Her Professors would be impressed.

The boy sitting next to Taina put his feet up on a desk and looked Sen over with some hostility.

"Hey, name's Alrok. I'm Taina's best student."

"Technically," Taina admitted. Alrok had improved by twenty percent, the most of any of her students. The problem was that increase was from a thirty percent to a fifty percent.

Taina ignored Alrok's attempts to change the subject and asked Sen to retrieve a few books for her. She was going to make this work, but it would take a lot of extra effort on her part. Sen would need a very specific kind of tutoring, not the usual spiel she gave to the students who gathered before her.

"You're serious about this?"

"Of course I am," Taina said. "I can teach any of you kids."

"You're barely older than me," Arlok objected. He took a peek at Sen's paperwork. "And him, too. Don't talk down to us."

"When you score perfect on the Northern Standardized Test, I'll talk to you like an equal," Taina said. She turned to her folders and gathered a few spare materials, dismissing any of Arlok's attempts at further conversation. She knew that Sen would be an important student for her, even if she didn't yet realize how important he would be.


	57. Book 4 Ch5: Northern Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The life of the Avatar is not always chaotic. Weeks pass by uneventfully as the Avatar studies and his friends go about their daily lives.

Sen had been expecting the first bit of schoolwork to be a bit below standard, but he had not quite been expecting anything this bad. Twenty percent. Less than a fifth of the questions were correct. If the mocking mumbling of the students around him was to be believed, that made him the worst in Taina's makeshift class.

It was a bit disappointing, to say the least. Taina had given him a few extra hours of one-on-one time before the test, trying to get him caught up, but it seemed he was further behind than she had first believed. The worst part of it all was that he seemed so eager to learn; there was a palpable disappointment on his face when he saw that he was failing.

The lesson carried on, and Sen paid close attention to every word. He didn't understand a lot of the things that Taina said, so he wrote down everything he didn't understand for later reference. By the end of the lesson he had a page full of notes on things he had to catch up on. When everyone else was wrapping up for the day and going home, Sen remained, hunting down books on those topics and cracking them open.

***

The snow split in half as Sen thrust his hand forward. Studying would be much easier if he didn't have to multitask in his waterbending training. He had managed to work out a decent schedule that balanced both his pursuits, but it occupied most of his day. The hardest part was trying to keep his daily tutoring sessions a secret. Ariak was especially interested in why Sen was taking hours out of his day. Sen had explained it away by saying that he was pursuing "Avatar duties". It was a blatant lie, but it kept Ariak from asking questions. Sen didn't want too many people to know the situation he was in.

"Water is comparable to all elements and none," Ariak said. "It can crash like fire, flow like air, and hold fast like earth. In any one of these things it can excel, but true mastery comes from being able to use them all at the appropriate time."

Ariak demonstrated by calling up a tendril of water, striking with, before freezing it into ice, then thawing it again, and finally, allowing it to dissipate into a mist that quickly froze and fell to the ground as flakes of snow. Sen reached out into the frozen layer of snow beneath him and mimicked Ariak's demonstration. It was easy for him to follow the path; first it was dynamic, like fire, then static, like earth, and then inert, like air. Every lesson he had learned up to now was applicable to water.

"Water has substance, but not form," Ariak advised. "It becomes what it must become. Put it in a cup, it takes the shape of the cup. Put it in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. But though it mimics each of these, it remains water and water alone, always ready to adapt to another form at a moments notice."

Ariak demonstrated a few of the stances and styles most commonly used when waterbending. Sen carefully watched and replicated them all. He kept the fluid nature of the element in mind as he worked.

He had once thought to himself that he admired the mountains, for being unchanging. That seemed like a lifetime ago, and he no longer shared the sentiment. He didn't want to be unchanged and eternal. After everything Sen had been through, after all the ways he had grown, being the same forever seemed like a fate worse than death. In the back of his mind, he pitied the mountains, stuck forever on the same horizon. He could explore new places and learn new things.

Sen waved his hands, and the water moved with him. It was a natural connection. Sen was no stranger to change. He stepped into the fluid role as easily as he could walk through a door.

***

Suda got home from another day at the hospital. His volunteer work was, as ever, exhausting but rewarding. Lately one of the senior nurses at the hospital had taken him in as sort of a pet slash assistant. She was an elderly woman, called Granny Loqo by nearly everyone at the hospital, including her own patients. She was too old to carry most of her medical supplies on her own, so she had Suda do all the lifting for her. Granny Loqo was a nice lady, but she had to do a lot of lifting every day. Suda went home with his arms feeling like glass every single day.

Though the first thing on his mind was collapsing into bed, Suda took a moment to look for Ada. With him being at the hospital and her training with Yakkul all day, they got very little time to talk. Aside from the training, Ada spent a great deal of time on the phone. Yakkul had a good phone, one capable of making calls to Zaofu, and Ada was very liberal in her abuse of that privilege. She had made regular contact with Zaofu almost every day. Mostly she spoke with her long-absent boyfriend, making Kunik rather jealous, but she had managed to get in touch with her parents now and then.

Suda found Ada in the usual spot, sitting on a chair in front of the phone, gabbing away at whoever was on the opposite end. Though the first few days had been tearful reunions and longwinded stories of her adventures so far, she had worked through that phase and now managed to carry on normal conversations.

As soon as he saw her speaking, Suda simply nodded and tried to go on his way, but Ada actually put the phone down and called him back.

"Suda! I was hoping you'd get back."

Suda quickly turned around and walked back to her. Ada held out the phone.

"I want you to talk to dad," She said.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah. I've been telling him and mom about you and they really wanted to talk to you."

She pushed the phone forward a little further. Suda reluctantly took it and pressed it against his ear.

"Uh, hi, Ada's dad."

Suda sincerely wished he'd had some warning about this. He had no idea what he was going to say. Ada waited patiently on the sidelines while the two began to speak. Ariak walked by eventually. While Sen was out doing his studying, Ariak was left with very little to do. He was aimless without the Avatar.

"I'm surprised to see you off the phone," He noted.

"I wanted the two of them to get acquainted," Ada said with a smile. "Suda's been like a brother to me. I kind of want him to feel like a real part of the family, you know?"

Ariak tilted his head slightly and gave her a look.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Ada wasn't doing anything special as far as she knew.

"You disagree on important matters, you've fought with him, you've even hurt Suda," Ariak said. "How do you think of him as family?"

Ada nodded her head slightly. She understood what he meant now. Ariak had trouble working through his own conflicts within his family, so he was looking to another for guidance.

"I disagree with him, yeah," Ada said. "But I love him more."

Ariak bit his lip. Ada tapped him on the shoulder lightly and then stepped over to Suda and the phone call.

***

The ice cold water sank into Sen's skin with a chilling bite. This was not a pleasant experience.

"The temperature difference makes it easier to work with the water," Tlun insisted. "Your body is warm, the water is cold. The contrast emphasizes the interaction between the two."

Sen knew that much. He had been reading up on convection just the other day. He knew all about the transfer of heat now. He would have to act quickly before the heat from his body diffused into the cold water and equalized the temperature.

Guided by Sen's will, the water worked through his skin and muscle, healing the minor scrapes and bruises that Sen acquired during his training. Healing such small injuries had become easy for Sen at this point.

Tlun turned Sen's arm over an examined the place where the wounds had once been. If he approved, he did so silently. Tlun was not quick to praise. His criticism came much quicker, and the fact that Sen heard nothing at all said that he was improving. He took pride in that fact.

"I believe you're ready to move on," Tlun said suddenly. "You can only learn so much by healing yourself."

That was surprising to hear. Sen had expected his training to be a very small, private affair.

"There's no shortage of sick and injured to go around," Tlun explained. "I'm sure we can find some minor cuts and scrapes for you to fix. It will free up our more experienced healers to do more important work."

"Well, as long as the hospital says it's alright. I wouldn't mind learning more about healing."

Considering that he would be diving headfirst into a full scale war at some point in the near future, being able to heal would be just as useful as being able to fight. On top of that, Sen just felt like knowing. Curiosity was a powerful thing.

***

Alrok, as usual, arrived early, just to annoy Taina. He dragged a chair across the floor, making a loud screeching sound as the metal legs scraped across the floor. The librarians gave him a venomous glare. Taina quite deliberately ignored him, and Sen was too engrossed in his paperwork to notice. Alrok sat down across the table across from the two and watched Sen drag his pencil across paper. Ir was almost alarming how fast his hand scratched across the paper. As his pencil suddenly ground to a halt, Sen's back straightened.

"Oh, I see what I did wrong now," He said. He demonstrated his work to Taina, and she nodded approvingly. Sen gave a satisfied smile and put his paper.

"Why don't you go find the next workbook and read up on it? I need to get some work done myself, but I'll answer any questions you have."

Sen nodded sharply and wandered off to find the next workbook on polynomials. As Sen left, Alrok scooted in even closer.

"And I thought I got here early," Alrok grunted. "How long has he been here?"

"Longer than I have," Taina said. She returned to her paperwork, but she got in one last jab. "Maybe you could learn something from him about studying."

Sen had caught up admirably, and Taina couldn't take full credit for it. He was astoundingly perceptive. He could work through entire chapters of textbooks on his own with no teacher to guide him. Occasionally he encountered a problem that he set aside to ask Taina about later, but for the most part he was actually self-taught. He still had a lot of catching up to do, but Sen was advancing rapidly.

***

Whistler had managed to drag herself out of bed for one reason and one reason only; the promise of snacks. Yakkul never disappointed when it came to snacks.

The school of Yakkul had a very simple rule: all good work should go rewarded. At the end of a long week of training, there was always a day to relax.

"So what are we even going to watch," Yakkul asked. He was used to having mover night all to himself, but now there were a bunch of guests bringing their own opinions on movers to the show.

"Nothing with Kaizo Uehara," Suda said.

"Hey, some of us like Kaizo," Ada protested.

"The man is a master of romance," Kunik agreed. "You can't argue with that."

"Cut the chatter, I don't even own any Kaizo films," Yakkul said. "Do I look like a romance fan?"

"Clearly not," Kunik jabbed.

"You shut your mouth," Yakkul retaliated. Kunik had been Yakkul's student for a long time, and he had witnessed some of Yakkul's misadventures with romance.

"Okay, so what do you have," Sen asked. "No point discussing movers you don't have."

"Let me see…"

Yakkul dug through several reels of film. A few of his favorites were piled on top, but there was a large stack of his less favored films near the bottom. He pulled one out at random.

"Why do I own a documentary on the Equalist Uprising?"

"Oh, that one sounds good," Sen said.

"Depends on how much they cover the part with the planes and explosions and that stuff," Whistler said.

"Don't you have anything more recent?"

The debate raged on, with very little progress. Sen attempted to claim authority as the Avatar, only for Yakkul to shoot him down by saying that it was his house, and so the debate continued. Over time, two sides gradually began to form: Suda, Whistler, and Sen on the side of the Equalist documentary, with Yakkul, Kunik, and Ada in favor of a more recent war film. It was tied, and nobody was willing to compromise.

"Whatever, we can flip a coin," Whistler suggested.

"No, you'll just use airbending to make it land on the side you want," Ada argued.

"I am deeply offended," Whistler said. "That you thought of that before I did."

As the debate raged on, Ariak walked into the room. He had been too preoccupied to join Mover Night before now, but the rest of the group was quite excited to see him.

"Ariak! Break a tie for us," Yakkul said. "Equalist documentary or war film?"

"What does the Avatar want to watch?"

"Equalist documentary," Sen said.

"Then Equalist documentary it is," Ariak said. The opposing team groaned loudly as Sen triumphantly played his chosen mover.

***

The next time Sen marched through the gates of Yakkul's compound, he did so with a little bit more pride in his step. His latest work with Taina had yielded a grade of sixty-two percent, his best yet –and more importantly, better than Alrok. Sen was no longer the worst student in the group.

"Hey Avatar, think fast," Whistler said.

There was a popping and a hissing noise. Sen spun around and grabbed Whistler's projectile out of mid-air, dousing the flames that surrounded it immediately. Whistler tucked her new flare gun away and turned to Ada.

"Told you he could do it," She said. Ada put her palm on her face and shook her head. She'd spent the past half hour trying to convince Whistler not to do exactly that. The now-harmless ball of flammable materials rolled in Sen's hand as he examined it.

"Where did you get a flare gun?"

"Turns out you can just buy them at stores," Whistler said. "They aren't even that expensive."

Sen dropped the doused flare and kicked it. The ball of flammable materials and chemicals shattered into dust as his foot made impact, and then the dust settled harmlessly in the snow.

"Don't aim that at people," Sen cautioned. "And not inside, either."

"I wasn't," Whistler protested. "It was just the one time. I knew you could take it."

"Still, I want to make sure as few people as possible get set on fire."

"And yet one of your best friends is a combustion bender."

Sen shrugged.

***

There was a flash of bright light and a smell of acrid smoke. Yakkul removed his welding mask and took a close look at the result of his labor. Soldering in the last bits of the electrical devices was always the hardest part. He was the only smith skilled enough to create high-quality blades that could be joined with shock prongs without losing durability or sharpness.

"That's the last of it," Yakkul said, removing his mask and gloves. He gave the soldering a moment to solidify before he put the metal casing in place, fastened it securely, and handed the blade to Ada. She held it in her hand for a moment, just to get a feel for the blade.

It was slightly longer than her old sword, and weighted more heavily towards the hilt. Yakkul assured her that it would work better for her, given her shorter height and low center of gravity. A few test sweeps of the blade confirmed that.

"I take it you approve," Yakkul said.

"Thank you, Master Yakkul. This is perfect."

Ada held up one of her old blades, comparing the two. Yakkul admired his handiwork, past and future.

"This one will serve you much better, especially without the impurity in the core."

Ada frowned. She still didn't understand the reason behind that strange metal impurity in her old blades. Ko Rin had purposefully requested it, but why? What reason did he have to purposefully sabotage her blades?

"I'll let your master know you've been re-equipped. It's been a while since he and I have been in touch."

"I'll tell him myself," Ada said quickly. "Just another excuse to call home, you know?"

"Heh, like you need an excuse," Yakkul said. "My phone bill is going to give me a heart attack, you know."

"I'll get back to you on that," Ada said. She took her new blade out to the courtyard to get some practice in, but at the back of her mind, she was still thinking of Ko Rin. There was a burning behind her eyes that made her feel as if she was missing something.

***

Alrok dragged his chair across the ground once more. Taina covered her ears.

"Hey teach," He said. "How're the tests looking?"

"You got a fifty-two," Taina said. She knew what he would be asking next. She was ready for it this time.

"Alright, alright," He said. "And how's our new friend doing?"

Taina grabbed Sen's test and slammed it down on her desk. Student-teacher confidentiality was great, but taking Alrok down a notch was worth so much more. The young delinquent took a quick look at the paper, and his eyes widened.

"Eighty-five?"

Alrok took the test in his hands and double checked it. It didn't do much. He had no idea whether Sen's answers were right or wrong. He just couldn't believe it. It wasn't a perfect score, but it was a massive improvement for just a few weeks of study.

"He said he'd never even been to school a few weeks ago," Alrok said. "This has got to be some kind of trick, it's got-"

"It's not," Taina said. She leaned forward on her desk. "You want to know what this is? Why Sen's doing so good?"

She pointed to her left. Once again, Sen was there, completely oblivious to the world around him. He had a stack of books in front of him, some already read, and some still waiting for their knowledge to be devoured.

"Because he doesn't come here early to bug me, he comes early to do his own work. When you leave, when you're so glad to be gone, he stays, wishing he could do more. You're here because you have to be. Sen is here because he wants to be. That's why he will always be better than you."

Alrok sat quietly in his seat. He'd never thought of that. He only attended these tutoring sessions because the school made him. Sen had come here under no obligation to anyone, of his own free will, to learn for the sake of learning. Alrok stood up and walked left.

"Hey Sen," He said. "What're you reading?"

"Architecture," Sen said somewhat absent-mindedly. He never took his eyes off the book in front of him. There was a fascinating chapter on why marble was such a good building material, and Sen was absolutely enthralled.

"Don't you think that's kind of boring?"

"I kind of wanted to be a builder growing up," Sen said. "I think it's neat."

"Yeah, well I wanted to be a Shorewatcher," Alrok said. "No books to read about that, are there?"

Sen briefly left his book behind, leaving Alrok sitting alone as Sen weaved amongst the bookshelves. When he returned, he slammed down a stack of books in front of Alrok. Every single one of them covered some topic related to the Shorewatchers. Alrok looked over his new reading material in confusion.

"Where did all these come from?"

Sen smiled playfully and returned to his book, getting in one last jab before he did so.

"You'd be surprised what you can find when you're actually looking."


	58. Book 4 Ch7: The Waters of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident in the North overwhelms the hospital, and Sen is called in to help. Unable to heal, Ariak sits on the sidelines, contemplating his role.

Ariak and Tlun had not spent much time together since Tlun had left the Shorewatchers. There was still a hesitance between the two of them, an uncertainty about whether their previous bond could be repaired. Ariak sometimes worried that things were irreparable; Tlun, for his part, knew that even if they did repair the rift between them, things would not simply go back to the way they had been before.

"How did you end up at the Hospital anyway," Ariak asked. "You always were a good healer, but the hospital is quite exclusive, from what I hear."

"Their reputation is exaggerated," Tlun said. "They won't allow just anyone to be a doctor, obviously, but as long as you're relatively competent you'll have a job."

"Really? Well, I'll keep it in mind if I ever need a change of career," Ariak said.

"Heh. Not likely."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you're a warrior, Ariak," Tlun said. "You are not doctor material."

"People can change what they are," Ariak said quietly. "You're proof enough of that, Tlun."

"That is not-" Tlun considered giving a longer rebuttal, but decided against it. "I meant that you're happy doing what you do. You're strong, and you want to use that strength to defend people."

"Well, given what happened with the Shorewatchers, I think you might be wrong," Ariak sighed.

"The Shorewatchers weren't right for you, Ariak, we've talked about this already," Tlun sighed. "You haven't lost everything just because you've lost your spear. You're with the Avatar now, he's better than the Shorewatchers could ever be."

Ariak was about to say something, but they were quite loudly interrupted. In his typical dramatic fashion, Master Yakkul kicked the door open, and looked around the room frantically before realizing that Tlun was right in front of him.

"Tlun! There's been an accident."

"One of your students accidentally stabbed another, I assume?"

"I have a pithy remark to make about that but this is actually serious," Yakkul said. "There was an incident at the factory across town. Lots of injuries, you're needed at the hospital."

Tlun immediately stood up and fetched his coat. He didn't even put it on completely before he was on his way out the door.

"Get Sen and Suda as well," Tlun said to Yakkul as he left. "They know what they're doing. They can help."

"I'll find Sen," Ariak said. The Avatar was out and about, doing whatever it was that he did during the day. Sen had yet to inform Ariak, or anyone, about his daily tutoring. He simply vanished for hours every day, claiming he was doing something important.

Ariak and Tlun parted ways without so much as a goodbye. Tlun made a beeline for the hospital, while Ariak plunged into the depths of the city to track the Avatar. Yakkul fetched Suda, and he soon followed in Tlun's footsteps. Even Ada came along; she was no waterbender, but she knew about conventional medicine, and that could be of use in an emergency like this.

The city streets were mostly empty, and Ariak found it easy to patrol the city looking for the Avatar. He encountered Sen through luck, on the road between Yakkul's compound and the library. The Avatar had a book in his hand and a confused expression on his face.

"Ariak," He said, glad to see a familiar face. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

"There was a factory accident," Ariak explained. "You're needed at the hospital."

Sen nodded and handed his book over to Ariak.

"Take that back to Yakkul's for me, would you?"

"But I'm coming with you," Ariak protested.

"Do you know anything about healing?"

"No, I-"

"Then what are you going to do, Ariak?"

Ariak's eyes drifted downwards. Sen shook his head. That had not been his intention. He'd have time to explain himself later. Right now there was an emergency that required his attention. Sen turned his back on Ariak and headed for Yoguda Hospital. Ariak was left clutching a chemistry textbook, standing in the middle of an empty street.

Sen was quick to arrive on the scene. With the main hospital building having been suddenly overrun with patients, the staff had set up a triage area outside the main building. Multiple small shelters had been built to house the less severely injured while the worst victims of the accident were shuffled into intensive care. Everyone Sen knew had already found a niche; Suda was using his prodigious strength to help transport supplies and patients too wounded to move on their own, Tlun was organizing doctors and healing in equal measure, and Ada was using her meager medical knowledge to provide temporary bandages and stitches to those waiting for a real doctor. Sen found his way to Tlun's side. The doctor did not wait for Sen to announce that he was ready to help.

"Head for the area with the green banner," Tlun said, pointing to the far side of the courtyard with one hand and waterbending with another. "That's where the least critical patients are. Free up a doctor to help the worse cases."

Sen nodded in affirmation, which Tlun did not even see, focused as he was on his healing. The Hospital courtyard had been completely consumed by the wounded and the doctors rushing to help them. Sen tried to weave his way through the crowd without getting in anyone's way. He failed. There were simply too many people for him not to be in the way. Sen eventually barged through the crowd, found the area Tlun had told him of, and offered his help. A beleaguered doctor immediately gave up his position to Sen and took off. Sen did not waste any time getting to work.

Suda dropped off a recently-vacated gurney at the front gate, readying it to transport another patient. His attention was quickly called away from this task by the sound of a frail old voice.

"Suda! Oh Suda! We need your help!"

He dropped what he was doing and headed for the sound of the voice. Even amidst all the chaos, even with her diminutive figure, Granny Loqo found a way to make herself heard. The tiny old woman quickly flagged Suda down and led him to an emergency care room.

"Now, mister metalbender, this patient has some shrapnel in his leg."

Suda, quite reluctantly, took a look at the victim. It was not a pretty sight, but it was at least easy to guess what Granny wanted him to do.

"Now, be sure that you-"

Suda flexed his hands to compress the metal shards. Rounding off any sharp edges and shrinking the metal shards made sure they didn't cause any more damage on their way out. Suda removed the shrapnel and disposed of it as the doctors immediately went to work healing the now-cleaned wound.

"Well, aren't you a natural," Granny hummed. Suda had known exactly what she was going to say before she'd said it. "If you were a waterbender I'd hire you in a minute."

"If only, if only," Suda sighed. He probably would have liked being a healer. He did the best he could to help, but earthbending wasn't often good for aiding people.

"I know that look," Granny said sympathetically. "Don't you worry about a thing, dear, you're perfectly helpful."

Granny Loqo then slapped him forcefully on the elbow.

"But there are people hurting right now, so stop moping and move your tuckus!"

"Yes Ma'am," Suda said, running off back to work. Granny smiled as he ran away.

"What a nice boy."

***

Those without any useful skills were left to sit around and watch as the dramatic events unfolded. Ariak planted himself firmly in front of the televarrick and watched the news. The collapse at the factory was, naturally, occupying the full attention of the broadcast. Much like any major event at the North Pole, the Shorewatchers were there to oversee it.

They'd chosen Letho to be their spokesman when it came to the factory accident. He was one of the more sympathetic faces in their ranks. At a time like this people needed comfort, not the promise of justice.

"So, everything we've heard says that the eastern wall of the factory collapsed during the peak operating hours," The newscaster said. "Your Shorewatchers have been at the site of the collapse, what have you seen?"

"At the moment we have no reason to believe this is anything other than a structural failure," Letho assured the audience. "We're investigating the exact cause as we speak."

"You don't expect to find any evidence of foul play?"

"No, we do not," Letho said forcefully. There was an expectation among certain people that whenever the Shorewatchers were involved, someone was going to be punished. Though hunting violent criminals was, without a doubt, the Shorewatchers specialty, they did tend to other matters of security in the North.

Ariak crossed his arms and tried to keep his mind focused on the factory incident. Seeing Letho on the screen almost made him nostalgic. He and Letho had been friends once. It had been weeks since they had spoken. Ariak shook those thoughts off. He was with the Avatar now. He would not waste his time with the Shorewatchers anymore.

A torrent of quiet murmuring and general unpleasantness signaled the arrival of Whistler. Ariak did not enjoy her company. She reminded him too much of people he had once hunted. Unaware of this opinion, or perhaps all too aware, she wandered in front of the televarrick and slumped down.

"Where'd everybody go," She mumbled.

"To the hospital," Ariak said curtly. "There was an incident."

Whistler seemed to spring to alertness suddenly, entirely against her will.

"Why? What? Who got hurt?"

"Nobody we know," Ariak said. Whistler then visibly slumped downwards and slipped back into her sleepy state.

"I'm glad you're so concerned for your fellow man," Ariak grumbled.

"Eat it, stickler," Whistler grumbled. "What am I going to do, blow wind on 'em? You and me are the same flavor of useless."

"Do not compare yourself to me."

"Believe me, I ain't happy about it," Whistler scoffed. "But right now you and I are in the same boat, drifting on the sidelines while our buddies do all the work. The difference is I'm fine where I am, but you're going to drown trying to swim over to the other side."

"You have no idea what you are talking about," Ariak growled.

"Keep telling yourself that," Whistler said. She stood up and sleepily walked back to her room. "Avatar Four-Eyes will beat the truth out of you eventually. He has a way of doing that."

Whistler went back to her perpetual nap, and Ariak was left alone again, sitting on the sidelines.

***

After hours and hours of labor on the part of the hospital staff, they finally began to stem the tide of the injured factory workers. As a torrent became a trickle, many of the workers were finally allowed to go home, or at least take a break. Suda and Ada, being the least critical to the operation, were the first to leave. Tlun and Sen were allowed to take a break at a later time, and they sat by side, basking in their mutual exhaustion.

"I hear you handled yourself pretty well today," Tlun sighed.

"I had a good teacher," Sen replied. That got a smile out of Tlun.

Sen stretched his aching arms and sighed heavily. It was surprising how much bending wore you down. When using it in short bursts for fighting, it seemed to take no energy at all, but constantly waterbending for an entire day was exhausting.

"You know, you'll be a familiar face at the hospital after this," Tlun said. "I could get you an internship. We could make a real doctor out of you."

Now that was something to consider. Sen rested his palms in his lap and considered his options. It would, perhaps, be rewarding, but also time consuming. What he knew about healing now was probably enough to carry him for a while.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sen said. "I wouldn't mind a few more lessons, but I think I'm going to focus on training with Ariak for now."

And getting tutored by Taina, but Sen kept that to himself. His friends knowing about the tutoring wouldn't bother him all too much, but he didn't want Taina or Alrok having any contact with his team. The further they were separated from Sen being the Avatar, the better off they would be. He didn't want to repeat the Nura situation by allowing Taina or Alrok to know too much about him. Better to leave both sides of his life in ignorance of each other than to risk contact.

Tlun nodded, but there was a certain hesitation in the gesture.

"Ariak can be difficult," Tlun said. "I hope you keep that in mind as you deal with him."

"He's actually been very easy to deal with," Sen said.

"Too much so, in my experience," Tlun said sadly. "Ariak is a…follower. He seeks authority to answer to. It was our father once. Now he follows you, without question. If you commanded him to jump off a cliff he would do so."

"You really think that?"

"I know it," Tlun said. "This'll hardly be a problem for you, of course. Ariak is dedicated, and a good soldier. When he has someone to lead him he is perfectly happy."

"But when he loses that, he'll be completely lost," Sen said quietly.

"You say that as if you've been there before."

"It's a long story," Sen said. Sen had been the same way once; reliant on others to lead him on his path, not brave enough to make decisions for himself. It had taken a master in a mask and a combustion bender to snap him out of that. Hopefully Ariak's road would be easier.

"I won't ask," Tlun said, wisely allowing the story of Sen's personal journey to be left unspoken.

"I'll tell you some other time," Sen said. "Maybe we can deal with Ariak together. Maybe we can even get your sister involved."

Sen felt Tlun's heart skip a beat. His face became flushed red for a moment, but it quickly faded.

"Did Ariak tell you about that," Tlun said, with obvious stress in his voice.

"No, it was your father," Sen said. Tlun visibly relaxed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought Tsunatak up. Ariak did say it was a complex situation."

"It's alright," Tlun said. "I was just- We'll talk about this some other time. I should go. Now."

"I'm sorry if I-"

"It's alright," Tlun snapped back. His famous impatience had taken over now. Sen wouldn't be getting anything else out of him. Sen sighed as Tlun walked away. This was getting more and more troublesome every day. Tlun, Ariak, Tinaaki, Tsunatak- the entire family was a mess. Sen shook his head and tried to rest. There would be more work to do soon. There was always more work.


	59. Book 4 Ch8: Sons of Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ada grows troubled by the continued rampage of General Rahm, and in her retrospection, realizes that Rahm and Suda may have more in common than anyone thought.

The sound of clashing blades was not unfamiliar to Yakkul's courtyard, but there had never been a cacophony of steel quite so energetic. Ada brought a peculiar determination to the table, unmatched by any of Yakkul's other students.

Many of the amateurs in the school had given up on sparring with Ada. She had been left with fewer and fewer willing opponents, much less worthy ones. Kunik, at least, was always eager to spend a little time sparring with Ada, even if he was frequently distracted.

Kunik's skill with a blade was considerable, if not impressive. Ada supposed that to some people he would seem very capable, but compared to Ada, he wasn't much. He was consistently on the defensive, always on guard against Ada's relentless offensive. He managed to hold his own in that regard, but he never really went on the offensive. Ada was usually left disappointed by their sparring, but she never stopped.

"Watch on your left," She advised. While some might have used that as a feint to strike to the right, Ada continued her attack from the left. Kunik took her up on her advice but still only just barely managed to block her strike.

"If only all my opponents could be so courteous," Kunik jested. He was sweating visibly from exertion, but that would never stop him from cracking jokes.

"Everyone tells you what they're about to do," Ada said. "They just say it with their body instead of words."

For example, Kunik's body said that he was about to take a quick step forward and thrust his blade. Ada leaned to the side to avoid it, then swatted his blade aside. She struck out with her elbow, hitting Kunik in the chest.

The duel ended, as it almost always did, with Ada landing the final blow. Kunik took a step back and relaxed slightly. His consistent record of defeat hardly bothered him. He was a classic womanizer: anything that put a smile on a pretty girl's face was worth his time. Ada smiled quite broadly while she was fighting, usually.

Lately, though, Ada had taken on a look of grim determination whenever she was fighting. Something was haunting the back of her mind, darkening her bright smiles and hampering her enthusiasm for battle.

"Is there a problem, Ada?"

"Only with your guard," Ada said. She was being unusually critical as well. "You need to grip your blades tighter when you're defending. You're holding it, not hiding behind it."

"I don't recall telling you to boss my students around," Yakkul said firmly. He walked down the stairs to the practice area with a stern look on his face. Kunik raised an eyebrow. Yakkul was almost never stern.

"Kunik, go drill the beginners," Yakkul commanded. Kunik saluted and ran off, leaving Yakkul and Ada alone.

"For the first time since I've met you, I feel a lecture coming on," Ada said.

"It's a rare occurrence. You might want to get a camera," Yakkul said, letting some of his usual levity shine through. He crossed his arms across his chest, trying his best to look judgmental.

"Why did you start learning swordplay, Ada?"

"Canto suggested it," Ada said. "It's a long story. Kind of mushy. I don't think you want to hear it."

Ada wasn't fond of talking about her homes or her relationships. Not only did it make her a little more homesick, it just made for awkward questions.

"Good call. Is that the only reason you practice? Your boyfriend suggested it?"

"Well, no," Ada continued. "I kept doing it because I liked it. It gave me focus. A way to put all my energy and strength into something."

Yakkul rubbed his chin and began to pace back and forth slightly. He eventually shrugged his shoulders.

"I worry about you sometimes, Ada," He said. "You're toeing a very fine line when it comes to your aggression."

"I've heard it before," Ada said. "It seems like everyone I learn from comes to the same conclusion."

Sorikami, Aquila, and now Yakkul had all raised the same concerns. Even Sen had been concerned about Ada's violent tendencies. They had never gotten out of control, however, and Ada had no reason to suspect they would in the future. She trusted herself enough for that.

"I wasn't concerned about it before," Yakkul said. "You had energy, enthusiasm, but lately you've been looking like a storm cloud. What's going on, Ada?"

Ada rubbed her hand across the pommel of her sword and bit her lip briefly. She figured Yakkul of all people would understand.

"It's Rahm," She mumbled. "Ko Rin told me recently –Rahm found someone. One of the people we tried to warn didn't go into hiding, or Rahm found him somehow, and he…"

Rahm was still wandering the world, unchecked, hunting down his so-called traitors. Ko Rin and Ada's fellow agents were doing the best they could to hide the subjects of the General's wrath, but they weren't perfect. Rahm was resourceful and relentless: he found his mark eventually.

"I understand, Ada," Yakkul said. With Rahm, there could be only one outcome. Yakkul sat down on a nearby bench and pressed his palms together.

"But why are you letting this affect you? Why the sudden intensity?"

"Because somebody has to stop him," Ada objected loudly. "We're going to have to face him someday, Yakkul, and I need to be ready."

"You're flattering yourself if you think you could even come close to being Rahm," Yakkul scoffed. "You've seen him. You know what he's capable of. Do you really think you could match that?"

"With enough training and preparation, I could-"

"Annoy him slightly before he swats you like a bug," Yakkul said harshly. "I'm not trying to insult you, Ada, just be realistic. He was single-handedly slaughtering combustion benders while you were still learning to read, and he's only gotten stronger since."

Though Yakkul had never personally fought alongside Rahm, he'd had the misfortune of several lengthy conversations with the General. Rahm had actually been interested in learning more about swordplay, instead of leaning on his metalbending as a crutch.

"So what do we do about him, then? Wait until he decides to stop massacring?"

"In the best case scenario? Yes, exactly that. Rahm is a one of a kind monster, Ada. I wouldn't even recommend that Sen face him. Rahm has a kind of power that no one else does."

Ada looked away, towards the room where Sorikami's broken sword was enshrined. She was briefly weighted down by thoughts of Rahm's incomparable power. Over time, however, her mind drifted to the broken sword, and the last time she had seen it whole.

"Did you always know that Rahm could bend metals that nobody else could?"

"Some of us did," Yakkul said. "The United Coalition wanted to keep it secret while the war was on, and after the war…well, nobody wanted to talk about Rahm at all."

"Did Rahm ever talk about it? How he could do it?"

"Not in depth," Yakkul said. "All he would ever say is that his mind was stronger than the metal."

Ada sheathed her blades and walked away, looking contemplative. Yakkul suspected that she was up to something. 

***

Suda's bones ached and his muscles burned. He had been at the hospital for hours, working himself to exhaustion. Yoguda Hospital was still dealing with the aftermath of the factory collapse, and Suda had been on hand to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. It was a lot of work, but Suda felt intensely satisfied. It wasn't quite a perfect feeling, but it was close.

Limping up to the gate, Suda politely asked the gatekeeper to be let in, as he was far too tired to do it himself. Kunik obliged.

"Why are you always watching the gate, anyway?"

"Pretty girls walking on the streets," Kunik said.

"It's freezing outside."

"I am nothing if not tenacious," Kunik replied with a wink. He then returned to his post.

"Ada was looking for you, by the way," He said. Suda was not surprised to hear that. "She's waiting in the room with the broken sword."

Now that was a surprise. Ada had said next to nothing about Sorikami since they had discovered her former master's fate. None of them had ever particularly liked Sorikami, but her untimely passing was still regrettable. Suda picked up the pace slightly. He was dead tired, but he always had a little energy to spare for Ada.

Ada was found right where Kunik had said she'd be, in the small room that held Sorikami's shattered blade. Ada was looking at it intensely. The dim light of the windowless room cast strange shimmers across the two halves of the blade. The set of the broken sword showed that it had recently been moved and then put back. Somebody had been examining it very closely.

"Do you remember the night Sorikami and I fought?"

"Of course I do," Suda said. "I was terrified. If I'd been slower-"

"That's the thing," Ada interrupted. She remembered watching Sorikami's sword come to a sudden halt, stopped dead by Suda's will. "It shouldn't have mattered how quick you were. You shouldn't have been able to do that at all."

Suda paused. Ada walked away from the broken sword. She had a stressed look on her face, as though she had been thinking for a long time.

"We didn't even think about it, because I was hurt, and then Sen and Miyani argued right afterwards…"

She placed her hand on her chin contemplatively. It had been a busy night for them all. Certain strange events had been overlooked entirely.

"I don't get your point," Suda said. He had been too focused on saving Ada to notice anything else. Ada was not surprised that he'd not yet seen it. It had taken her this many months to even think of what had really happened.

"You stopped her sword," Ada said, looking over her shoulder at the shattered blade. On that night it had been whole, and aimed at Ada's heart. It had never reached its mark, thanks to Suda.

"Sorikami was terrified of metalbenders," Ada continued. "Why would she have a sword that could be metalbent?"

The broken halves of the blade shimmered slightly as the light shifted. Suda stared at the blade that he had once controlled. Ada stepped towards her closest friend.

"I've examined every angle of that sword," She said. "The alloys, the purification –everything about that sword says it should be impossible to bend."

Ada finally stopped in front of Suda, looking up at him. Was face was far and away, contemplating the outlandish idea that Ada's theory had put in his head. He could not believe it.

"But you did it."

Suda shook his head.

"That can't be it," Suda said. "There has to be some kind of mix up. It was a different sword, or-"

"Do you think I don't recognize the sword that went through my arm," Ada said. "That's the same sword, Suda, the same sword that you stopped."

"Well it can't be, Ada, because I can't do that! We've seen it before, I'm not that strong!"

The only person who could bend such heavily purified metals was Rahm, and Suda was no Rahm. He had tried and failed to bend the impossible before, and it remained impossible. Suda was skilled, perhaps one of the greatest metalbenders of his generation, but he was not even half the bender that Rahm was.

"You tried it as an experiment, just to see if you could," Ada said. "You had no motivation, you didn't have all your willpower focused on one thing. When you had a reason, when your mind was completely focused on saving me, you could do the impossible."

"Okay, so let's say that's the case," Suda said, almost sarcastically. "Do you plan on jumping in front of a sword every time we need some extra metalbending power?"

"No, Suda, of course not," Ada said, getting slightly aggravated. "It just proves that you did it once, so you can do it again."

"If I did it," Suda corrected.

"Why can you not just say that you did it?"

"Because the only other person we've met who can do that kind of thing is Rahm," Suda shouted back. "And I am not a genocidal maniac!"

"You don't have to be! Power is power, Suda, it doesn't make you a monster," Ad a groaned. "I mean look at Miyani. She's not like Gohrman, or P'Li, but she's still powerful. You don't have to be like Rahm to do the same things he does."

Suda drifted away from Ada and went to look at the broken sword. He knew that what Ada was saying was true. He knew for a fact that he had bent that sword, even though it should have been impossible. He wanted to deny it, though.

"There's some things about bending that you don't understand, Ada," Suda began.

Ada shrugged her shoulders. She'd read books and studied the arts, but at the end of the day she was still a non-bender, and she lacked a fundamental insight into the bending arts. Suda continued.

"It's not all about the stances, how you move your body," Suda explained. He moved his hands oddly as he searched for the right words. "It's just as much about how you feel –your thoughts, your attitude. If you don't have the right mindset you can't do it at all."

Ada nodded. They had all seen that firsthand while Sen was learning Airbending. He'd been inflexible and unwilling to compromise, so he'd been completely unable to airbend. She still didn't quite see the relevance to Suda and metalbending, however.

"There's not just one way to think or act when you're bending," Suda continued. "Earthbending can be stubborn or proud-"

Suda looked sadly at Sorikami's shattered blade.

"-or angry."

His broad shoulders tensed nervously as he remembered for the first time exactly what he had been feeling that night, so long ago, in Gai Zhu.

"Metal is hard, and cold, and unyielding. You can't control it with something as soft and gentle as love. You can do it with determination alone, but to go further, to do things people think are impossible –that's hatred. Raw, burning hatred."

Suda turned around and gave Ada a hollow, almost apologetic look.

"I couldn't stop the sword because I cared about you," Suda admitted. "I could do it because I hated Sorikami, for trying to hurt you. I hated her so much. To be the kind of bender you think I can be, to do the impossible –I'd have to be furious like that, all the time, never feeling anything but hate. I'd have to be like Rahm."

Suda sighed and his shoulders drooped wearily.

"I can't do that," Suda moaned.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Ada mumbled. She had never considered any of that. She'd been so enchanted by the idea of power, of having strength to rival Rahm's, that she had never considered what kind of price that power could come with.

"It's alright," Suda said. "You were just trying to help."

Suda was too tired to carry on this line of thought. He said goodnight and left to rest his tired body and spirit. Ada stayed and watched the broken sword for a while longer. Eventually she shook her head and left the sword behind. That was all in the past now, and it should be left there where it belonged.


	60. Book 4 Ch9: Blood Moon, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariak's uncomfortable history as a Shorewatcher is brought to light when a dangerous group of slavers returns.

The moon's light was shining at its fullest tonight, illuminating the snow-covered ground with a gentle luminescence. The poignant natural beauty was somewhat upset by two figures tearing through the tundra.

Sen and Ariak were taking full advantage of the full moon's power, employing their waterbending at its fullest potential. For Sen, who excelled in his technique but was often lackluster in raw power, the surge of energy was an enlightening experience. He felt no different personally, but the air around him was pulsing with energy just waiting to be harnessed.

The two waterbenders tested their new potential with a duel that rocked the frozen ice sheets of the polar tundra. Enhanced by the power of the full moon, they were capable of feats that they could only dream about on any other day. Massive pillars of water and glacial hammers of ice tore across the tundra in a frozen clash.

Even with all this power at his back, Sen could not help but adopt a more strategic fighting style. Ariak was a straightforward brawler; his attacks came hard and fast. Sen was more patient and analytical. He never struck the first blow, choosing instead to wait for an opportunity, any opening in his opponents guard. While this lack of initiative occasionally left him vulnerable, when Sen did strike, he struck hard. Ariak would launch a dozen attacks to little effect, while Sen would use only one, and that single attack was devastating.

Ariak prepared to launch a flurry of ice spikes, and he took a step backwards to get into the proper stance. Sen's keen eyes zeroed in on a slight misstep, and he took his opportunity. He froze the snow beneath Ariak's feet into a solid layer of ice, throwing his sparring partner off balance long enough for Sen to strike. A pillar of snow rose from the ground beneath Ariak, catching him in the chest as he leaned forward to regain his balance. The snowy hammer launched Ariak upwards slightly, knocking him into the air.

Even as he struck Ariak, Sen also prepared to help him. He moved a large snow bank beneath Ariak, catching him on powdery snow as he fell to the ground. Ariak reoriented himself after his sudden fall and got to his feet, brushing the snow off of his coat. Sen allowed him the time to recover; it was pretty clear he'd won that round.

"You never disappoint, Avatar," Ariak said. He brushed the last of the white powder off his coat and walked over to Sen. He seemed to be in a good mood. Ariak was always very monotone, but Sen could hear some hints of happiness in his voice.

"I try my best," Sen said. He warped the snow and ice into a chair for himself and sat down. He had once thought he'd never get used to the cold, but now sitting on a throne of ice was no big deal. He wondered how he'd feel going back to warmer climates. Ariak remained standing as he spoke.

"It's been a long time since I've really been able to enjoy the full moon," Ariak said. The brief hint of joy faded from his voice. "When I was a Shorewatcher the lunar apex was dedicated to the most dangerous hunts or the council meetings."

"It makes sense," Sen said. "Criminals up here at their most dangerous at the full moon. Law enforcement should be vigilant."

"Your approval of the Shorewatchers continually surprises me, you know," Ariak said. He swayed slightly in the chilling breeze as he spoke.

"I wouldn't call it approval so much as acceptance," Sen explained. "I don't agree with their methods, but I can't deny that they've done good things for the North. I just leave it be."

Sen looked up at Ariak and cracked a slight smile.

"Besides, you were a Shorewatcher once," He said warmly. "They can't be all bad."

Ariak was as frozen as the tundra for a moment. Sen could feel the subtle shifts in his mood.

"We have not often spoken of my time as a Shorewatcher, have we?"

"I was waiting for it to come up," Sen said. "I know it must be very uncomfortable for you."

"Thank you for your understanding. This is a difficult time for me."

The full moon hovered overhead. Sen felt an uncanny familiarity with Ariak for a moment. He was in the same position that Sen had once been nearly two years ago; lost, deprived of his guidance, clinging to whoever could lead him.

"You know, Ariak," Sen said, standing up. "I don't want to push you to something you're not comfortable with. But I'm going to have to."

"Excuse me?"

Sen looked at Ariak and gave him a stern look.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that these problems catch up to you. Often at the worst possible time. I know that you aren't ready to explain what happened with your sister, I know that you aren't ready to face what you did as a Shorewatcher."

Ariak was unmoving. Sen gestured towards Ariak's chest, right in front of his heart.

"But I think it's better for you to do it now, instead of letting it come at you unexpectedly. I know it's going to hurt. But when it comes to this kind of stuff it's better to take the hit on your terms. Don't let it sneak up on you, Ariak."

His eyes darted and his lip shifted slightly, as if Ariak was thinking about saying something. It never came to fruition. Under the silver gaze of the full moon, the two of them stood in silence, Ariak standing on the edge of a decision, Sen waiting for him expectantly. He ended up waiting for a long time. Ariak's face never betrayed it for an instant, but there was absolute chaos inside of him.

"I will require time," Ariak said. "Not much. A day, at most. I simply need to…collect my thoughts. To speak to my brother. Just one day."

Sen resisted the urge to shake his head. Part of him wanted to lecture Ariak on making excuses. Another part wanted to let him have his one day.

"You'd be surprised what can happen in one day," Sen said. He'd decided to let Ariak off with a warning. "But if you think that's what you need, fine. We'll have this discussion later."

Ariak nodded and turned his back on the Avatar, turning towards the North Pole. Sen hesitated slightly.

"I'm sorry if I'm seeming harsh," Sen said. He had been a bit firm recently. He softened his voice and spoke on friendlier terms. "I'm just trying to do right by you."

"I understand perfectly, Avatar," Ariak said. Sen noticed that hint of surrender in his voice, Ariak's instant acceptance of authority. Sen would have to break him of that habit. Not tonight, though. Ariak just wanted one more day.

***

Having spent a good portion of the previous night gallivanting through the tundra, Sen woke up late the next day. His muscles ached. The temporary power surge of the full moon was gone, that much was certain. Sen was still exhausted even after a full night's sleep. He was not looking forward to his conversation with Ariak.

Sen went downstairs and found it oddly silent. He proceeded into the common room of Yakkul's home. He found Ada sitting alone, looking quite frustrated. She seemed glad to see him.

"Sen, good timing," She said. "There might be some trouble with Ariak."

With a heavy sigh, Sen rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Something to do with the Shorewatchers, I'm guessing."

"How did you-"

"Because it's at the most inconvenient possible time, so what else could it be," Sen said with a shrug. "What's going on?"

"You remember Surma, one of the Huntsmen? She came for a visit," Ada said. She nodded towards another room, where she and Ariak were speaking. "She said it was a social call-"

"But the Shorewatchers aren't known for being social, are they?"

"Not by a long shot."

Sen sat down on the couch and contemplated what this could mean. There was no way that Surma was here on a friendly visit. Just last night the Huntsmen had been meeting to discuss all the most important matters that faced the Shorewatchers. Somehow, Ariak was connected to that.

This was not going to end well for any of them. Getting back in touch with the Shorewatchers would only make it harder for Ariak to distance himself from his unpleasant history. This would erase a lot of time and effort. Not to mention whatever new conundrum that Surma was bringing with her. All in all, Ariak was in for a rough time.

The two of them waited patiently for a while, sitting together in silence while they waited for Ariak and Surma to finish talking. After a point it became clear that they were going to be waiting for a long time.

"Suda's at the hospital?"

Sen wanted to know where the rest of his team was. There was a decent chance that the Shorewatchers might be bringing trouble with them.

"Maybe. He left when the Huntsman showed up. Just didn't want to be here."

"Fantastic," Sen said. "So we've got Whistler on hand, then."

"If we can wake her up," Ada said.

"Surprise, nerds," Whistler said. She launched herself through the air and landed on the couch between the two of. She hung her arms around their shoulders in a mock gesture of friendship. "I sensed that my presence would be inconvenient, so naturally I showed up immediately."

"Well you need to adjust your settings, because I was actually hoping you'd show up," Sen said. Whistler groaned. "We may have a situation on our hands. Could be nothing, could be something."

"Well I'm already out of bed," Whistler sighed. "Guess I can help out."

"I'll try not to give you anything important to do," Sen said. Whistler gave a quick thumbs up and then leaned her head back on the couch, trying to relax.

They waited for another long span of time. Sen considered approaching Surma and Ariak's conversation to get a sense of what was going on, but that would be eavesdropping. Hopefully Ariak would fill them in once he was done speaking. Sen tapped his foot on the ground anxiously. That only agitated Gun, so Sen just put his feet up on the coffee table and waited.

After a long wait, Surma and Ariak finally stopped talking to each other and entered the room the rest of them were waiting in. Ariak looked deeply ashamed of himself. Surma had a look of concern on her face, partially for him, partially for the entire city.

"Hello again," Surma said, looking at Sen. Their last meeting had been less than ideal. "I wish I could visit under better circumstances."

"Is this not a social visit," Whistler said sarcastically.

"No," Surma said, with audible frustration. "No, it is not. I am here to give Ariak – and the rest of you- a warning. The Red Moon have returned."

There was an astounding lack of reaction from Sen and the rest. The name Red Moon meant nothing to them. Surma turned to Ariak, and he shook his head.

"You haven't told them?"

"Apparently not," Whistler said. Ariak shook his head again.

"I'll leave that to you, then," Surma said awkwardly. "It was good to see you again, Ariak."

Ariak nodded slightly and said a hesitant goodbye to Surma. He was left staring down a crowd of very expectant friends. It took Ariak a moment to place his words.

"The Red Moon are a group of slavers," Ariak began. Whistler's eye twitched visibly. Ariak began to pace back and forth as he continued. The stress was evident on his face.

"They used bloodbending to abduct their victims every full moon. This carried on for several months, until I found them and put an end to them. But that was all years ago."

"So how are they back now?"

"I don't know. It's been nearly a year and a half. Surma thinks they may be a copycat group. I'm not so sure."

Sen nodded slightly. That explained why Ariak was so personally worried about this incident. One of the only good things he had accomplished as a Shorewatcher might have been completely pointless.

"How did you fight a group of bloodbenders in the first place?" Ada asked. "I thought only your father and Kyros knew how to bloodbend."

"I caught up to them once the full moon had passed," Ariak said. "I-"

Ariak choked on his words and hesitated for a moment. He wrung his hands together nervously.

"I ambushed them. And I dealt with them."

"You mean you killed them," Whistler said.

"Whistler!"

Ariak closed his eyes and bowed his head. Sen could scold her all he wanted, it did nothing to change the truth of her words. Ariak had still been a loyal Shorewatcher then. He had followed his Huntmasters orders: aim for the heart.

At the time it had been a proud moment for him. He had wiped out a dangerous threat that no other hunter had been able to deal with. He had even been promoted to the rank of Huntsman for his work. All the pride and accolades seemed so very hollow now. The Red Moon had returned, and Ariak's efforts had meant nothing. Whistler could see exactly what he was thinking.

"However many of them you killed, it wasn't enough," Whistler said accusingly. She turned her back on Ariak and stormed back to her room. The remaining three watched her go in silence. Ariak took a moment to collect himself after her departure.

"Why do you keep her around?" Ariak was consistently shocked that Sen called Whistler a friend.

"She has her moments," Sen sighed. "Forgive her, she doesn't really like slavers. Or you."

Ariak shook off her cruel words easily enough. He didn't care much about what Whistler had to say anyway. He was more concerned with Sen's opinion.

"This case is obviously a matter of concern for me," Ariak said. "I asked Surma to keep me updated. Beyond that…any action we take is up to you."

Sen rested his hand on his chin and thought about it for a moment. Bloodbending slavers were obviously nothing to take lightly. Bloodbending was one of the most dangerous talents in existence, and abusing it to kidnap people was even worse. Sen's first instinct was to put the Red Moon down hard, but he had to second guess himself.

"Do the Shorewatchers have a plan to handle it?"

"Naturally. This is their top priority now. Kyros and Tikaani will be overseeing the hunt personally."

They were the only two bloodbenders the Shorewatchers had, so it made sense. No government wanted bloodbending to become a common talent, but they also couldn't eradicate it completely, lest a single rogue bloodbender become completely unstoppable. A handful of bloodbenders across the world acted as an internal police force.

"Did Surma give you any details about the case?"

"Very few," Ariak said. "Seeing as I am no longer a Shorewatcher…I am not entitled to receive information on their investigations. My father is handling everything."

"And what if he can't?"

"I don't know," Ariak said. "The first time the Red Moon struck, it was difficult for the Shorewatchers to track them. They'd studied us very well, they knew how to evade us. After a few months, the Huntsmen suspended normal operating procedure; we were allowed to act however we wished. That's when I caught up to them."

"That sounds suspiciously like there was a spy in your ranks," Ada suggested.

"We thought so too," Ariak said. "But we conducted every kind of examination possible, even calling in truth-seers, and found nothing. The Red Moon were just very good at observing our patterns of movement."

"And with a year and a half to practice in secret, they may have gotten even better," Ada said.

Sen tapped his feet slightly. If the old pattern repeated itself, then the Shorewatchers might not be able to handle the Red Moon after all.

"I'm not eager to get any of us involved," Sen began. "I'm still hoping that the Shorewatchers will pull through. But if they don't, it might need our attention after all."

That significantly improved Ariak's mood. Ada seemed glad to have something to do as well.

"Don't anyone charge into danger right away," Sen cautioned. "But, Ariak, you should be keeping in touch with any contacts you have left in the Shorewatchers. Find out as much as you can. If we get involved, and I do mean if, I want to know as much as possible."

"I can help with that," Ada said. She stood up. "Ko Rin has some contacts in the North."

"Is there any place that guy isn't sticking his fingers," Sen jokingly questioned. It wasn't as much of a joke to Ada.

"I'm starting to wonder," She said cryptically. She left before Sen had the chance to question her. Sen turned his attention back to Ariak.

"I'll be looking into some things myself," Sen said. "We're all on the same page, then?"

"Yes. Prepare, but don't act," Ariak said with a nod.

"Good. In the best case scenario, the Shorewatchers will handle it," Sen said. "But we are going to be ready if it comes to us."

Ariak nodded, and the two parted ways.

***

The weeks went by, and the full moon drew closer. Word of the Red Moon's return had spread, and even though the full moon had yet to come, people began to cower in fear of the encroaching danger. The lights of the city were darkened as innocent citizens cowered in their homes. The full moon was tomorrow night, and tensions had reached their peak.

To see all this happening put a sickly feeling in Sen's stomach. Part of him regretted not getting more involved in the Red Moon case. If the Shorewatchers didn't pull through this coming full moon, somebody else was going to get abducted.

Letho had been kind enough to share the Shorewatchers plan with Ariak; they would have hunters standing guard at nearly every street in the North Pole, watching for any signs of suspicious activity. Kyros and Tinaaki were stationed at the very center of the city, equidistant from every point in the North Pole, ready to respond to the first sign of a threat. The preparations were already under way, and Shorewatchers patrolled every street.

Despite the tension in the streets, Sen found his way to Taina's tutoring session at his usual early time. He would not be studying his usual material today. Rather than a stack of books on architecture, physics, and mathematics, he had retraced his own footsteps and found the texts on the Shorewatchers that he had once given to Alrok, along with one other book on a subject that was a bit taboo.

The morning dragged onwards, and Taina, as usual, appeared to begin her preparations for the day. She walked over to greet Sen, but she hesitated slightly when she saw what he was reading. She offered him a polite but very brief good morning and then stomped back to her desk. She wasn't a very large girl, so her stomping was a bit lackluster. Sen returned to his book.

Most of what he found was historical texts, but not quite the history he was looking for. The books contained a great deal of information on important hunts and notable Shorewatchers throughout history, but Sen had little interest in any of that. He wanted to know where the Shorewatchers had come from, what their methods were, how their organization worked. He might have simply asked Ariak, but Sen had the feeling that Ariak didn't particularly feel like talking about Shorewatchers right now. Ariak didn't feel much like talking at all, in fact: Sen had completely abandoned his plans to have Ariak confront his problems at this point. There was just too much going on for them to have a proper heart-to-heart.

Alrok was the next one to show up. Sen surprised them all by waving for Alrok's attention and calling him over. Alrok seemed just as surprised as Taina to see that Sen was reading up on the Shorewatchers, but he didn't reject it quite as strongly. Alrok sat down next to Sen and picked at the pages of the nearest book.

"What's going on, buddy?"

"You read all these books, right?"

"I skimmed 'em," Alrok said. He had a reputation to maintain. Couldn't let too many people know he'd actually read a whole book.

"Is there one that talks about where they came from? Like, their founding?"

"Uhh, this one, I think, or maybe it was this one," Alrok said, picking out two of the books Sen had. "Definitely one of the two. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to understand them," Sen said. The Shorewatchers still presented a complex problem for him. He agreed and disagreed with them in equal measure. He needed to figure out where he, and they, stood. Sen had a sinking feeling that he would be crossing paths with them sooner rather than later.

"Well, you know, good luck with that," Alrok said. He no longer felt quite so antagonistic towards Sen, but they still didn't have much to talk about. Sen was perfectly fine with him leaving. Alrok began to bother Taina, distracting the both of them enough that Sen could move on to the book that he was the most interested in.

Making sure to hide the title from anyone around him, Sen began to skim the pages of "The Art of Bloodbending".

***

The slight scrape of metal against metal was the only common sound. Ada was maintaining her swords, out of habit more than necessity. If anything happened with the Red Moon, she would be next to useless, but then again, so would anyone. Sen was the only one who had a chance of resisting bloodbending. As long as the full moon hung in the sky, the rest of them were effectively powerless to stop the Red Moon.

"This is a load of garbage," Whistler mumbled to herself. Thanks to their preparations, she had been awake much more than usual. It was not the lack of sleep that bothered her, though. It was the lack of action. Though her violent urges were more restrained nowadays, she was still quite eager to beat up a few slavers.

"Patience, Whistler," Ada cautioned.

"Don't you start lecturing me now," Whistler said, half-joking. She still wasn't used to taking orders from people.

The two of them had been working together to prepare for the coming full moon as best they could. Yakkul had left days ago, to assist the Shorewatchers in coordinating against the Red Moon, so he had left Kunik and Ada in charge. Kunik took care of the students while Ada, with Whistler's help, looked after the Avatar and his resources.

Ariak had been surprisingly uninvolved with the entire process. Ada made sure to give him his space. The only person he'd had any interest in talking to for the past few weeks had been Tlun. Even with his brother, he was restrained, never fully speaking his mind.

Tlun watched as Ariak paced nervously back and forth across the room. A large window gave Ariak a good view of the city below them. He could feel the tension and fear in the air. He had been a guardian of this city once, now he was merely a spectator to its suffering. But maybe that was what he needed to be. Apparently his work as a "guardian" he been lacking.

"I feel useless," Ariak admitted. He clenched his fists tight and pressed them against the windowsill.

"You still have the chance to do something," Tlun assured.

"It's not about what I can do," Ariak grunted. He turned his back on the window. "It's about what I should do. And what I shouldn't."

The day of the hunt still burned in Ariak's memory. All the silent stalking, the hunting, creeping up on the unsuspecting slavers from behind…and then striking for the heart, just as his father had taught him. It was the first time he had ever really used his spear. He could still remember the faces of the vile slavers.

"I feel like I should have a spear in my hands," Ariak said, clutching at an ethereal weapon. "Like I should be hunting the Red Moon down, not sitting here waiting for them to strike."

"That's only natural," Tlun advised. "You are a hunter."

"I don't want to be a hunter," Ariak said, frustrated. "I've been a hunter before, and nothing I did mattered! I stalked the Red Moon, I struck their heart, and it meant nothing!"

"Ariak, that's not true," Tlun said. "You saved people from slavery, it took the Red Moon years to recover from what you did. You did the right thing."

"It's hard to feel that way," Ariak shot back. "I did terrible –I've never agreed with what I've had to do, but I thought it at least had a purpose, that I was making things better."

He sighed and crossed his arms. Arctic winds were blowing outside the window. It was unnaturally cold, even for the North.

"Everything I did, all the lives I took, all for nothing."

Ariak looked at his brother. He was not sure what he knew, or pretended to know, any more. Ariak's world had been an uncertain place for a long time, mostly because of Tlun. The words that Sen had spoken to him weeks ago echoed in Ariak's head. Maybe it was better to confront Tlun, instead of waiting and dancing around the subject.

"Tlun…When are we going to talk about you? About Tsunatak?"

Tlun bit his lip, and took a few steps backwards. Ariak stared forward, disappointed but not surprised. Tlun had always had a problem with running away. A sharp, cold breeze raised a flurry of snow outside the window. The snow moved –and not only because of the wind.

Halfway across the compound, Whistler's hands twitched rapidly. She instinctively reached for her staff, but she did not make it in time.

A single whip of water crashed through the window in a flurry of broken glass. In less than a second the tendril of water wrapped itself around Ariak's chest and pulled him backwards through the broken window. Had Tlun not taken those few steps back, he might have been able to grab Ariak and hold him in place, but as it was, Tlun only grasped briefly at Ariak's arm before he was torn away. Stunned by the sudden activity, Tlun only managed to scream for help.

Ada was the first to dive into the courtyard, with Whistler close on her heels. There was no time wasted wondering why and how the attack had come before the full moon. Without the full moon overhead, there would be no bloodbending, and that meant they had a fighting chance. Ariak was being dragged across the courtyard by disguised slavers, towards a truck equipped with large, heavy treads.

Ariak was restrained, but not helpless. He could not see his captors from his position, but he struck out at them all the same. Though his aimless attacks were largely ineffective, they did delay the Red Moon slightly.

Quickly noticing that they were being followed, two of the Red Moon broke off from the rest and prepared to stand their ground. Ada drew her swords.

"I'll handle it," she shouted. "Keep after Ariak."

Whistler nodded. When the time came to clash with the two Red Moon slavers, Whistler leapt right over their heads, soaring right over the fight. The two slavers were briefly confused by her agility, but not for very long.

Ada struck the two slavers hard and fast, wishing to return to the pursuit as fast as possible. The new blade Yakkul had forged for her cut through the air like a bolt of lightning, slicing right through the crude fisherman's spear that one slaver wielded. That was the most resistance Ada ever encountered. The two were not well-trained opponents, and she went through them quickly.

Whistler was giving chase to Ariak and his captors, but it was difficult to keep up. They had the advantage of waterbending, and could shape the frozen terrain to their advantage. Whistler could easily go over and around the walls they created, but even that cost her time and distance.

Ariak's captors tossed him into the truck with a heavy throw, slamming him against the metal interior. Whistler lunged forward just and jammed her staff between the metal doors just as they closed, briefly keeping them from latching closed.

The truck jerked forward as it began to drive away, and Whistler's grip on her staff slipped. She kept the metal rod firmly in place between the doors, but she was not in a good position right now. It wouldn't take much for her to fall. The Red Moon realized this as soon as they realized their doors hadn't closed entirely. From the inside, they threw the doors wide open, releasing the tension that held Whistler's staff in place. She fell to the ground as the truck drove away.

A crowd of curious spectators and investigating Shorewatchers had gathered along the streets. Some gave chase as the truck sped away. Whistler picked herself up off the ground and stood in place. There was no point chasing now. The best thing to do was regroup, and try to deal with this mess.

Suda was the last to return, to see the mess that had consumed Yakkul's compound. Shorewatchers and local police were fighting for control of the crime scene. Dozens of people were scouring every inch of the scene, trying to examine every footstep and shard of broken glass. Suda tried to find a familiar face. Ada, Whistler and Tlun were all being interrogated, so he looked around until he found Sen.

The Avatar was standing in the middle of the chaotic mess, resting his hand on his chin. The courtyard of Yakkul's home was crowded with people, but there was an oddly empty space around Sen. There was a storm brewing inside Sen's head. People could feel that, and they gave it a wide berth.

"You alright, Sen?"

The answer was obvious, but Suda still had to ask. This was a bad situation, especially for Sen. He was still dealing with Hanjo's continued captivity; he would not be happy to see Ariak imprisoned as well.

"We'll all be better once we get Ariak back," Sen said. He seemed to be talking to someone other than Suda. Sen tilted his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

The chaotic investigation was cut like a knife as Shorewatchers and local police stepped aside in kind. From the wound in the crowd stepped forth Tinaaki, flanked at his right by Kyros the Blood. They stepped into the small circle of space that Sen had created and stared down the Avatar.

"What's become of my son?"


	61. Book 4 Ch10: Blood Moon, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ariak in the hands of a vengeful bloodbender, Sen must join forces with the master of the Shorewatchers, Ariak's father Tinaaki, to save him.

Ariak did not anticipate being a hostage for long. He'd been held captive before. This particular group was clever enough to keep him locked in a stone chamber, away from any sources of water, but he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. In what little space available to him, Ariak moved back and forth rapidly, becoming physically active enough to work up a sweat. Only a trickle of sweat could be used to pick a lock if you were skilled enough.

He felt the first beads of sweat start to drip down his bro, and felt a brief moment of hope. That was quickly robbed of him as the single bead of liquid pulled away from his face and drifted away. Ariak came to a halt.

"Don't bother," an unfamiliar voice rasped. There was an unnatural edge to the voice, as if it had been damaged somehow. Ariak heard movement outside his cell. Someone moved and sat down outside. Ariak's cell did have a window, but there was no light to see with.

"I've been preparing a very long time for this," The raspy voice declared. "Escape from that cell is impossible."

Ariak stayed stubbornly silent. Escape might be impossible, but rescue was not. Sen would be looking for him. Ariak's captor was pleased to see him calm down.

"I'm not like you, Ariak, I'm very, very thorough," The voice said. As they spoke, Ariak realized the voice was female. It wasn't familiar in any way, though. "I don't leave anything half-done."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ariak said. "I always finish what I start."

"Hardly," His captor rasped. She sounded aggravated, and that anger caused something to rise in her throat. She coughed loudly for a while. As she finished, a light came on, and Ariak winced as the rush of illumination overwhelmed his eyes. When he adjusted to the light, he finally saw his captor standing before him.

She was a young woman, probably less than a decade older than Ariak, but her skin was weathered far beyond her years. She wore a ragged fur coat, showing that had been quite a while since she'd last bothered to maintain her appearance. She leaned in close to the bars of Ariak's cell, and Ariak saw a familiar sight: a disk of hardened red metal dangling from a cord around her neck. An all too familiar mark; an emblem of the Red Moon.

"Next time you put a spear through someone's chest," She growled. "Make sure you reach the heart."

She turned and stormed away, leaving Ariak alone in the dark once again.

***

There had been more uncomfortable moments in Sen's life, but not many. He had prepared himself to deal with anger from Tinaaki, but the lord of the Shorewatchers seemed remarkably cavalier about one of his sons being kidnapped. He was treating it like just another case. Other than the involvement of Sen, of course. The Avatar had been escorted to the Shorewatcher headquarters in the North Pole, to help Tinaaki with his investigation.

"We have the two Red Moon agents that your sword-wielding friend fought," Tinaaki declared. "They claim they're just hired help, but we'll see."

Tinaaki slammed open the door of the holding chamber. Both of the two Red Moon slavers were waiting, bound to wooden chairs. They were on a deadline, so proper imprisonment would have to wait.

Much to the relief of the two prisoners, Tinaaki immediately propped his spear against the wall. They became slightly more agitated when Kyros walked into the room as well. Sen's appearance just made them confused. It turned back into fear when Tinaaki and Kyros began to collude.

"What do you think, Kyros, do I go high or low?"

"Low," Kyros advised. "I think they've been honest with us so far. Just need to squeeze out that last bit."

Kyros and Tinaaki nodded to each other. Sen wondered what on earth they were talking about.

Tinaaki answered Sen's question by stepping up to the nearest slaver and sweeping his leg under the slaver's chair, knocking him to the ground with a heavy blow. As the slaver laid on the ground, still bound to his chair, Tinaaki placed his heavy boot on the slavers knee and leaned on to it.

"Where is Ariak?"

Tinaaki leaned forward even further, putting more pressure on the slavers knee. Sen looked on in horror as a loud pop signified the dislocation of the slavers knee.

"I told you everything," The slaver groaned.

"Tell me more than everything," Tinaaki commanded. "Where were you when you were hired? What did they say? How much did they pay you?"

Grunting through the intense pain, the hired thug gave out every detail he could think of. There was quite a bit of information, but none of it was particularly useful. Eventually, Tinaaki relented and removed his boot from the thug's knee. The slaver gasped in relief as the stabbing pain stopped. Tinaaki shot a threatening glare to the tortured thugs accomplice and turned his back on them both.

"What was the point of that?" Sen demanded. They had limited time, and Tinaaki had just wasted it gathering useless information via torture.

"Got to make sure they stay in line," Tinaaki said. "And we needed to make sure we were getting the whole truth. A little fear can go a long way."

Sen frowned coldly. He had felt very little fear from the tortured slaver. Underneath the pain, there had been only anger, and anger was a dangerous emotion.

"That was completely unnecessary," Sen said.

"You can pontificate some other time," Tinaaki said. "Our priority needs to be finding the Red Moon."

"Finding Ariak," Sen corrected. Their priority was search and rescue, not seek and destroy.

"They're the same thing," Kyros said. "We need to pick up their trail."

The map of the North Pole was laid out before Tinaaki. Thanks to their sentries on the border of the city, they at least knew that the Red Moon still had to be within the North Pole. There were still thousands of potential hiding places, though.

"I've been out of the loop," Sen said. Tinaaki had taken him aside not long after Ariak's kidnapping, and he hadn't been told much since. "Have we figured anything else out?"

"The captive from last month was found released not long ago," Kyros said. "Given that, and the fact that Ariak was targeted on a night other than the full moon, we're assuming that this is meant to be an act of revenge."

"And since they made sure to capture Ariak before the full moon, I imagine his rescue is on a deadline," Sen said.

"We don't know what they might be planning, but it can't be good," Kyros said. The Red Moon clearly wanted to make sure they had Ariak when the moon was full, and their bloodbending was available. That didn't bode well for Ariak.

Sen planted his hands on the table and looked at the map. It was a large city to search, and they had less than twenty-four hours. They should get started as soon as possible. So far, Kyros was the only one who had devoted any real effort to the search. Tinaaki had been too concerned playing the bad cop role, and dragging Sen along with him.

"Tinaaki, I want to talk to you privately."

"If this is about you being the Avatar, Kyros already knows," Tinaaki said. Kyros nodded and bowed.

"Excuse me? I explicitly told you to keep that a secret!"

"Kyros is my most trusted Huntsman, and my closest friend," Tinaaki said. "I trust him with everything."

"Your secret is safe with me, Master Avatar," Kyros said. Sen could feel that he was telling the truth, but that was beside the point. He was offended that Tinaaki had given away his secret without permission. They had little time to argue about that now, though. He would save it for after Ariak was in trouble.

"Alright, since I suppose we're all on the same page," Sen grunted. "I had a plan to search for Ariak."

"We had a plan too," Tinaaki said. "We kick down every door we can find until Ariak is found."

It sounded ludicrous, but the Shorewatchers could actually do that. They did face certain penalties for abusing the privilege, but unlike most law enforcement, they did not need a warrant to search residences or detain suspects. They didn't use that right very often, but this was an extreme case.

"Well, I think I might have a more efficient plan," Sen said. "If this is a targeted revenge plan against Ariak, they'll be aware of his talent for waterbending, so they won't be keeping him anywhere near water or ice. The North Pole is proud of its architecture, so the Chief's office keeps a record of every structure built. All we have to do is examine that record, and search every building made primarily of wood, stone, or metal."

"And what if he's being kept somewhere unauthorized, like a secret basement?"

"I have a plan for that too," Sen said. He stomped his foot.

Gun immediately poked his head through the soil, filling a large portion of the room with his face. Kyros and Tinaaki took a step back. Gun turned to Sen attentively.

"This is Gun, my animal guide," Sen said. He petted Gun's striped head. "While we search above ground, he's going to be tunneling beneath the soil. He'll recognize Ariak's heartbeat. If he finds Ariak anywhere underground, he'll tell me."

"It can talk?"

"It's complicated," Sen said. He put both hands on Gun's head and tapped his feet a few times. Gun quickly vanished back underground and began a patrol of the North Pole's subterranean depths. He would return to Sen the moment he found anything suspicious.

"Now all that's left is for us to get those architectural records."

"We'll handle that," Tinaaki said. "We have the authority to requisition the records. Return to Yakkul's homestead and we'll call on you when we need to."

"What else could you need me for? I've already told you everything I can."

"Information only goes so far," Kyros grunted. "At some point we're going to be taking the fight to the Red Moon, and it'd be my honor to do so alongside the Avatar."

"I can't be the Avatar right now," Sen said. "I'm not ready. If I come with you it will just be as Sen."

"Hiding what you are doesn't change it," Kyros said. Tinaaki's face took on a very sour expression for some reason. "You're still the mightiest of us all, no matter what you think of yourself."

Sen paused. He often thought of himself as an unfinished product, not really worthy to call himself a "full" Avatar, but apparently some people disagreed.

"It's a discussion we can have later," Tinaaki said. "Kyros, we're going to the capital. I suppose we're going to be reading books while Ariak is in prison."

Tinaaki's voice dripped with hostile sarcasm, mostly aimed at Sen. The young Avatar grit his teeth. The implication that he was doing anything less than his best to save Ariak struck right at Sen's heart. He would not let another friend stay in prison for long.

Kyros bowed one more time and departed. He went side by side with Tinaaki towards the capital, leaving Sen alone. He looked around the office. He had no idea how to get home from here. They'd dragged him off to some auxiliary Shorewatcher headquarters on the outskirts of the city, far from Yakkul's home. They had not quite thought this through.

Finding his way into the city streets, Sen looked around for any guides or maps. He doubted it would be easy to find his way to Yakkul's home, but somebody had to have directions to the public library. It was a government institution, after all. He could easily find his way home from there.

It was as easy as Sen expected to find the library, but finding his way home was apparently not going to be easy. Alrok was waiting outside the library doors, and he definitely noticed Sen. Sen moved in to say hello, just to be polite.

"Hey Alrok," He said somewhat halfheartedly.

"Hey egghead," Alrok said. "I told Taina you'd show up eventually. She's real mad at you, you know."

Sen grunted. This whole ordeal had made him miss tutoring. It was hardly his first concern, but it was still inconvenient. He'd have to explain himself eventually.

"I got tied up. Apologize to her for me if you see her, would you? I might be busy the next couple days."

Sen tried to turn his back. Alrok was too curious to allow that, though.

"What, guy like you missing the chance to stick his nose in a book? What's that about?"

He tried to catch up to Sen and grab him by the shoulder, but Sen walked much faster. Alrok was persistent, though, and he followed close behind Sen for a few streets.

"Hey, Sen, I'm serious. It's got to be a big deal if you're acting like this," He said. "Is something wrong? Can I help?"

"It's a little complicated, alright? And dangerous. I'd rather if you didn't get involved," Sen said. "I'm having enough trouble already."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Shorewatcher kind of trouble," Sen said. He wondered why Alrok couldn't be this curious when it came to schoolwork. He'd be a lot smarter if he were.

"Oh," Alrok said. "That's okay. They'll handle it, no problem."

Alrok hadn't spent much time thinking about that particular quandary. He didn't even know what the problem was, but he was immediately convinced that the Shorewatchers were capable enough to handle it. Sen wished he could be that confident in Kyros and Tinaaki.

"I'll let you get back to it," Alrok said. "Really, don't worry about it. Everything will be alright."

"Thank you, Alrok," Sen said. He at least appreciated the sentiment. Alrok nodded and finally stopped following Sen, which made things much easier. He'd been randomly wandering the streets to avoid leading Alrok to Yakkul's home. With the delinquent student gone, he could finally make a beeline home.

The gate to Tinaaki's home was curiously unguarded. Usually Kunik was keeping a vigilant watch over the front door. Had he been doing so today, Sen might not have gotten blindsided by Tlun.

"Where is Ariak," He demanded. Sen sighed. Tlun's impatience was justified in this case, but not necessarily welcome.

"I'm working on finding him, Tlun," Sen assured him. "I'm taking my-"

"You're not going to find him here," Tlun said. "You have to-"

"I'm worried too," Sen shouted, interrupting Tlun in turn. "But I've done everything I can do for now! We just need to be patient, and wait for your father."

Tlun stared at Sen in disbelief for a moment. Sen stared right back. He was not in the mood for Tlun's impatience right now. Though there was an obvious intensity in Tlun's eyes, he said nothing more. After a moment he stormed out the gate and left Sen behind. Sen sighed and shook his head. Tlun's impatience was ever present, it seemed. Sen needed to rest while he had the time, rather than worry about Tlun. It might not be long before he got a call to action.

Sleep was outside the realm of possibility for now, so Sen lounged in a chair and tried to relax. Even though he'd just lectured Tlun on having patience, it was hard for him to simply wait and do nothing. He could not allow another one of his friends to be held captive. The thought of another person suffering in a cage because of Sen's mistakes was burning a hole in his heart.

Sen clenched his fist. Even as he thought that, there was almost nothing to be done. Gun was covering the hidden parts of the city, and Tinaaki would soon arrive with the rest of the information they needed. Though Sen tried to think of some way he could move the search forward, he had very few options. It was only a matter of wasting time until he received an update.

He thought that he might talk to his friends, discuss their options but he found none of them. Even Whistler was out of her bed. They hadn't even left a note. Sen assumed that they had gone to investigate Ariak's abduction on their own. He had been gone for a few hours now; they had likely grown impatient. Sen found another way to distract himself.

Searching the somewhat cluttered table of his room, Sen grabbed one of the books that Alrok had pointed out for him just the other day. The origin of the Shorewatchers. It wasn't really relevant to the current situation, but it might help put Sen's mind at ease.

The Shorewatchers had been founded decades ago, within Korra's lifetime, but at the time they had hardly been the commanding force they were today. As Northern society had expanded from one city into several dozen, the police had found it hard to communicate and travel across the open tundra, so outlying settlements were often overrun with crime. As a preventative measure, the North had deputized a group of local hunters to watch over the outlying colonies, and given them the authority to take "extreme actions, if necessary."

Even in a book dedicated to the Shorewatchers history, there was barely an information about this early period. It seemed that these early Shorewatchers had proven very effective, and so they had recruited more and more, becoming more popular and more influential as they did so, until they had nearly supplanted the North's original police force.

What it lacked in information, the book made up for in a devoted discussion of a moral quandary. In the way that they acted, with little regulation or oversight, they were much like the evil they sought to fight. The only true rule the Shorewatchers followed was their own internal sense of right and wrong, of actions and their consequences. A Shorewatcher who lost sight of that was a danger to themselves and the entire North.

"Avatar!"

Sen snapped violently away from his book, looking up. Tinaaki had slammed the door open rather rudely. Kyros and Tinaaki were carrying large stacks of books. They'd acquired the architectural records they needed.

"Oh, good work," Sen mumbled. He tried to surreptitiously hide his book, so they could not see what he had been reading.

"Has your animal returned?"

"Not yet," Sen said. Gun was still far and away, scouring the North Pole.

"In the meantime, we should turn this list over to our Hunters," Tinaaki said. "They can scour every building."

"No, not all of them," Sen said, shaking his head. "A good chunk of those are going to be public structures like libraries and stadiums, useless for hiding prisoners. While we wait for Gun we can at least rule out those ones."

Kyros nodded. Tinaaki seemed less agreeable. He had little interest in sticking his nose in books for hours. Despite that reluctance, he did not argue with the Avatar's suggestion. Sen grabbed the first architectural portfolio and perused it. As he had expected, many of the buildings were factories or other buildings where many people gathered every day. While it wasn't completely impossible that Ariak was being held in one such building, it was very unlikely.

The two Shorewatchers also cracked open a book and began to examine the contents. Kyros moved through his pages much more quickly than Tinaaki did. The Huntmaster of the Shorewatchers should have been more accustomed to paperwork, not less. Sen was more than a little disappointed.

Sen and the Shorewatchers were occupying themselves with books and paperwork, but there was a group occupying themselves more actively. Ada was leading Suda and Whistler, along with Kunik, towards the docks.

Contact with Ko Rin had given her a lead on the Red Moon. While the Shorewatchers cracked down hard on violent crimes, there were other, less destructive criminals that sometimes escaped their notice. Smugglers in particular often went overlooked, even though they supplied the criminals of the North. Criminals like the Red Moon.

"Whistler, Suda, you two will take the lead," Ada said. They knew the most about acting criminal, so they'd be the most natural leads. "I'll just back you up."

"I suppose I'll be back up too?"

"Oh, sorry Kunik," Ada said. "Yeah, you'll be with me."

"Nice recovery," Kunik sighed. He knew that he was still a newcomer, but he had been expecting to get treated a little bit more like part of the team. He supposed that was just the way things were meant to be. He was still going to help, even if he was a bit of an afterthought.

Suda was the first one through the door. He was the largest and the most imposing, so he'd make the best first impression on the hardened criminals. Whistler was slightly less menacing, but she still looked convincingly criminal. Kunik and Ada stayed by the door, out of sight, while Suda and Whistler went to negotiate.

The apparent proprietor of this shop was a large man, smaller than Suda, but still threatening in his own right. He did not seem happy to see strangers in his establishment.

"I don't recognize you," He said gruffly.

"You recognize this?"

Whistler slammed a stack of yuan down on the counter. Smugglers preferred trading in the United Republic's currency; trade restrictions there were looser, and it was easier to buy what you needed. The Smuggler nodded approvingly.

"Of course I recognize it," The Smuggler joked. "It's my best friend."

"Well, since we have a mutual friend, maybe we can do business," Suda said. He sat down at a table, and the smuggler sat down across from him.

"We're looking for holding equipment," Suda said. Whistler gave him a look. What kind of thug said "holding equipment"?

"We need chains, cages, handcuffs, anything with a lock," Whistler said casually. "Doesn't need to be proof against metalbenders."

"That's some very specific hardware," The smuggler said. "What do you need that for?"

"Better if you don't know," Suda said. Whistler punched him in the shoulder. Smugglers wanted to know what they were getting involved with. They survived by keeping a low profile; supplying to someone reckless could ruin their business. The smuggler was not impressed by Suda's attitude.

"Some associates of ours are not being forthcoming with what they owe us," Whistler said, quickly correcting Suda's mistake. "We need to hold them until we get what's ours. Just to prove a point."

The smuggler nodded, though he still clearly disapproved.

"Are you with the Doctor?" He asked.

"Only Doctor I know works in a hospital," Suda joked. Whistler tried to hide her face as she bit her lip. The Doctor was clearly someone important, and to be taken seriously.

"We aren't locals, not really involved with anyone in the scene here," Whistler said. "Just looking to clean up loose ends and go home. So, can we get what we need from you or not?"

"I'll see what I can do for you," The smuggler said dismissively.

"What's the matter? You all sold out?"

Whistler was very close to punching Suda. Yes, they had been here to determine if the smuggler was connected to the Red Moon, but that was far too on the nose. Ada had said Suda would be able to negotiate, but so far he'd screwed up nearly every word.

"I don't know what you two are trying to pull," The Smuggler said, acting on his suspicions. "But you get out of here right now, and don't come back."

The smuggler had numerous associates scattered about the dock warehouse, and they began to converge on their location. Suda looked around in disappointment.

"Kunik, please guard the door, make sure nobody else comes through," Ada said. Kunik might have objected, but he had seen plenty of lowlifes outside. Guarding the door actually was pretty important. The others were about to cause quite a ruckus.

Since violence was already inevitable, Whistler decided to embrace it. She unfolded her staff and pressed the hard metal rod against the smugglers throat, pinning him against the wall.

"Now, about the Red Moon," Whistler said threateningly.

Whistler was nearly interrupted by a metal club striking her in the head, but Suda brought it to a quick stop. At least he could do that right, Whistler thought. Suda turned the club on its wielder and kept his back to Whistler and her captive, making sure that the two were not interrupted.

"You should start talking now," Whistler advised. She tapped her staff against the side of his head, forcing the smuggler to look left, towards Ada's personal battle with the criminals. There was a tangible fear in his eyes as he watched the young swordswoman cut his friends and coworkers to ribbons. Whistler smiled and asked him one more time to talk.

Suda and Ada regrouped in the middle of the brawl and talked while they fought. Suda idly swatted the common thugs aside while Ada flashed her blades.

"What's going on with you, Suda? You used to be able to negotiate like a champion."

This was the same Suda who had once single-handedly gotten them aboard a smuggler crew out of Tunuk Bay. It seemed odd that he would mess up so badly today.

"I don't know, I thought I was doing good," Suda said. A criminal thug got a little too close for bending, so Suda picked him up, held him overhead briefly, and threw him against a wall.

"I think you're losing your touch, Suda," Ada said. It had been many years since he'd committed any actual crimes. It was possible he'd lost all of his criminal instincts entirely.

"Well, as far as problems to have," Suda said. "I think not being a criminal is a good one."

A bad problem to have was being launched across a room, as Kunik unfortunately discovered. Suda caught the flying swordsman as Ada examined the door. A pile of fallen thugs attested that Kunik had done an admirable job guarding the door, but he had simply gotten overwhelmed.

Whistler vaulted over a table and briefly examined Kunik. He looked hurt, not badly, but bad enough that it would be best to get him out of here sooner rather than later. Luckily Whistler had gotten what she needed, and Kunik's failure to guard the door had given them a convenient situation. All the smugglers had lined up along the doorway. A single hurricane breeze caught them all off guard, sending them flying out the door like a cannonball while Whistler and the others made their escape.

And in the meantime, Sen had been reading a book. In the midst of all his searching, the door slammed open loudly. Sen took a quick glance to see Ada walking through the door with a limping Kunik wrapped around her shoulders. Sen immediately left his book behind to investigate.

"Are you alright?"

"Eh, I have my arms around a beautiful lady," Kunik sighed. He clutched at his ribs as he spoke. "I'm doing just fine."

Ada smiled, but she was quick to lay him safely on a nearby chair. Sen stripped off his coat and examined Kunik's injuries. He had several cuts and bruises.

"You should see the other thirty-eight guys," Kunik said casually. Sen didn't bother laughing at his joke. He found the nearest source of water and went to work tending Kunik's wounds. Yakkul soon arrived to examine his student.

"What happened to you?"

"We went out to follow some intel I got from Ko Rin," Ada said. Suda and Whistler brought up the tail end of their expedition. "Kunik insisted on coming, because he apparently considers potential death worth the opportunity to flirt with me."

"I was not flirting," Kunik said. He groaned as Sen healed one of his bruises. "I know about Canto. I actually wanted to help."

"Knowing you, it's a little bit of both," Yakkul said. "Where'd you go?"

"Down by the wharfs, a smugglers den," Ada explained. "A few of the Red Moons old contacts still hole up there."

"Impossible," Tinaaki scoffed. "We've scoured those docks clean a thousand times over."

"We are not perfect, Tinaaki," Kyros said. "It's possible we missed something."

"I doubt it," Tinaaki said coldly. "What did you find out from these supposed contacts?"

"Not a thing," Whistler said. "Not one of them has heard anything about the old gang coming back to life. No old members have come back, no supplies were purchased, nobody was contacted for information, nothing. There's no connection to the old Red Moon at all."

Sen's eyes narrowed. That seemed wrong.

If it were an old member of the Red Moon, they would have reused their old connections and resources. It wasn't a former member, but it couldn't be someone completely unrelated either. There was some kind of connection between the Red Moon and their new foe. It was just a kind of connection that Ada hadn't been looking for. Sen looked to Tinaaki.

"Did the members of the Red Moon have any family?"

***

Ariak was hunched over in his cell, waiting out the storm. He had faith that the Avatar would save him, but it was still an unpleasant wait. He longed to be free of this cell, and of the taunting of his captor.

She would often brag about how careful and precise her plans were, but other times she seemed careless and self-centered. Many times she would come to Ariak for the sole purpose of shouting and scolding him for some unknown reasons. She had yet to explain her motivations, but her hatred was obvious. With all her heart, all her mind, all her soul, she hated Ariak, hated him as much as it was possible to hate another human being.

She decided that now would be the time to vent that hatred. Something glass slammed against a wall and broke. Ariak's captor found her way to the bars of his cage and glared at him, the disk of red steel around her neck dangling as she wobbled unsteadily.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep you prisoner," She grumbled. "How hard it is for me to know you're alive, when I could so easily change that."

"Pretty easy, since I'm not dead yet," Ariak said. He would not be intimidated by a madwoman.

"Oh it's not," She slurred. "I'm just that disciplined, I suppose, that driven to see you suffer for what you've done."

"I've done a great many things in my life," Ariak said. "You'll have to be more specific."

She slammed her fist against a wall angrily.

"You don't even remember," She screamed at him. "You don't even care! It didn't mean anything to you, you animal!"

She roared incoherently and hung her head. She was clearly not in her right mind, whether by natural psychosis or being too deep in her cups. Ariak kept his back to the wall and refrained from talking to her again. If she was that unstable, Ariak ran the risk of her acting on her violent desires at the slightest provocation.

"It mattered to me," The unstable woman moaned. "She mattered."

The woman slunk away from the cell, mumbling to herself sadly. As she left, Ariak tried to look out the bars after her. Now he finally realized why she looked almost familiar. One of the Red Moon had been a woman who looked much like her. It was a family resemblance.

***

"They never bothered to follow up," Sen mumbled to himself. The records had been easy enough to find. There hadn't been many family members to account for, so the search was brief. There were still a few suspects to be hunted down. Tinaaki and Kyros were off to interrogate potential targets, while Sen and his friends simply waited.

"Of course they don't," Suda grunted. "They think they can solve problems by spearing them. They never look at the big picture."

Ada was more favorable to the Shorewatchers than most of her friends, but she kept her mouth shut. In this case she couldn't deny that they had messed up. If one of the Red Moon's family members really had learned the secrets of bloodbending from their relative, then it was an obvious, and easily avoided, mistake. A mistake that Ariak might be paying for.

They were running dangerously low on time. It would be the full moon soon, and whatever revenge their enemy was planning would be possible. Sen couldn't allow that to happen. He couldn't fail.

Sen clenched his fists and relaxed them before clenching them again. His body felt like a coiled spring just waiting to release. All he needed was one push in the right direction. As soon as he knew where to find Ariak he could make his move. Nobody bothered to calm him down. If worst came to worst he would need that intensity. Bloodbending was a dangerous tool even against the Avatar, and they were running out of daylight.

Sen stood outside, carefully watching the movements of the sun. Days were short at the North Pole. When night fell and the moon rose, Ariak might be lost. The clock was ticking.

After a long pause, a welcome relief to the tension of waiting came as the earth underfoot began to shift, signaling the return of Gun. The badgermole was exhausted, but he dutifully returned to his master. Sen comforted the weary badgermole, but he needed to know what Gun had discovered. Gun was quick to answer, in the ways that only Sen would understand: He knew where Ariak was.

Sen clenched his jaw and nodded slowly. He rubbed his hands across Gun's cheeks.

"I know you're tired, Gun, but I need to get there as fast as I can," Sen said. "I need you to take me to him."

Gun huffed loudly and pressed his face into Sen's chest, slowly lifting the Avatar up and raising him onto his striped back. With a quick thanks and a word of motivation, Sen ordered Gun back into the soil, back to Ariak's underground prison.

"He didn't even invite us," Whistler snorted. She had been under the impression that this would be a team effort.

"This is about to become much more dangerous than any of us are prepared to handle," Ada said. She pointed at the sky. The sun was already dangerously close to the horizon. The full moon was coming. Time was running out.

***

Sen had tunneled before, but never quite as frantically as this. He and Gun worked in tandem to tear through the soil as fast as possible, rushing towards Ariak. He had been watching the sky carefully. He knew exactly how little time he had. He would not waste a second.

Nearer to their destination, their pace slowed. Sen did not want an earthquake alerting Ariak's captor to a potential escape. From here on out he would have to go more gently. He thanked Gun for his help again and dismissed the badgermole, who immediately went to go find food and somewhere to sleep. Sen proceeded alone, carefully and quietly tunneling through the soil.

He could feel heartbeats pounding through the dirt now, one erratic and unsteady, the other calm and collected. He got closer to the source, and slammed his palms against the earth, feeling out the structure of the building. One room was obviously a cell. Sen inched his way through the dirt until he reached a stone wall.

Quietly and slowly, Sen pushed aside the stone wall, opening it like a door. Ariak nearly fell backwards through the hole. He had been leaning against that wall. He quickly turned around, excited, but obviously not surprised, to see Sen.

"Come on, Ariak," Sen said, gesturing to his tunnel. "Let's get you out of here."

Even as he spoke, Sen felt pounding footsteps from the outside of the structure. Some sort of sentry shouted for attention, and a few people around the building sprung into action. The erratic heartbeat Sen had felt earlier began to pound ever more furiously as it ran to the door.

"What's going on?" Ariak asked.

"I think your father and Kyros must have found this place," Sen said. The two had been investigating on their own; they must have found the trail. "I'll go help them. You get out of here."

"No," Ariak said. He was malnourished and unrested, but he would not leave. "I'm not going to let this happen again."

It had been the carelessness of a Shorewatcher that had started all of this. Ariak would not allow history to repeat itself. Making a mistake once was forgivable, but allowing it to be made again was not. Sen was quick to sense Ariak's resolve. He would not bother arguing against him.

"I'll take the lead," Sen said. "Stay behind me, and stay safe."

Ariak nodded. Sen broke open the cell door and the two proceeded out into the makeshift prison.

Kyros and Tinaaki were currently tearing their way through the deranged woman's hired guards. They were easily lured by the promise of the power of bloodbending, but they were not very strong. Despite the weak showing of their enemies, Tinaaki was enjoying himself.

"I haven't had a fight like this in ages," Tinaaki shouted as he slammed a guard against a wall.

"I'll celebrate when we've saved your son," Kyros said. He was taking this slightly more seriously.

"It's as good as over," Tinaaki boasted. "Once the sun sets we'll-"

He was cut short by a descending pillar of water that crushed him to the ground. Kyros was quickly swept off his feet by a flowing surge as well. The two quickly recovered, but their recovery meant very little.

The sun had set already. A roaring pain surged through their veins as an unholy power took a grip on their blood. Their spears fell from their hands as they lost control of their own limbs.

"You can't take this from me!"

The bloodbender flexed her fingers and threw her arms forwards, slamming Kyros and Tinaaki into the walls violently. She jerked her hands violently, manipulating them like puppets, twisting their bodies to her whims. She stopped her violent manipulations as she recognized one of her victims.

"You," She said quietly. "You're the Huntmaster."

The bloodbender took on a frantic smile, her dry, cracked lips parting in a wicked grin.

"You're his father," She laughed. "You're his family."

She pulled Tinaaki forward, looking him in the eye. Tinaaki could not even control his own facial expression in the grip of her bloodbending, but the fear in his eyes was obvious.

"I'll take you from, like he took her from-"

"Stop this!"

Ariak stepped ahead of Sen, into the chamber with the bloodbender. Sen was quick to follow in his footsteps. The bloodbender panicked when she saw him free. She cast a hand in his direction, and Ariak felt a brief jolt of pain through his veins. He and Sen were both gripped by the pain of bloodbending. Sen wasted no time allowing the pain to overcome him. He grit his teeth and focused within.

"I need this!" The bloodbender shouted wildly. "You can't-"

The crazed woman hesitated slightly as she felt her grip begin to break. Sen focused, pushing against her unholy hold on his blood, moving his fingers slightly at first, and then his arms.

"You can't!"

His hands trembled slightly, but Sen managed to maintain control. This crazed bloodbender was not in the same league as Amon or Tarrlok. With the wisdom gained from Korra and his own studies of bloodbending, it was possible to keep her at bay, if only barely. Bloodbending could only truly be countered by bloodbending; Sen took control of his own body by force, with just enough strength to keep himself out of her control. He could not and would not bloodbend another for any reason, but he had taught himself enough about bloodbending to keep himself free of any manipulation.

"No, no, no no no no no," The bloodbender chanted, falling into more frantic tones with each repetition. Her eyes betrayed her desperation. She released her painful grip on the others and focused entirely on Sen, trying to freeze him in place. It was a wasted effort. Sen's bending was unrefined, but by his nature as the Avatar he was stronger than her.

"It's over," Sen said, gritting his teeth

"No, no, it's not over," The bloodbender screamed. "He has to die!"

"I am sorry!"

The bloodbender froze as Ariak shouted his apology. Ariak's eyes were red, from sorrow, not pain. A chilled quiet settled into the previously chaotic room. Sen let his hands drop. The bloodbender made no attempts to bloodbend again.

"I'm sorry," Ariak repeated. "I had no right to take the lives I did."

He could remember the day he had found the Red Moon. They were slavers, all of them, and his anger had blinded them to the fact that they had identities beyond that. They were still people; brothers, fathers, friends, sisters, all these things and more, and he had treated them like animals, never thinking of the consequences of his actions, never thinking about what all that death and pain meant for others.

The bloodbender's face twitched visibly, torn between emotions. There was still hatred behind her eyes, but the edge had been dulled by hints of regret and shame.

"You're trying to trick me," She said frantically.

"I have you outnumbered and surrounded," Ariak said. "I have no reason to deceive you. The only reason I would apologize now-"

Ariak hesitated, choking on his words. Sen continued for him.

"Is if he means it."

Ariak nodded.

"I am sorry for what I did," Ariak said. "And I am sorry for who I took from you."

"She was my sister," The bloodbender cried out, sobbing as she did so.

"I know," Ariak said mournfully. "And I am so sorry."

The Red Moon bloodbender stepped back, pressing her fingertips into her cheeks in confusion. She had not expected this. She had expected some arrogant hunter, bragging about his kills to drunken comrades. She had not expected to see the same things she felt inside herself –the sadness and guilt.

There was a scrape of metal against stone. Sen was the first to notice the sudden motion. He stepped forward.

"Tinaaki, don't!"

Tinaaki paid no heed to the words of the Avatar. He raised his spear up from the ground, up through the air, and into the back of the bloodbender. Her confused eyes shot sharply into an expression of pain and surprise. Tinaaki twisted his spear once, then pushed forward until she fell to the ground.

Sen and Ariak stared at the scene with mouths agape. Tinaaki examined the point of his spear and then cleaned it off casually. After taking care of his spear, he spared a glance to his son.

"Are you well?"

Ariak nodded slightly in response. Tinaaki turned his back and went to help Kyros off the ground. There was a subtle look of disappointment on Kyros' face. He watched regretfully as Ariak and Sen took a few steps back from the violent scene. Tinaaki walked around the body on the ground and stepped forward to face his son.

"I take it they didn't hurt you?"

Ariak looked up at Tinaaki, master of the hunt, and his one time father.

"She was surrendering," Ariak moaned quietly.

"I'm aware," Tinaaki snorted. "But regretting a crime does not undo it."

"You know how punishment works. Bloodbending, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit- well," Kyros said, trying to reassure Ariak. "This was the…only outcome."

Kyros turned his head towards Sen. Sen gave a slight shake of his head. Sen would never approve of what had happened here, not even for a moment.

"I only cut out the middle man," Tinaaki said. "And part of her heart, I think."

He was trying to joke about it. Ariak heard his cruel attempt at a joke and doubled over at the waist as the morose quip made him feel physically ill. Sen was quick to support him, and Kyros likewise stepped forward to help. Tinaaki was so disappointed.

"What's become of you," Tinaaki said, earnestly disappointed. "You were determined and brave once, Ariak, you never would have acted like this."

Tinaaki took a step forward and put his hand on Ariak's shoulder, but Ariak quickly recoiled from his father's touch. Tinaaki shook his head.

"You're blind," Ariak said. His trembling fingers steadied as they curled into clenched fists. There had been a resentment boiling inside him for a long time now, and it was coming to a burning point. Tinaaki had not only repeated Ariak's mistakes, he had done so knowingly, willingly, when another option had readily presented itself.

"I thought somehow I could come to terms with you," Ariak said. "But you'll never see your own flaws, will you?"

"I suppose we have that in common," Tinaaki said. "You aren't alone in hoping we can be a family again, Ariak. When you've both come back to your senses, you and Tsunatak are welcome to come back to me. Until then-"

Tinaaki shouldered his spear and turned his back on Ariak. He tapped Kyros on the shoulder and the Huntsman hesitantly turned his back as well.

"-I have no son."

Ariak's eyes narrowed and his teeth were bared in a sudden spike of anger.

"You have two," He called out in fury.

Tinaaki snorted derisively and shook his head. Kyros gave his friend a confused look. Sen stepped in and pulled Ariak back a step. It was not the time to cause any further conflict. This day had seen enough of that already.

"Come on, Ariak," Sen said. "Tlun is worried about you."

"Right," Ariak said. "Tlun."

Ariak took one last regretful look at his former captor, but only for a moment, for he could not bear to look longer. As dark and bloody of an ending as it was, he hoped that this would at least be the end of the Red Moon and the sisters that followed it.


	62. Book 4 Ch11: A Bird Without Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariak is forced into an uncomfortable and precarious situation when Tlun's secret is accidentally revealed.

Ariak was silent for the first week after coming back home. Even after he started talking again, it was weeks before he acted normal again. He was shaken, for obvious reasons, on a very fundamental level.

Yet life seemed to possess an innate ability to put itself back on track. Whistler slept, Ada trained, Suda volunteered at the hospital, and Sen and Ariak worked on their waterbending. As time went on, cruel memories faded and normal living filled the gap. Though some things lingered, for the most part the incident with the Red Moon was left in the past.

Sen figured it was time for him to attend to some things that he had left behind. He'd been at Ariak's side nearly constantly for a long time; he hadn't even bothered to check in with Taina. As far as he knew, tutoring was over, and the new school year for the North Pole had already begun. He had no idea where to find Taina now. He owed her a goodbye, at least, so he set out into the North Pole, towards the library.

He stepped amidst the shelves and took a cautious look around. The tables where he had once been taught alongside Alrok now sat empty. He stepped slowly along the aisles of books, glancing between the shelves. He saw someone with their face obscured entirely by an overly large stack of books they were carrying. That could only be one person.

Sen stepped forward and grabbed a few of the books off the top of the stack, cutting it in half and exposing Taina's face. She seemed upset that someone had interrupted her book-gathering at first, but her eyes lit up when she saw Sen. She dropped the entire pile of books and lunged forward to grab him in a tight hug.

"Sen!"

That had not been exactly the reaction Sen had been expecting.

"Hi, Taina," Sen said, feeling slightly awkward in a hug that was lasting a little too long. "Sorry, for not showing up sooner, there was a bit of-"

"Oh it's alright," Taina said, finally letting him go. She seemed flustered now. "I mean, if you had come here a few weeks ago I would've given you an earful. But Alrok told me about your friend, so I understand."

"Yeah, I had to deal with all of that, so I didn't really have time to come by," Sen said. This was a bit of an awkward moment. "And now I've missed all the other lessons."

"Oh yeah, by quite a bit," Taina said. "The school year started, tutoring's over."

"That's a shame. I could've used a few more lessons."

"You could always just sign up for classes," Taina suggested. "You'd have to wait until next semester, but-"

"I'm not sure I'm going to be here next semester," Sen said. He wasn't sure exactly how long he would be staying in the North, but he had an odd feeling it wouldn't be much longer.

"Oh, you –you're leaving," Taina said, clearly disappointed.

"Well, yes, this was never meant to be a long-term visit," Sen said. "I've got some responsibilities to attend to. It'll make sense later."

Sen was sure that one day, when Sen being the Avatar was common knowledge, Taina would look back on this day and laugh. It helped him cope with the fact that she seemed absolutely heartbroken now.

"Well, I don't know what you're planning on doing," Taina said. "But I hope you make time to study. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met, Sen. Don't let that brain of yours go to waste."

"I don't plan on it," Sen said. "Though I don't really know what to do next, without a tutor."

"And I don't know what I'm going to do without my best student," Taina said.

"You could try working with Alrok for a bit," Sen said. This elicited a low groan from Taina.

"But he's just so stupid," She moaned.

"I was an idiot once too," Sen said. "How's he ever going to learn anything if somebody doesn't take the time to teach him?"

Taina quite reluctantly agreed. She roped Sen into a little more small talk before Sen said his final goodbyes and returned to Yakkul's.

***

Several people had come to visit Ariak since his kidnapping; chief among them Tlun, who had seen his brother more in the past few weeks than he had in months before the incident. At first he had been exceptionally sympathetic and understanding, but as time went on, more and more of Tlun's characteristic impatience shone through. Luckily, however, it was almost entirely focused on Ariak's well-being.

"Have you been eating enough," He asked, for the fifth time that day.

"I have been," Ariak reassured him. Ariak had been slightly underfed during his time as a captive, but never so much that it affected his health. Tlun's concern was touching, if unwarranted.

"I'm fine, really," Ariak said. "I've had enough people looking after me to last a lifetime."

"It doesn't look like it," Tlun said. "Whenever I'm around nobody seems to care about you."

"That's because when you're around, they don't need to," Ariak sighed.

"Where are they, even," Tlun said, ignoring Ariak's attempts to calm him down. "Where's the Avatar?"

"He's out."

"Out where?"

"I don't know," Ariak said. He saw Tlun's fist clench, and knew immediately that he had made a mistake.

Sen started walking slightly slower when he heard the sounds of Tlun's shouting. This was going to be good, he could already tell. He briefly considered turning around, but decided against it. He opened the door and traced the sound of Tlun's shouting to its source.

The impatient doctor was pacing back and forth before a gathering of Sen's friends, gesticulating wildly. His loud lecture came to an abrupt halt when Sen entered the room.

"You! Where have you been?"

"Out," Sen said. That was not what Tlun wanted to hear.

"Out where," He demanded again.

"Out," Sen said dismissively. "I have a personal life, you know."

"I'm not usually one to play devil's advocate, but Tlun does have a point," Ada said. "You've been gone quite a bit."

His habitual disappearances had never bothered Ada much before now; Sen knew what he was doing. The only reason she suddenly wanted to know is because Sen was refusing to explain. Sen didn't usually keep secrets.

"I was at the library," Sen said, finally relenting. "I like to learn things. I've taken some lessons, read some books, that's it."

"You could've just told us," Suda said. It was perfectly understandable that he wanted to study.

"It would have been nice for us to know where you were, if something happened," Ada added.

"I just wanted to keep things separated," Sen said. "You know, if my teacher saw you guys, she'd know about all my friends, she might learn where I live, and then we might have another Nura on our hands."

"Hey," Suda grunted indignantly.

"It's not personal, Suda, we all got a little too close to her, and then we all nearly died because of it," Sen said. He'd been sold out once before. He would not risk contact with anyone that he couldn't trust completely. They were too close to the end now to repeat the same stupid mistakes.

"Ariak, you can't possibly support this," Tlun said. "He's been cutting his training short to go read books, you have to see the problem there."

"The Avatar has been excelling in his training, even with short sessions," Ariak said with a shrug. "I can't object in that regard."

"Being smart is just as important as being strong," Sen said, not giving Tlun the chance to interrupt. "Do you know how many problems I could have prevented if I'd been smart enough to see them coming?"

"Sen, we talked about this," Whistler sighed. She'd been supremely uninterested in Tlun's ramblings, but she did have to jump in on this particular occasion. It had taken Sen months to accept the fact that he couldn't solve every problem. She didn't want him backtracking.

"I know, Whistler, I know," Sen said. He knew exactly why she was concerned. "I know I'm going to mess up again, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it happens as little as possible."

Whistler nodded sagely and returned to her casual disinterest in the argument. Tlun was watching his argument fall to shambles before him. He was far too stubborn to admit total defeat, though.

"None of this changes the fact that you've been lying to us," he said.

"Nobody asked," Sen said. "It's a lie of omission at best, and not even an intentional one."

"It's still a lie," Tlun argued.

Sen and Tlun took center stage in a brief standoff. Sen was hardly interested in further argument; it was up to Tlun to make the mature decision and walk away. The room was briefly muted with a tense silence between the two. Tlun was inarguably the more tense of the two; Sen was casually examining the floor, not wanting to further the tension by making eye contact with Tlun.

"What kind of Avatar are you," Tlun huffed. "You can't even be honest with your own friends."

Sen's eyes snapped up, locking eyes with Tlun. He stepped forward and squared his shoulders. He would not take an insult like that lying down.

"I'm not going to take lectures on honesty from you," Sen said. He paused slightly and took one step closer to Tlun, leaning in close to stare him straight in the eyes.

"I have been nothing but honest with all of you," Tlun objected.

"Not really," Sen said.

"Wait, what has he been lying about," Whistler said.

"Nothing. The Avatar's trying to shift blame."

"Don't try to play this off," Sen said. "You and I both know what's going on here."

Ariak's eyes widened. He had been avoiding talking about it for so long. It was just as the Avatar had warned him. He had avoided the problem, and now the problem had come to him regardless.

Sen knew.

"I really don't," Tlun responded bitterly.

"Look, I figured out some of your personal issues, Tlun," Sen said. Over time, Sen had been unraveling the mysteries of Ariak's complex family scenario, especially his sister Tsunatak, and he had realized something about Tlun. "I know who you really are."

Sen was surrounded by ice, but he had rarely felt anything quite as cold as Tlun's heart when he said that aloud. Part of him regretted ever saying it. The effect it had on Tlun was far beyond anything Sen had expected.

Red sorrow flushed Tlun's eyes for a moment. The doctor did not wait long to let the other symptoms of his sudden sorrow come to light. He turned and fled without another moments hesitation, hiding his face in the hood of his heavy coat. Ariak jumped up slightly, but never took a step beyond Sen. He froze in place just a step behind the Avatar, looking uncertain about what to do next.

The remainder of Sen's friends showed a renewed interest in this argument. They all knew about Ariak's sister Tsunatak, but unlike Sen, they had not yet pieced together the connection between Tsunatak and Tlun.

"How did you know?" Ariak asked quietly. He had tried his best to keep it a secret. He needed to know that this breach of privacy was not his fault.

"I- I pieced it together," Sen said, ashamed. He didn't know the matter was this serious. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was this…drastic. I didn't expect him-"

"What is going on," Whistler demanded. This whole family drama had been going on long enough, and she wanted some answers.

Ariak and Sen shared a brief look. Sen nodded to Ariak, and Ariak nodded back. It was his family. He should explain it. Ariak took a deep breath and anxiously toyed with his sleeve.

"Tlun is…" He began. He bit his lip for a moment. "I only have one sibling. Tlun is, or was, I'm not sure, Tsunatak…They're the same person."

The confusion was evident on their faces. Ada leaned forward.

"But, Tsunatak was your sister," She said, her confusion audible in her voice. "Tlun is your brother."

"No, no, I can see it," Whistler said. Tlun had always had suspiciously soft features and curves. "I spent a long time crossdressing. I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner."

"It's not like that," Ariak protested. "She- He, just has…I don't even know. I'm not sure what all of this is."

Ariak put his hands on his face and sighed in exasperation. He had been trying to figure this out slowly, in private. Sen had just dragged it quite violently into the daylight. Steady uncertainty had suddenly become a precarious moment of truth. If this situation wasn't resolved quickly, Ariak's already unstable relationship with his brother could fall apart completely.

"Ariak, I'm so sorry," Sen said. "I had no idea."

"You have to make this right," Ariak said. "I can't lose Tlun."

"Ariak, I don't even know where to begin," Sen said. "You're his brother, can't you-"

"I've been trying for months," Ariak shouted. "I don't know what I'm doing, Sen. You have to help me. I need you."

Sen bit his tongue. He knew next to nothing about Tlun's situation. He'd read thousands of books, and not one of them had mentioned anything like this. But he had caused this mess, and he owed Ariak and Tlun both the effort to make it right.

"Alright, Ariak, I'll handle this," Sen said reluctantly. He wasn't quite sure where to begin.

"Thank you," Ariak said. "I knew I could count-"

Suddenly and without warning, Ariak froze like his blood had turned to ice. Sen could see what was happening in his heart, and Ariak had suddenly been consumed by memory- and regret. Sen paused and waited for a moment as Ariak's face slowly drifted from despair into determination.

Without a word, Ariak began to move again. He put his hand on Sen's shoulder and pushed him back, before stepping out the door and chasing after Tlun on his own.

"That was a quick change," Suda observed.

"I think he decided to take matters into his own hands," Sen said. It was hard to tell, since he'd just stormed off with no explanation. Ariak's whole family really needed to work on their communication skills.

"Yeah, let me know how this turns out," Whistler said. "I'm going back to bed."

Ariak found Tlun quickly. They were brothers, after all. He was on the outskirts of the city, huddled under a windswept ledge in the snow. Tlun cut a dark figure among the white snow.

The crisp snowfall made a slight shifting sound as Ariak sat down next to his brother. The ice clinging to Tlun's coat said that he had been here for a while. Ariak kept his mouth shut for a few minutes, as much for Tlun's benefit as for his own. He needed time to consider his words.

"We can't do this again," Ariak finally said. "It has to stop."

It had been much like this the day Tlun, then Tsunatak, had fled the Shorewatchers. He'd come to Ariak with his problems, and Ariak had tried to shift responsibility onto his father. Leaving it in Tinaaki's hands had driven Tlun away, and shattered Ariak's faith in his father. He had almost tried to pass responsibility onto Sen again today, but could not bring himself to. He would not repeat the same cycle today. He needed to take responsibility for himself and the people he loved.

"I'm not here to apologize for Sen, or for myself," Ariak said. Tlun had said nothing so far. "We've made mistakes, and you have every right to be upset with us. But you have to realize that you play a part in this too."

Now Tlun finally reacted, turning his head to look at his brother.

"I have only acted the way I've acted because I was uncertain," Ariak said. "You've changed things, Tlun. Before all this started, I thought Tinaaki could do no wrong, and well, that women were women and men were men. You have to understand this is confusing for me too!"

Tlun averted his eyes, perhaps out of guilt. Ariak decided to keep talking. He wasn't quite sure what he was saying, but he knew he had to say something.

"I can't know what you are, why you are that way, or what you feel, unless you tell me. You can't just run away from people because we don't understand you. You have to help us understand."

Ariak adjusted his hood to ward off the frost, and to distract himself. He knew he had no right to lecture Tlun on taking the initiative, but it was a lesson he needed to learn, just as Ariak had recently learned it. Tlun shook his head.

"I don't know how," Tlun mumbled. "I don't know how I feel. Some days I feel alright, and other days I feel like I'm missing pieces of myself, and it hurts, and I don't know why."

"I don't know either," Ariak admitted. "Maybe you're unique, or maybe you're a fool. I don't know that I will or even can understand you. But I am your brother, Tlun, and I will love you even if I don't understand you."

It was a slow, subtle motion, enough that Ariak didn't even realize it was happening at first, but Tlun gradually leaned on his brother's shoulder and rested his head. Ariak reached up and put an arm around Tlun's shoulder. He waited for a moment.

"There are a lot of things about you I don't understand, after all," Ariak said. "Like how you became a doctor."

"Why is that so hard to believe," Tlun asked, glad to have some small distraction for the moment.

"Well, it's just," Ariak said. He hesitated slightly. He was about to take a risk. "How can you be a doctor, when you have no patience?"

Ariak froze like the winter air around them. Tlun didn't react either. Ariak bit his lip.

Then Tlun started to laugh, and Ariak finally felt like things were going to be alright.


	63. Book 4 Ch12: Cold Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen teams up with an eccentric detective to track down a criminal mastermind of the North, and solve one of the detectives longest running cases.

"This was your idea," Whistler grumbled.

"Yes, it was, and we were all having a great time until something that was entirely not my fault happened," Ariak shot back.

Sen and all his friends were sitting in the atrium of the North Pole's finest museum. It had been Ariak's idea for them all to take an afternoon off to try and relax. He had realized recently that he had been acting more like a soldier than a friend to Sen and his team. He wanted the chance to bond with them as equals.

It had been a good idea, but the plan had gone a bit south; the priceless Stone of the Moon, the centerpiece of Princess Yue's betrothal necklace, had been stolen the very same day. The entire museum was now on lockdown, and Sen and his friends were trapped inside. The investigating Shorewatchers had already cleared them of suspicion, but they were still barred from exit. Nobody would leave the museum until the stone had been recovered.

"They could at least get us food," Suda moaned. They'd been planning to stop for lunch after the museum visit, but now it was nearly dinner time.

"Or at least let us look at the exhibits," Ada said. They were all sitting around in the atrium doing nothing. Ada had never been that enthusiastic about going to the museum, but even looking at old paintings was better than doing nothing.

"Now we're going to need a day off from our day off," Ariak said. This had been meant to be relaxing.

"Next time we're just doing movie night," Whistler said.

"Oh yes, because nothing bad has ever happened to us at Yakkul's," Ariak shot back, casually referencing his own kidnapping. Whistler shrugged.

"Well we need to do something," Sen said. "What about penguin sledding? You guys liked the sound of that before we decided on the museum."

"We'd have to go a long way to do that," Suda said. "Might not be worth the trouble."

"We can spare the time," Sen assured them. "Really. If you guys want to do anything, I'd be all for it."

From a far wall of the atrium, one of the museum's phones rang. An employee answered it, and then looked around the room, confused. The confused employee's eyes eventually locked on Sen and he proceeded towards the Avatar.

"Phone call for you, sir," The museum attendant said.

"For me?"

He had no idea who would be calling, especially here. Everyone who knew he was at the museum was with him now.

"You are Sen, yes?"

"Yes I am," Sen said hesitantly. This was getting more and more curious. Ada had left her swords at home, for obvious reasons, but her hands still flitted to her waist. This was not a situation to be taken lightly.

"Then yes, it's for you," The employee said. He led Sen back to the phone, and Sen hesitantly raised it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sen, it's nice to speak to you," an unfamiliar voice said. "In the interests of starting this conversation out on the right foot, could you please ask your friend Ariak about Detective Zas."

"Zas?"

"My parents had odd choice in names," The mystery voice, apparently Zas, said. "Go ask. And do it quietly. People will be listening."

Putting the phone down on the countertop, Sen awkwardly walked back to his waiting friends and turned to Ariak.

"Have you ever heard of someone named Zas?"

"Of course I have," Ariak said. "He's the best detective in the world. The Shorewatchers work with him all the time."

Sen nodded and returned to the phone. Ariak had one last comment to make.

"Ask him what he was doing when I was kidnapped," Ariak demanded.

Picking up the phone again, Sen prepared himself for whatever Zas had to say.

"Alright, Ariak says he knows you," Sen said. "Now what?"

"Well, I just wanted to clarify that we were on the same side before I said this: It is a true pleasure to speak with you, Avatar Sen."

"How did you-"

"Detective," Zas said matter-of-factly. "I figure things out. Much like you do. I've spoken to Kyros. He spoke very highly of your crime solving ability when it came to rescuing your friend. You're a very impressive mind."

"Do you need my help with something?"

"Absolutely not and absolutely yes," Zas said. "If you're wondering about the Stone of the Moon, I already know where it is. What I need is for you to take credit for finding it."

Sen stared blankly forward for a moment.

"I don't get it," He said quietly.

"Answers come later," Zas said. "For now, all you need to know is where the Stone is."

For the next few minutes Sen sat with his ear to the phone, nodding and saying "uh-huh" repeatedly. On one occasion he had to write down a note. After several minutes of those proceedings, Sen finally returned to his waiting friends.

"What was that about?"

"I have absolutely no clue," Sen said. "Ariak, do you know any of the Shorewatchers here?"

"Yes, a few," Ariak said.

"Could I talk to one of them?"

Ariak didn't bother questioning. He'd worked with Zas before. The detective did not exactly adhere to conventional methods. All that mattered was that he got results. Ariak led the way to one of his acquaintances in the Shorewatchers. Sen introduced himself politely, and then pointed towards one of the museum employees, a young man with a black beard.

"He did it," Sen said.

Two Shorewatchers closed in on the bearded employee, but they did not grab him quite yet. The young man was visibly nervous now, however.

"Do you have proof to back that claim up?"

"The Stone of the Moon is hidden in his coat, sewn into a secret compartment just below his left pocket. His whole outfit is padded to disguise it, so you'll have to cut it open, not just pat him down."

One of the Shorewatchers immediately grabbed a hunting knife from his belt and sliced open the coat the employee wore, tearing open a hole in his garment. Sure enough, the Stone of the Moon slipped free from its hiding place, nearly falling to the floor before a desperate Shorewatcher dove to grab it. The thief was immediately taken into custody, and a less criminally-inclined museum employee quickly ferried the Stone back to a secure vault.

"How did you know?" The Shorewatchers interrogated and searched the employees a hundred times over, and missed the thief every time. Sen shrugged.

"His mistake was trying to wear a fake uniform," Sen said, repeating what Zas had told him to say. "Not only was his coat thicker, it was stitched using a lap seam instead of the superimposed seam the rest of the employees wore. Once I realized that, it was easy to watch his behavior and notice that he had a nervous tick of readjusting his lapel, always grabbing it from the left side."

"Very clever," The Shorewatcher said, clearly impressed but also somewhat disturbed by Sen's attention to detail. "You'd make a good detective."

"So I've been told," Sen sighed.

With the mystery solved, the lockdown was ended, and they were all allowed to return home. As they walked back to Yakkul's, Ariak was the first to ask the question on all their minds.

"What was that about?"

"I have no clue," Sen said. "The Detective solved the whole thing, he just didn't want to take credit for it. He said 'answers come later'."

"Well I hope they come soon," Ada said. "I'm going to be up all night wondering how he solved that without even being in the room."

"Agh, I didn't even think about that," Whistler groaned. "Now I'm going to be wondering too!"

Sen put a hand on his forehead. This was going to get worse before it got better.

As they approached Yakkul's home, Sen was surprised to see a very large, furry body wandering around the courtyard. Gun almost never came above ground in this cold climate. As they got even closer, however, it became apparent that Gun had been drawn out by the sound of music. Somebody was quite frantically playing a saxophone.

Sen quickly went to investigate his animal guide's new musician friend. A middle-aged man in a long tweed coat was playing the saxophone, and the redness in his face said he had been at it quite a while. Sen commanded Gun to go back below ground, and the badgermole reluctantly agreed. With Gun out of sight, the man in the coat finally stopped playing and took a breath.

"Thank you," he gasped. He put his brass instrument down on the ground and leaned against a wall. "I had to play to get him to let me in, and then he growled at me whenever I tried to stop."

"He's never attacked anyone visiting Yakkul's before," Sen said awkwardly.

"Oh no, I didn't walk in," The saxophone player said. "I used the music to get him to tunnel me in. I can't just walk around town, you know. I have people watching me. They must not see us talking together."

"Zas?" Now that the detective had caught his breath, Sen recognized the voice he'd heard on the phone. He was a short man, and clearly getting up there in years, but he was also very fit. It was not obvious to the eye, but Zas was hiding an impressive physique beneath his grey coat.

"Detective Zas," Zas replied. "I didn't prevent the kidnapping of Princess Mika to be called just Zas."

"Detective Zas," Sen said, correcting himself. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to give you your answers," Detective Zas said. "I am, after all, about to ask you for your help again, and it would be quite rude of me to not explain myself first. Please, join me inside."

Sen followed the detective through the door to Yakkul's home and sat down in the common area. They were quickly joined by Sen's curious friends.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering why all the secrecy," Zas said. Sen nodded, and Zas nodded in kind. "Allow me to explain."

Zas gestured to Ariak to start off, surprising him slightly.

"The rise of the Shorewatchers may have driven out a large portion of the criminals in the North, but that sudden void created a great deal of opportunity for criminals smart enough to avoid the Shorewatchers attention," Zas said. "There is a criminal mastermind working in the shadows, an abominable man, and my person rival."

Zas stood up and glared intensely out the window, towards the city.

"His true name is a closely guarded secret, but his close followers all call him-" Zas paused dramatically. "-Doctor Crime."

Sen blinked twice.

"Doctor Crime?"

"I know, no one else takes it seriously either," Zas said with a sigh. "A deliberate effort on his part! A foolish name disguises his sinister nature!"

Zas wiggled his finger intensely while he spoke. Sen raised an eyebrow.

"Doctor Crime's influence is to be found in nearly every crime that occurs in the North," Zas explained. "I have no doubt that he was involved in the theft of the Stone of the Moon, just as he stole the Empyrean Ruby last month!"

The Empyrean Ruby was a massive gem that had been unearthed during Kuvira's strip-mining of the eastern Earth Empire. Although it had originally been meant to be a monument to her imperial power, the Empyrean Ruby had been reduced to a museum piece after the sudden fall of Kuvira. Until it had been stolen, at least. Zas was still on the Ruby's trail.

"Alright, so we have a criminal mastermind," Sen said. "Why am I involved? If he's your rival, why not thwart him yourself?"

"I'm quite interested in pursuing Doctor Crime, but I'm afraid the good Doctor doesn't reciprocate my interest," Zas said. "We had our conflicts in the past, I've even met him face to face, but now he's avoiding me. He watches my steps, makes sure to always be just a little bit ahead of me."

Zas looked to Sen and nodded firmly.

"But you, Sen, you're new, you're an unknown factor, a challenge," Zas explained. "Doctor Crime may have lost interest in squaring off with me, but if you thwart enough of his sinister schemes, he'll come looking for you."

"Now I get it," Sen said, a smile crossing his face. "I lure him out so you can pick up his trail."

"Precisely," Zas said emphatically. "He and I have unfinished business, and you're going to see it finished."

"Well, the only question now is when do we start?"

"I have no idea," Zas said. Despite that, he still had a smile on his face. Sen gave him a look.

"What? It's not as if I can just make complex crimes happen on a whim," Zas said. "We'll have to wait for him to make a move."

Zas sat back down and placed his palms together. Sen looked around. He supposed it made sense. What were the odds of two high-profile heists happening on the same day?

"So…movie night?"

"Ooh yes, I'm quite fond of horror films myself," Zas said excitedly.

"We've got romance, action, and a bunch of documentaries," Whistler said. Zas sighed.

***

Though it didn't happen quickly, there was eventually a case that warranted "Detective" Sen's attention. Zas was quick to consult him on how to act, and how to dress.

"If you want to attract Doctor Crime's attention, you must be poised, dignified, and above all, snobbish," Zas advised. "You have to act like you're the smartest person in the room. If you challenge his ego, he'll come running."

"I already am the smartest person in the room," Sen said, buttoning his cuff links. He had to look the part of the gentleman detective as well. He and Zas had strategized the perfect wardrobe: black trousers with thoroughly-shined shoes, and a red long-coat over a collared white shirt. It was the first time in his life Sen had worn fine clothing. He liked the feeling, especially the long coat. It suited him well.

"That's the spirit," Zas said. The detective walked around and straightened Sen's collar. "Go out there and knock 'em dead. Literally, if you like. A homicide case would get you all kinds of attention."

And with that, Sen was off to the scene of the crime. The Shorewatchers were expecting him, after all. Zas had called in a few of his favors to get Sen access to the site of the investigation. Sen was escorted past the barricade that surrounded the bank vault and led inside, where the situation was explained to him.

"The contents of seventeen safety deposit boxes vanished overnight," The Shorewatcher explained. "All of them containing gemstones, no currency or personal effects."

"So whoever did this knew exactly what was in which case," Sen said.

"Precisely. We've held everyone with access to the records for interrogation."

"Good man. I'll get to them in a moment," Sen said. "I'll be examining the vault."

Sen stepped into the steel-lined vault. There were no signs of forced entry, or any sign of somebody having rummaged through the lockboxes. That confirmed his theory that whoever had done this knew exactly what they were looking for.

There had been no record of anyone leaving or entering the bank between the times that the gems had been last seen and the time they'd been reported missing, so this was not a conventional theft. They'd either been removed from the vault through strange measures, or they were hidden somewhere inside it. Sen poked around for a bit to give them impression that he was doing a thorough analysis, but really, his method of searching would be rather simple.

He rapped his knuckles against the metal, sending shockwaves through the steel. Though Sen could not metalbend, he could still sense vibrations through the metal. The contents of every safety deposit box was revealed to him; mostly cash, jewelry, and occasional personal effects. Behind the seventeen empty deposit boxes, however, he could feel piles of gems. The stolen gemstones had never been removed from the vault at all, merely hidden away within the walls of the vault itself.

Sen strutted out of the vault and called one of the Shorewathers who had been watching him.

"Find me the contractor who built this vault, and take me to the employees you've detained."

The spear-wielding agent immediately complied, running off to find the records of who had built the vault. Sen was taken to a locked and heavily guarded room where fifteen people were being watched carefully by Shorewatchers.

Sen carefully circled the bank employees, watching every one of them carefully. It was a pointless exercise; he already knew very well who'd done it. His chi-reading told him very quickly that only one person in this room was a metalbender. After doing a few cursory examinations of the room just for show, Sen stopped in front of the metalbender.

"What's your name?"

"Kudu," The employee stammered quickly. He was not handling pressure well.

"Mm-hmm," Sen hummed. "Could I have Kudu's records, please?"

The Shorewatchers had been keeping all the employees personnel files close on hand, and Kudu's was quickly handed over. Sen flipped to the third page, where he found Kudu's bending status.

"It says here you're a non-bender, Kudu," Sen said. "Now, why would a talented metalbender like yourself hide your gifts?"

Kudu was clearly not a professional criminal, because he buckled almost immediately under pressure.

"I didn't want to! They threatened me, told me I had to-"

Sen leaned against a desk as Shorewatchers took Kudu for further questioning. Sen doubted they would get much out of him. If the so-called Doctor Crime really was behind this, he wouldn't have left an obvious trail. Sen turned to the Shorewatcher in charge of the investigation.

"The real culprit here is the contractor," Sen said. "Bank vaults are supposed to be impervious to metalbending. Nobody would make a mistake like that on accident."

"Are you implying some kind of conspiracy?"

"I'm not implying it at all, I'm explicitly stating it," Sen said. The Shorewatcher assistant arrived with documentation on the vault's contractor. Sen cracked open the folder and examined its contents.

"I believe I should have a discussion with Chick-Sparrow Architectural," He said, snapping the folder closed.

***

Sen went in the company of Shorewatchers this time. They already had a strong case against Chick-Sparrow Architecture; investigation into the company had linked their vaults to several other mysterious heists over the past three decades. Always spaced far enough apart to avoid suspicion, of course, but it was a definite pattern, even if it was difficult to notice.

That alone was not enough for a conviction, however. They needed hard evidence, and it was up to Sen to find it. The CEO of the company had taken up the defense of his business personally, and he was being surprisingly forthcoming.

"We assure you, the accusations are completely baseless," The CEO said, lying through his teeth. The CEO was an accomplished liar; even a truth-seer might have a hard time seeing past his steady heartbeat. There was no fooling a chi-reader though; a soul could not lie. Sen could sense a sharp coldness in the CEO's Sound chakra.

"We'll cooperate fully with your investigation, of course," The CEO said. "Though we do of course have the caveat that you don't go to the media. False accusations could hurt our business, you know."

"I'm going to need your financial records for the past thirty years, and a few blank sheets of paper," Sen said. He paused for a moment. "And a good pen."

The CEO stared blankly at Sen for a moment before removing a gold lined pen from his pocket and handing it over to Sen.

"Thank you."

There was a brief moment before the financial records were retrieved, along with a blank notebook for Sen to write in. Sen cracked open both books and nearly set his pen to paper before hesitating slightly.

"Oh, and you may as well have the head of your accounting department come along."

The CEO made the call while Sen got to work. He flipped through thirty years of financial paperwork with one hand, and with the other, he scrawled an infinitely complex mathematical equation, unraveling the entirety of Chick-Sparrow Architecture's business history.

The Head of Accounting walked through the door of the office, took one look at Sen's handiwork, and began to sweat visibly. The CEO of the company turned as stiff as a board.

Sen filled the first page of the notebook with a solid wall of mathematics and then flipped to the next, continuing right where he'd left off. The only sound in the room was Sen's pen scratching against paper at astounding speed. The Accountant, in between thoughts of his own doom, was impressed by Sen's speed.

Slamming the financial book closed, Sen scrawled the last few marks on his notebook and wrote the most dramatic few numbers in recent history. After finishing up his decisive pen scrawlings, Sen leaned back in his chair and adjusted his glasses.

"Your numbers don't add up," Sen said, tapping his pen against paper idly. "Very cleverly hidden, mind you, but there's roughly eighty-thousand yuan missing each year."

The Accountant's face was covered in a thick layer of sweat now, and his glasses shook slightly on his face to betray his slight tremble. The CEO was shooting the Accountant a murderous glare, daring him to say something.

"That makes you at least guilty of fraud, quite possibly embezzlement," Sen said. He spun the pen in his fingers. "And most importantly, it gives us a good reason to examine your business dealings very, very closely. To see the things you don't want to show us."

Sen closed his notebook and handed it over to a Shorewatcher. It would be needed as evidence later anyway. Anyone could replicate his math and come to the same conclusion. And Alrok said all those math lessons were pointless.

"Now," Sen said. "Both of you are going to lose your jobs and face criminal charges already. The only question is how hard you make it on yourself."

"It was his idea," The accountant shouted, slamming his palms down on the desk. "He said we could cook the books and split the difference sixty-forty."

"You ingrate, I'm going to-" The CEO's attempted threats were interrupted by a Shorewatcher taking hold of him by the arm. The CEO's vitriol was then redirected to the Shorewatcher. "Don't you dare touch me, you pig."

The CEO tried to pull his arm away, which, in a Shorewatchers books, counted as resisting arrest. The Shorewatcher took hold of the CEO by the neck and slammed him face down into the desk. Disoriented and wounded, the CEO looked up to see a gold lined pen being waved in his face.

"Would you like your pen back?"

Sen had rarely seen a glare more hateful than the one the CEO shot him at that moment. As the Accountant and the CEO were both dragged away, Sen tucked the pen into his coat pocket. It was a nice pen, after all.

***

Zas had said he would avoid meeting Sen except under extreme circumstances, but there were apparently extreme circumstances afoot, because Zas had once again saxophone his way into Yakkul's home. Gun was waiting patiently while Zas serenaded him with brass music. Sen sent the badgermole off and conferred with his detective mentor.

"Detective Zas, good to see you."

"Detective Sen, good to see you as well," Zas said. He sounded very proud. "You've been exceeding expectation. Finding out Chick-Sparrow Architecture was a massive step forward."

"Well I am cheating a bit," Sen said. "Most people don't have a seismic sense or chi-reading to back them up, much less both."

"There is no cheating in the game of shadows," Zas advised. "Doctor Crime is ruthless, and we should use every tool at our disposal to fight him."

Zas crossed his arms and stared intensely forward. The thought of being back on the trail of his nemesis filled him with determination. He returned his attention to Sen quickly.

"Losing a major business like that will surely attract the Doctor's attention," Zas said. "Now you need to make it personal. You need to go after something he cares about."

"I wouldn't know where to start," Sen said. "Though I get the feeling you do."

"Oh, exactly," Zas said. "I've been following the Doctor for a very long time. He and I have unfinished business."

"It's interesting, having a nemesis, isn't it?"

Sen saw a lot of himself in Zas. Just like Sen and Sarin were always fighting, so were Zas and the Doctor. Everyone had their own battles to fight, but few people had enduring enemies that would pursue them across years.

"Interesting, yes, but I don't like it," Zas said. "I don't face off with Doctor Crime because I enjoy it, I fight him because I intend to win. I should hope the same principle applies to you and that Sarin fellow."

"I agree," Sen said. "And I'm getting there, I assure you. But we should finish up with the Doctor first."

"Oh, of course," Zas agreed. "I know exactly what we need to do."

"I have no doubt," Sen said with a smile.

***

Doctor Crime was an exceptional man; brilliant, ruthless, ingenious, and wily beyond all measure. He had established a massive criminal empire right under the nose of one of the most efficient law enforcement systems in history, and he'd even beat out the world's greatest detective on more than one occasion. Despite his impressive history, there was one thing the doctor could never win: card games

Sen strolled across the floor of the casino dressed in all his finest. According to Zas this casino was one of the Doctor's holdings, and quite an important one at that. He kept a very careful eye on everything that happened on the casino floor.

Picking out one of Zas' recommended card games, Sen sat down at a table and had himself dealt a hand. Doctor Crime considered card games to be a gentleman's pastime, and thus it chafed him that he was absolutely untalented at them. Anyone who was skilled at cards was an automatic enemy of the Doctor.

Sen had been barely briefed on the rules of this particular card game, but extraneous details like that were hardly important. The real trick to any card game is bluffing, and Sen could not be bluffed. He purposefully played a few losing rounds so as not to appear to be cheating, but he made sure to keep himself on a heavy winning streak.

Sen swapped games a few times, making sure to acquaint himself with the rules of each game as he went. He made sure to play up his ignorant appearance; making Doctor Crime believe he was an amateur would only enrage the crime lord even further. A blatant attack on his ego could not go so easily unanswered.

Sen found himself headed for a table with only two open seats. He made a beeline for the seat on the right and sat down, joining the game in progress. He soon found himself with company on his left.

"You've made quite a showing of yourself," The new arrival said. Sen glanced casually at his conversation partner, careful not to look too long. He was a very gaunt man, with exceptionally dark skin and high cheekbones. Two very cold grey eyes peered out at his playing cards from beneath narrow eyebrows. There was no doubt about who it could be.

"I must have, to impress you so much, Doctor," Sen said.

Sen felt a subtle shift in the man sitting next to him. Not quite happiness, but something close to it. Excitement, perhaps, to have a rival again.

The round of cards ended, with Sen the clear victor and Doctor Crime the opposite. His indignation was obvious, but he remained dealt in for another round.

"It's been a while since I've played a decent game," Doctor Crime said. He nodded to the dealer, and with a word, the other players were removed from the table, leaving Sen and the Doctor alone. Sen unbuttoned the cuff link on his left sleeve.

"You've been playing for quite a while," Sen said. "You've just been ignoring your partner."

Signaled by Sen's unbuttoned cuff link, Detective Zas stripped off his disguise and sat down on the opposite side of Doctor Crime. The Doctor seemed pleasantly surprised to see his old nemesis back again.

"Detective," He said with a smile on his face. "You old dog. I should have seen your style at work."

"Oh, don't feel so down, the boy was mostly working on his own," Zas said. "He's quite clever, you know."

Sen nodded slightly to the Doctor. Doctor Crime kept his eyes on Zas, however.

"Even so, I've underestimated you," He said. "I thought you'd run out of tricks, but here we are. Clearly we gave up on our little game too early."

"You gave up, Doctor, but I never did," Zas said, losing his amicable façade. He was not in the mood for games. "You know something I need to know."

"We both know how this ends, Zas," Doctor Crime chuckled.

"Not quite. My companion is more than bait, Doctor," Zas said. "You may be a calm enough liar to fool truth-seers, but the boy possesses some very unique talents. You can't lie to him."

Sen nodded. Doctor Crime seemed unimpressed. Even though the card game had come to a grinding halt, he still examined his hand.

"This is my casino, Zas, do you really believe you can interrogate me in my own establishment?"

"You respect the game, Doctor," Zas said. "I have the upper hand. You owe me a few questions."

The frantic energy of the casino burned on around them, surrounding them in light and activity. Sen noticed a few suspicious movements in the crowd, but they all came to a halt when Doctor Crime raised his hand.

"Very well," He said. "You have two questions before my men intervene."

Zas wasted no time debating him to get more questions. Two was more than he needed.

"What is your real name?"

"Arvo White," He replied.

"He's lying," Sen said. Doctor Crime gave him a concerned look, but quickly looked back to Zas.

"I have enough pseudonyms to last all night, you know," He said.

"I don't care what your real name is," Zas said. "I just wanted to show you that you can't lie to me now."

"But now you are down to one question," The Doctor said mockingly.

"It's all I need."

Sen could sense a sudden intensity in Zas' heart. The Detective leaned forward and looked his nemesis closely in the eye.

"Seven years ago, the beginning of winter. Snow that should have been white was red. A young woman, Erja, face down in an alleyway. Who did it?"

Doctor Crime raised a narrow eyebrow. Sen felt much the same way. He'd been expecting something about the Empyrean Ruby, or some important facet of the Doctor's criminal empire.

"All this trouble for a cold case, Detective?"

"Answer the question," Zas said intensely.

"What makes you think I even know," Doctor Crime asked, feigning ignorance. Sen could tell that he knew. "Why would I have any interest in such a petty crime?"

"We both know that nobody so much as jaywalks in this city without you knowing," Zas said. "Answer the question."

Doctor Crime examined the playing cards in his hand once more, before slowly setting them down onto the table, face up.

"The man you're looking for is Eschal Bron."

Zas looked around Doctor Crime to Sen. Sen nodded in affirmation. The Doctor was telling the truth. Zas sighed loudly.

The Doctor waved his hand, and several large, imposing figures began to move towards Sen and Zas. Doctor Crime stood up, straightened his coat, and turned his back on the table.

"It was an enjoyable game, Detectives," He said. "I look forward to the next round."

Doctor Crime suddenly vanished in a crowd of bouncers and bodyguards that set upon Sen and Zas. Sen was quick to roll backwards across the table, giving himself room to attack. Zas was more pragmatic than acrobatic, so he simply grabbed his chair and swung it heavily into the gut of the nearest thug. The chair legs broke, and Zas swung the broken chair at the head of the next closest thug.

Sen kept ahead of his pursuers, leading them on a chase away from the game area. He couldn't do anything with wood and chairs. The North Pole was still under the impression that Sen was an ordinary waterbender, and there was little water to be had in the middle of a building. Luckily, Doctor Crime's casino kept a well-stocked bar.

Rolling over the bar top, and frightening the bartender, Sen found himself just what he was looking for: an ice bin. Ice cubes meant to be served among refreshments soon found themselves repurposed as ammunition for Sen's self-defense. The ice bucket was rapidly emptied as Sen unleashed a hailstorm on Doctor Crime's thugs.

"Excellent use of resources, Sen," Zas shouted. He was currently engaged in fisticuffs with an especially muscular brute. Zas had none of Sen's bending ability, but he had been through this routine before. The detective got into bar brawls as easily as most people got into bed. The trick was to remain calm, watch your back, and above all, fight dirty. Zas jammed his thumbs into the brutes eyes and then slammed his knee into the brutes chin.

"I'd appreciate it," Sen shouted, dodging a hastily thrown chair. "If we could take this outside."

"Oh we've already ruined the casino's evening," Zas shouted back. He bent suddenly at the waist, causing a punch aimed at his head to fly too far and hit another thug in the face. "We might as well keep it here."

"Yes, but I really prefer-" Sen dodged a punch and slammed in ice block down on the attackers head. "I prefer-" A hammer slammed down on the ground just to Sen's left. They had hammers now. "I prefer-" Sen took the hammer and hit a few people with it before tossing it aside. "I prefer having a little more room!"

"Not a problem," Zas said. "I think your backup just got here."

Sen's friends fought their way through the crowd of people fleeing the casino, and then fought their way through the Doctor's thugs. They had been waiting for the panic to start before springing into action, but now they wasted very little time. Ada, Whistler, Suda, and Ariak joined the fray, turning Zas' and Sen's battle against the casino security into a quite one-sided beat down.

This building lacked any usable metal or earth, but Suda's muscles alone were more than a match for the Doctor's hired thugs. He grabbed one of thugs by the waist and hefted him off the ground, leaning backwards to slam the brute face down into the floor.

Although the impact wasn't quite enough to put the thug down permanently, he was disabled entirely when a large amount of ice froze around his head, locking him to the ground. Still lacking his spear, Ariak had armed himself for the brawl with some old Shorewatcher tools, specifically fragile containers holding small amounts of water that could be thrown. They were effective, even if they were little more than glorified water balloons.

"You wanted us to do something together," Suda joked. He caught the fist of one of the Doctor's thugs and punched his opponent across the jaw, knocking him out.

"This is much better than any idea I had, I will admit," Ariak said. He chucked another of his combat water balloons at the feet of a brute, freezing him to the ground as the ice bubble burst. Their brief dialogue over, the two went back to the brawl. Ada was making short work of all her opponents, and soon there wouldn't be anyone left to fight.

With Whistler shattering the last of the chairs in the building –not even hitting anyone with it, just breaking it for no particular reason – the chaos in the casino came to a close. Ada put her swords away, quite satisfied for the first time in months.

"Now that beats movie night," She said, smiling broadly. One of the unconscious thugs groaned slightly, and she kicked him in the head. They were quiet after that.

"Quite so," Zas said. "I really should work with a team more often. That could have taken an hour on my own."

"It works pretty well," Sen said. He looked over his team. As good as they were, it would be even better to have Miyani and Hanjo back. That was something to look forward to.

Zas looked over the ruined casino. This would certainly put a dent in Doctor Crime's operation, and leave a very clear trail for Zas to follow. He was back on the hunt. Yet one of the things he'd been hunting for had finally been found. Zas turned to Sen.

"Let's have a detective to detective chat," Zas said, leading Sen away. Whistler watched them walk off, out of the casino.

"So we, what, clean up?"

She never got an answer. Zas and Sen stepped outside, trading the chaos for the cold air. It was almost a peaceful night, if you ignored what had just happened in the casino. Zas took a deep breath and looked down the alley.

"Thank you for all your help, Sen," Zas said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"It was my pleasure," Sen said. He leaned against the alleyway wall. "I think if I wasn't the Avatar, being a detective might suit me."

"It would," Zas said. He looked over his temporary protégé. "You certainly look good in the long coat. Though I think you might try brown instead of red."

Sen looked over his coat. Brown did seem like it was more his color. He resolved to give it a shot when he could. He might as well look good while he was saving the world. With that examination done, there was a moment of silence in the cold. There was a curiosity burning inside Sen, though.

"Who was Erja?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Zas sighed.

"Was she someone you cared about? A friend, or family?"

"I never met her," Zas admitted. "Not while she was alive, at least."

Sen paused. Zas shook his head slowly. He had spent seven years chasing dead end leads and false hopes. It felt supremely satisfying to finally have the case closed.

"You went to all that trouble for someone you never met?"

"Yes," Zas said. "She wasn't my friend, but she was someone's friend. She was not my family, but she was someone's family. She was…someone, and she deserved justice."

Zas let out a deep sigh, releasing a cloud of steam into the cold air. He turned to Sen.

"No one can blame you for looking at the big picture. You're the Avatar, after all. But every now and then, Sen, remember that every one of us is a life. Everyone you see has a story, has a dream. No one is no one."

Zas put a firm hand on Sen's shoulder. Sen nodded slightly. Zas had a wide smile on his face.

"You're an astounding young man, Sen," Zas said.

"And you are an astounding old man, Zas," Sen said right back. Zas laughed loudly. "Try not to get too caught up in crime solving. Maybe next time you can help me face my nemesis."

"Oh, I'll be more help than even you know," Zas said, with a sly smile on his face. "We'll meet again."

Zas' coat twirled slightly as he turned and walked away, down the alleyway. Doctor Crime was still out there, after all. There was still a game to be played. Sen's friendly smile drifted away as the Detective vanished down the alleyway.

He had a nemesis of his own to attend to, a conflict he'd been avoiding for far too long. Maybe it was time for him to get to work.


	64. Book 4 Ch13: The Witches of Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the end draws ever closer, Sen's curiosity about his enemy brings him to the frozen city of Coldharbor, where he strikes an arcane bargain with the mysterious and powerful Witches of Winter.

A pile of history books he'd read was stacked high on Sen's right, and a much higher stack of unread books was on his left. Sen's usual appetite for knowledge was wide and varied, but he had focused his research quite a bit in the past few weeks. He was reading almost exclusively about past Avatars now. He had access to all of Korra's memories, so he read very little about her, preferring to focus on those who came before Aang.

"Sen, it's time for training," Ariak said. Sen's waterbending was already fantastic, but there was always time to reinforce it. He needed to put the books down for a moment anyway. Sen finished scanning a page and reluctantly put his book down. The history of Avatar Feng would have to wait until later.

In the courtyard, Sen and Ariak went to work, going through the routine of waterbending once again. Ariak paid close attention to Sen's movements, and noticed a certain sluggishness. Sen was not focused on his training. In the middle of their routine, Ariak came to a grinding halt.

"That obvious, huh?"

"What's on your mind, Sen?"

Sen put his hands on his waist. That was not an easy question to answer. He was getting closer and closer to having mastered all four elements, and yet he still didn't feel fully prepared to take on the Energybender. Sarin was still an enigma. Sen knew next to nothing about Energybending, or about Sarin's spirit companions, Ta Jide Shui and the Hssk.

"I need to know more," Sen said, explaining his dilemma to Ariak.

"Have you talked to Korra?"

"Of course," Sen said. She had explained everything she knew about Energybending, but the powers that Aang had inherited from the Lion Turtle barely scratched the surface of Energybending's true potential. Sen paced back and forth in the snow for a moment.

"I've been thinking about going back to Wan Shi Tong's," Sen said. "Maybe if I reread his scrolls, I can figure something out."

"You've already read everything he has on Energybending, haven't you?"

"Well, yes," Sen said. The great library's selection was a bit sparse on that topic. "But I think I might have a new perspective on some of it, maybe I can read between the lines."

"Sen."

"I know, it's a stupid plan," Sen shouted. "But it's all I've got. There aren't many other sources of ancient forbidden knowledge, you know?"

Ariak bit his lip. Sen's eyes narrowed.

"Is there another source of ancient forbidden knowledge?"

Ariak hesitated slightly, kicking his heel through the snow.

"Potentially…"

"Tell me more," Sen demanded. Ariak sighed and nodded his head, before waving the Avatar inside. Sen followed along as Ariak led the way into Yakkul's home and began to search for something. It was more difficult to find than it should have been. Yakkul didn't go out often, so he had very little need for a map. Eventually, though, Ariak managed to get his hands on a well-worn map of the North Pole. He unfurled it and pointed out an inlet of water on the continents western coast.

"What's there?"

"Coldharbor," Ariak said. He laid the map out flat. Many of the settlements in the north were mapped out, but there was no actual marker for Coldharbor. Ariak explained why.

"The Northern Water Tribe was all located in one city until a few decades ago," Ariak explained. "But it wasn't always that way. The North Pole had a sister city once, many centuries ago. The city of Coldharbor."

"What happened to it?"

"It froze," Ariak said. "Or so I've heard. The story is older than ancient, and many of the details have been lost, but what remains says that an unnatural cold consumed the entire city, freezing it solid. Those who survived the chill fled to the North Pole."

"So, the city froze," Sen said. "Do you think there might be some old records or stories hidden in the ruins?"

"Not quite," Ariak said. "The North sent people to explore Coldharbor years afterwards, to see if the refugees could return to their homes. The chill was still there, and still is to this day. As are the Witches of Winter."

Sen leaned forward and looked down at the unmarked map of Coldharbor.

"Witches?"

"Warmth, Wane, and Winter. Always three. They live in the frozen heart of Coldharbor. I don't know much else, but the legends say they have secrets. Things so well-hidden even Wan Shi Tong does not know of them."

Sen put a hand on his chin and considered the distance to Coldharbor. Ariak saw the look on his face and nodded slowly.

"I'll get the gear ready," He said with a sigh. They would need special equipment to reach the frozen city.

"You do that," Sen said. His curiosity had been piqued, and he would not allow anything to stand between himself and the Witches of Winter. Sen stepped out into the courtyard for a moment to find Ada. With Whistler asleep and Suda at the hospital, she was the easiest to talk to. She was preoccupied dueling two of Yakkul's students at once, but she still found time to barely pay attention to Sen.

"Me and Ariak are going to meet some Witches," Sen said. "You're in charge while I'm gone."

"Got it," Ada said, parrying two blows at once. "Have fun with the Witches."

Sen nodded. He got the impression Ada wasn't paying complete attention to him. She always got a bit spaced out when she was swinging her swords around.

There were a significant amount of supplies to be gathered before heading out into the frigid wastes that lead to Coldharbor, so Sen went back inside to help Ariak prepare. Ariak had a grim look on his face the entire time. It wasn't hard to guess why.

"Not fond of Witches, I take it?"

"I'm not worried they'll harm us, if that is what you insinuate," Ariak said. "The Witches of Winter don't give anything away for free. They bargain, Sen, and they do it very well. They will offer you exactly what you need, and you will pay the price."

"I'll be smart about it, Ariak," Sen said. "I won't give away anything we can't afford to lose."

Ariak placed the last piece of gear into his pack, and buckled the entire arrangement securely in place. He slid the pack onto his back, ready to go. He placed a pair of frost-proof goggles on his face and looked at Sen through the tinted lenses.

"The Witches are smarter than you," Ariak said. "Don't let your guard down."

***

The trek through the winter wastes had been, without a doubt, one of the most backbreaking labors of Sen's life. Blizzards, glaciers, and constant risk of avalanche had impeded their progress every step of the way. There were some places that common men were not meant to go, and Coldharbor was one such place. Luckily, there were no common men on this expedition. Sen and Ariak cut their way through the tundra to the frozen bay.

As tempestuous as the journey to the city had been, there was an eerie calmness surrounding the ancient city. The silence and stillness somehow seemed more foreboding than the raging tundra they had left behind. There was no wind or snow here. The only sound was the slight crunch of Ariak and Sen's footsteps against the frozen soil.

The unholy calm was only made more terrifying by their arrival to the frozen city itself. Coldharbor was frozen, in ice and time. Relics of the ancient civilization laid open in the air, undisturbed for generations. Household items and curios stood out in the open, laying exactly where they had when their owners had abandoned them hundreds of years ago. Sen saw a rack of hunting tools, and wondered for a moment if he could not simply grab one of the ancient spears off the shelf. He did not dare to reach out and grab anything, however. He felt there was some strange force holding everything in its place, and he did not wish to disturb that balance.

"Why is there no snow?" Sen said, breaking the silence for a moment. After centuries in the northern wastes, this city should be buried under mountains of snow and ice.

"Too cold," Ariak replied briefly. Sen believed it. There was no wind, which made the biting frost almost tolerable, but Sen could still feel a deep chill in the air, even through his many layers of coats and gloves.

The duo continued their trek through the city stopped in time. There were no maps of Coldharbors' ancient streets, so their wandering was aimless. They searched amidst hollow buildings and frozen streets for the lair of the Witches.

It was a surprisingly large city, for a settlement so ancient. It had none of the hallmarks of the North's elaborate architecture and thoughtful designs. It was a haphazard arrangement of crude buildings, a few hunting lodges and homes at first, and then more and more structures as the city was built up around that small trading post. This had been a true city once, vibrant and full of life. Now it was a mausoleum for an entire civilization.

"You'd think the only living things in a dead city would be easier to find," Sen said. The joke rang as hollow as the abandoned homes.

"Maybe they don't want to be found," Ariak said. Sen saw a hesitance to his every step. Ariak didn't want to be here, and he'd be glad to have an excuse to leave.

"We prefer to find you," A small voice said. Ariak nearly jumped out of his snowboots. He took a few frantic steps away and looked to where the voice had come from. Sen managed to hold his ground when faced with their new guest. She was not, after all, particularly intimidating.

The girl in front of them was no more than five feet tall, but Sen would never describe her as "small". There was an immensity to her that came from the inside, not her outer appearance. Her body was that of a girl barely in her teenage years, though the set of her eyes and the slight tilt of her head as she examined Sen showed clearly that she knew far more than Sen knew, or would ever know. Sen had never seen a Witch before, but he knew right away that this girl was one.

"I'm Warmth, youngest of the Witches of Winter," She said. "And you are the Avatar."

Warmth tucked her hands behind her back and kicked her feet slightly. She was wearing a very light gown, and she wore no shoes, apparently unaffected by the biting cold around her. Sen was not surprised.

"Grandmother says the Witches haven't seen an Avatar in over seven-thousand years," Warmth said, sounding astoundingly like a normal little girl. "Why are you here?"

"You already know that," Sen said. Warmth smiled.

"I don't, actually," She said cheerily. "Mother and Grandmother do, but they're very private. They say I'm not old enough to be a proper witch yet."

"You're enough of a witch to scare my friend here," Sen said, gesturing to Ariak. Warmth giggled at his joke. Ariak was still keeping his distance from the girl. "I'm here to see you and your family. I'd like to learn from you."

"Follow me," Warmth said, spinning around and leading the way through the frostbitten streets. Ariak found they were being led down unfamiliar streets. He found it hard to believe that he recognized nothing, after searching the city for so long.

"I don't think these streets were here before," Ariak said suspiciously.

"Yes they were," Warmth said flatly. "You're just not very observant."

Sen shrugged. He had a much better sense of where they were. Ariak clenched his jaw and followed the youngest Witch to her home.

Nestled in the midst of the dead and frozen Coldharbor, the home of the three Witches of Winter was an odd sight. Fire and warmth emanated from open windows and doors, releasing a pleasant glow into the frozen city. Sen felt an odd familiarity with this place. It was oddly quiet, and possessed a sort of isolated serenity. He had felt a similar calm before, but he could not recall where.

Warmth stepped lightly through the curtain that acted as the door to the home of the Witches. Sen looked over his shoulder at Ariak.

"I have no interest in making deals with Witches," Ariak said. He pointed to an open area further down the icy street. "I'll make camp over there. Come to me when you're ready to leave. And be quick about it."

"I'll do my best," Sen said. He shook Ariak's hand quickly and then followed Warmth through the curtain.

The Witches lair seemed much smaller on the inside, cluttered as it was by strange decorations. Strings of cloth and fabric hung about the walls, each one ornamented with a variety of dangling trinkets. Sen recognized a few items; betrothal necklaces, air nomad talismans, earth kingdom signet rings, among others. A simple grey mask stared at Sen from a hook along the walls. Sen found its empty eyes unsettling. It seemed oddly hostile for a blank mask.

Lined along the floor were weapons of various eras, ranging from prehistoric clubs to the shock-tools of the modern era. From the roof dangled the skeleton of a creature that Sen didn't recognize as belonging to any species living or extinct. He didn't let his eyes dwell on the mysterious bones for too long.

Sen realized that he had found his way to the center of a circle, with the Witches surrounding him on all sides. Sen straightened his back and looked them each over in turn. Warmth he had seen before, but Wane and Winter were new to him.

Wane, the middle Witch, was just beginning to show signs of her advanced age, with grey hairs and wrinkles creeping their way across her head. Her face was far more severe than that of her daughters; she seemed slightly offended by Sen's presence. Wane's clothing was more complex in its design than Warmth's; she wore numerous layers of fabric, and she wore a small amount of jewelry, including an emerald ring that caught Sen's eye.

Wane seemed to be the middle ground between Warmth's simple clothes and the absolute ostentatiousness of Winter. The eldest witch wore an elaborate pattern of fabric, with a heavy shawl draped over it all. She wore numerous rings on her hands, bracelets on her wrists, and her silver hair was braided tight with golden chains. The expression on her face was almost one of amusement and anticipation, as if she was looking forward to an entertaining evening.

"Welcome to Coldharbor, Avatar," Winter said. "It has been a long time since your kind has graced our fair frozen city."

"Strange to see when heroes willingly consort with we Witches," Wane said disdainfully. "The last Avatar to come here came as an enemy."

"An altercation to be left in the grave, along with all those who participated in it, daughter," Winter chastised. "We'll not turn away a guest because of the actions of ancestors neither of us ever knew. Besides, my granddaughter seems fond of him."

Warmth smiled on cue. Sen smiled back and nodded back at her. Wane examined her daughter, and her critical eye softened a bit.

"Then it is as it is," Wane said. "What brings you to Coldharbor, Avatar?"

"It's a long story," Sen said. "I don't know how much you know about current events-"

"We know about your conflict with the so-called Energybender," Winter said with a chuckle. "More so than you do, in fact. Is that why you come to us, then? Knowledge to destroy your enemies?"

"That is…exactly it, I suppose," Sen said. He wouldn't bother mincing words with witches. He was here to learn how to fight Sarin.

"Then you will have it," Winter said. "But first, a deal. He seeks secret knowledge, my daughters, but what do we seek from him?"

There were no words between the three Witches, but Sen felt a great degree of communication all the same. In unspoken ways the Witches conspired around him, deciding what price they would make Sen pay. The circle of Witches was briefly abuzz with arcane thought. Then, the silent conference came to a close, and Winter took a step forward.

"We need nothing from you, Avatar," Winter said. "But you do present a unique opportunity to us: you can make deals that last many lifetimes."

Sen put his hands across his chest. It only took him a moment to realize what Winter was speaking of.

"You want something from a future Avatar," Sen said. He paused slightly. He had rarely considered what would become of the Avatar after him. He was focused on his own problems, rarely thinking of what might befall his next incarnation. It was a strange thing to think about. It was even more discomforting to make deals on behalf of a person who hadn't even been born yet.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable putting that burden on someone else."

"Every action you take burdens future generations, often in unseen ways," Winter said. "I doubt Korra anticipated that returning bending to a certain metalbender would begin a chain of events that caused the annihilation of the White Lotus."

Sen grit his teeth. It was an unpleasant thought. Sarin's grandfather had been inspired to pursue Energybending because of Korra's actions, and that miniscule action, something Korra had probably never thought twice about, had caused so much death. It made Sen wonder what actions of his might contribute to future chaos.

"At least in this case the future Avatar will know what to expect," Wane advised. Sen nodded. There would be that, at least.

"Witches are concerned mostly with ourselves," Warmth assured him. "We won't ask your successor for anything that would harm another."

Sen grit his teeth. Warmth's reassurances did very little to ease his nerves. He knew very well that making this deal was a mistake.

"Deal."

Some mistakes had to be made. Sen needed the knowledge the Witches had to offer.

"Now, how to give you what you seek," Winter said, stroking her chin with bony fingers. "Normally we would pry the knowledge from the king of secrets, but he fears you greatly."

"The king of-"

Sen's eyes shot open wide.

"The Hssk?"

"Mm, is that his name," Winter said, sounding intrigued. Wane and Warmth looked at one another in surprise. "Yes, we have consorted with the Mind-Eater. It is how we acquire the secrets for which we are famous."

"So you can see him? You can remember him? How?"

Sen was only aware of the Hssk's existence because Vaatu allowed it, and that was not a power he could share. If there were some other way to remember the Hssk, some way he could share the knowledge with his allies, then it could completely shift the tide of his fight with Sarin.

"It is not something that can be shared," Wane said harshly. "Our insight is ours alone."

"You could as easily give your friends an extra eye as show them the king of secrets," Warmth said. Wane and Winter shot her a dirty look. Sen shook his head. His hopes had been raised and then dashed quite quickly.

"If we cannot go to the Mind-Eater, then how will we honor our end of the bargain?" Wane asked. They were as beholden to Sen now as he was to them. A Witches bargain could not be broken, not even by the Witches themselves.

"It is not as if we are brainless without the Mind-Eater," Winter boasted. "Wane, you shall tell him your story."

"I have many stories," Wane said.

"Your petulance begins to bore me," Winter said harshly. "You know of what I speak."

Wane pursed her lips and nodded stiffly. Winter stepped forward.

"From her you will gain knowledge," Winter said. "We shall discuss my offering afterwards."

"What will I have to give him, grandmother?" Warmth said cheerily. She was eager to participate in her first bargain as a Witch. They'd only had two other guests in her lifetime.

"I'm sure you will think of something, darling," Winter said. "Why don't you run off to find a gift for our guest?"

Warmth nodded eagerly and vanished into the cluttered depths of the Witches lair. Winter watched her skitter off, and then likewise motioned to leave the central chamber.

"Enjoy the story, Avatar," She chuckled. "You shall find it most illuminating."

Sen found that oddly threatening. Now left alone with Wane, he turned to the middle witch and examined her carefully. She was regarding him with no small amount of disdain.

"So," He said casually. "What's this story of yours about?"

"About the day the Energybender came to meet the Witches of Winter," Wane said.

Sen froze like the city streets around him. Wane's tightly pursed lips bent in a small frown as she saw his reaction. Sen was quick to regain his composure.

"He was here?"

"He was," Wane said calmly. "Sarin, as well as his brother, came to us some years before your emergence."

"You could have mentioned that earlier," Sen said angrily.

"We owe you nothing, Avatar," Wane said harshly. "We are no side but our own. We offer you this story only in exchange for your promise to aid us in the future. Do you wish to listen, or not?"

Sen sighed. The momentary panic was over. He settled in and listened to the tale of the Energybender.

***

The cold wind dug into Sarin's skin like fangs of ice biting into his flesh. This place was harsher than any forsaken landscape he had ever walked. He longed to be free of this icy wasteland. Nothing that lived out here was worth the effort, not even the witches his brother had spoken of so much.

Kalden led a quiet march across the wastes, ignoring the cold that dug its fangs into his weathered face. The eldest of the two Energybending brothers was far beyond such mortal concerns as the cold: the spirit-rending cost of Energybending had devoured too much of his soul for him to be bothered by things as petty as the cold.

The icy streets of Coldharbor offered some respite from the gnawing wind, but the deathly cold remained. Abandoned tools and homes stood still in the frozen air, leering threateningly at those who would dare disturb their hundred years long rest. Sarin was looking over his shoulder constantly. He had the feeling that someone was watching them.

The elder Energybender paid no mind to their observer in the shadows. He'd known from the minute they'd walked in that their every move was being monitored. It was why he wore the mask. Disguising his face was best when dealing with these witches; if they saw Kalden's prematurely aged face, they might take it for a sign of weakness. He could afford no such assumptions in this matter.

"I don't think the witches want to be found," Sarin said aloud. Kalden quieted him with a wave of his hand.

"Or perhaps they prefer to find us," Kalden pondered. He was answered by a few shuffling footsteps from the alleyway. Kalden turned to the source of the noise.

"Such wisdom from a man in a mask," A woman mused. She wore a long robe, with sparse ornamentation. She seemed amused by Kalden's appearance. "You look like an old adversary."

"I would prefer to look like a new friend," Kalden said. He held his ground against the strangers advance. Sarin took a cautious step back, ready to attack if it was necessary.

"We have no need for friends," The witch said harshly. Any amusement dropped from her face. "I am Wane, of the Witches of Winter. If you have something to offer, we will take it."

"Then take me to your fellows," Kalden requested. "And we will strike a bargain."

Wane gestured stiffly down the streets of Coldharbor, and the two Energybenders fell in line. They walked far behind Wane, keeping their distance so as to converse in private.

"Speak nothing to them," Kalden advised his brother. He knew very little of these Witches, but he knew they were not to be trifled with. "Listen if they speak to you, but do not respond."

Sarin nodded. His brother had the entire endeavor quite thoroughly planned out, as he did everything. Under their fathers leadership the organization had been a cult of a few dozen people; under Kalden's cunning and charismatic hand, that number had grown to the thousands. He had taken the Cult of the Energybender from a few devoted individuals into a true army to be reckoned with. Sarin never questioned his brothers orders.

Wane led the brothers to the home of the Witches. Sarin took one look around and decided he might wish to be elsewhere. The skeleton of some unknown predator looked down at him from the ceiling, its empty eyes glaring with surprising malice for a creature long dead. Kalden tapped his brother on the shoulder to set his mind straight. They were in the company of Witches now: fear could not be allowed.

The youngest of the witches was little more than a girl, perhaps six or seven years old. She seemed greatly displeased with Kalden's presence in her home. Wane regarded them as a nuisance at best, given the look on her face. Winter, yet the oldest of them all, seemed to be in a state of perpetual amusement with events. Nothing would ever remove that sadistic smile from her face.

"You are quite the curiosity," Winter said.

"I don't like them," The young Warmth said. She then left the home at a light pace. Winter raised a narrow eyebrow at her rapid retreat. Warmth was too young to be a proper Witch yet, so her presence was not required, but it was odd to see her flee so quickly. Winter knew her granddaughter well. She was no coward, nor was she shy. She had some ulterior motive for this departure.

"You, young one," Winter said, pointing a bony finger at Sarin. "Go and keep an eye on my granddaughter. We shall deal with your brother."

Sarin was somewhat reluctant to leave, but at a nod from his brother, Sarin acquiesced to Winter's request. Left alone with Kalden and Wane, Winter smiled ever more broadly.

"You are so frightened of us," Winter said. "You command your brother not to speak, and you hide behind a mask."

They had known the Energybenders would be coming to visit them before even Kalden did. It was inevitable, after all, that two individuals training in long-forgotten powers would seek the aid of the Witches.

"I should have known," Kalden said. He had been worried this might happen. He removed his mask, placing the grey disguise along the wall of the Witches home. His weathered face now exposed, he turned back to the witches. Wane and Winter examined his tortured face with a sort of sadistic glee.

"Sarin has a role to play, and I will see that he plays it according to my plans," Kalden said harshly. "Everything I do is to prepare him."

"And do you believe he will ever be prepared? The boy was not even born a bender."

Kalden's wrinkled face bent into a severe frown. It was true that Sarin had not been born with natural bending abilities, but Kalden had granted him airbending along with his Energybending abilities. The real problem was that the Witches could tell the difference. Perhaps they knew too much.

"I am here to prepare my brother to the best of my ability," Kalden said. It had been nearly a decade since the attack on the White Lotus, and Kalden felt his time was running out. Energybending had done too much damage to his soul. He had to find a way to keep the same fate from befalling Sarin, if only for the sake of their victory.

"I have wasted enough time already," he continued. "I need knowledge, and you can offer it."

"Your determination is commendable," Winter said mockingly. "Come, then, let us make a deal."

While an arcane bargain was struck within the house, a more mundane interaction occurred outside. Sarin had been approached by the young Witch with curious intent.

"Do you have a father?"

Sarin said nothing. He always followed Kaldens orders, and Kalden said not to speak. Sarin had little to say anyway. He had no memory of his father. The cost of Energybending had consumed him very shortly after Sarin was born, and Kalden had taken over as the Energybender.

"I never knew my father," Warmth complained. "Mother says he was looking for his son, so I suppose I have a brother too. I don't know him either."

Sarin looked down at the small Witch. She seemed very sad. She waited a moment for him to speak, but he did not. She continued on with her story all the same.

"Mother says something terrible happened in the Earth Kingdom, and lots of parents became afraid of their children. My father didn't want to give up his son, but his wife did, so she took him away. Now my father's looking for him."

Sarin frowned. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He had been on hand during the attack on the White Lotus, the event that had sparked a schism between parents and their own children. Thousands of infants had been orphaned because of Kalden's attack.

"That's why he came to us, and that's why I was born," Warmth said. "Mother and Grandmother couldn't find my brother, though. I guess my father is still looking."

She kicked her bare feet across the icy streets and looked up at the mountain tops. She frowned broadly.

"I think it's awful that someone would take away a son, don't you?"

Her intentions seemed innocent enough. Sarin didn't speak, but he did nod in agreement. Warmth seemed pleased to finally get a response out of him. It meant he was paying attention. She looked up at Sarin with wide, innocent eyes.

"I think whoever does something that awful should _die_."

Sarin turned away from her quickly. Unseen by him, Warmth smiled wickedly. So many people underestimated children. But even as a child, Warmth was still a Witch. Nothing she said was unintentional.

Back inside the lair of the Witches of Winter, Kalden had struck his bargain with the Witches. His payment had been offered, and now it was time for the Witches to follow through on their end of the bargain. They could not offer him the location of the Avatar, as Raava's light blinded them to such things, but they could offer Kalden the knowledge he needed to fight the Avatar on equal terms.

Wane prepared the rites to summon the secret-keeper. Kalden watched carefully as she drew a strange pattern out of an unidentifiable colored powder, then added to it with layers of various colors, until an intricate and beautiful pattern had formed. The process took hours, but Wane's dedicated work paid off, and the simple patterns of dust expanded from the center in waves of vibrant colors, forming a strange kind of prismatic flower. The finished design was barely larger than Kalden's hand, yet it contained impossible levels of detail. Every time Kalden looked at it, he found some new beauty to admire.

Winter looked over the intricate mandala and nodded approvingly. Winter bowed as her daughter's work was finished and left the chamber. The Mind-Eater hated a large audience. Wane gestured to Kalden, and then to the chromatic mandala she had created.

"Destroy it," Wane commanded.

"It seems a shame," Kalden sighed. The patterns in the sand were among the more beautiful things Kalden had seen in his life.

"You are no stranger to destroying what is beautiful," Wane mocked. Kalden nodded.

He placed his palm on the intricate mandala and swept his hand across it, erasing hours of work and timeless beauty in a single sweep of his hand. Where once there had been gorgeous spirals of color and vibrant patterns there was now a black smear. A shard of pure blackness that seemed to grow darker and darker as Kalden watched.

From the depths of the ruined colors, the King of Secrets emerged, its four jaws flexing with malice. The Hssk was not summoned willingly, naturally. The Witches craft compelled it to act, and it was forced to give up its precious secrets against its will. It longed for a way to pry itself free of their power.

As the power of witchcraft compelled him, the Hssk crawled through the mind of Kalden, scouring his mind. Winter watched carefully as the Hssk went about its search. It would find what Kalden needed to know and grant him the information he sought.

But something was wrong. The King of Secret's tone seemed to change. Its anger faded, and it seemed to settle into Kalden's mind almost willingly. For once, Wane's façade of annoyance broke, taking on a slight look of concern.

The Hssk had searched Kalden's mind and discovered his intention. A world without order or chaos, a world of complete and utter stagnation, appealed to the Mind-Eater. A world without ego or curiosity was a world without discovery, a world where secrets would never be uncovered and new things would never be a learned. The Hssk would never again lose one of his precious secrets to the curiosity of mortal minds. With four razor-fanged jaws, the Hssk smiled.

The shadow of the Hssk never rose from Kalden's features. Wane stared in silent observation, barely containing the current of fear that ran through her veins. This had never happened before.

Kalden opened his eyes, and for just a moment, in the blackness of his pupils, Wane saw the blue pinpricks of the Hssk's eyes. Kalden rose and bowed to the witch.

"My thanks for your assistance," Kalden said. He left the room without another word, retrieving Sarin on his way out.

The Mind-Eater had made Kalden an offer. To rival the Avatar, Kalden would need the combined might of a mortal, a Spirit of Light, and a Spirit of Darkness. The Hssk could offer the power of the shadows, but they would need another to balance out his darkness, and the Hssk knew exactly where to look.

Sarin and Kalden departed Coldharbor, heading for the Spirit World, and the Undying Bloom where the immortal Ta Jide Shui lived his endless life.

***

"What truly happened in the depths of that Energybender's mind, I cannot say," Wane said. "But his alliance with the Mind-Eater began that day."

Sen clenched his fists. So he had the Witches to blame for Sarin's alliance with the Hssk and Ta Jide Shui. He knew better than to try and lecture them about it, however. The Witches of Winter were completely amoral. At least know he knew a little more about Sarin and the Hssk, and about Kalden, as well. Sarin's older brother had been an enigma up to this moment.

The grey mask that Kalden has once worn stared out at Sen from its place on the wall. Sen had to wonder what had become of the elder brother. Had Energybending consumed his soul, or had some other fate befallen him?

"He vanished not long afterwards," Wane said, sensing Sen's curiosity. "Sarin is the only Energybender now. Of that there is no doubt."

"Do you know anything else about them? Their history?"

"Only that which I have told you. They left without a word not long after the summoning," Wane said. "Are we done here?"

"You don't like me much, do you?"

Warmth seemed oddly fond of Sen, and Winter was ambivalent at best, but Wane seemed to hold an active disregard for Sen. He couldn't imagine why. He'd never done anything to offend her.

"You remind me of someone I greatly dislike," Wane said, toying with the emerald ring on her finger. "We shall leave it at that."

Sen sighed and nodded. Wane was quick to leave. Sen stood up and prepared to move on. He still had to deal with Winter.

Outside, Ariak was keeping a careful eye on the home of the Witches. He wanted to be ready to go the moment Sen left that accursed lair. He stared unblinkingly at the exit from the building. He was used to such stakeouts from his days as a Shorewatcher. His hands wrung nervously around a nonexistent spear. Part of him still longed for the return of his old weapon.

"Hey Avatar's friend," Warmth said from behind him. Ariak hopped out of his seat and quickly whipped around. Warmth giggled at the way he jumped in fear.

"Please stop scaring me like that," Ariak pleaded. Warmth continued to laugh.

"You should get used to it," She advised. "The youngest of three women is going to be a big problem for you soon."

"What?"

"Doesn't matter," Warmth chimed happily. "What kind of present should I give the Avatar?"

Ariak sat down and tried to relax. Warmth was the least threatening of the Witches, and she seemed fond of Sen. They could probably trust her. Probably. Ariak knew better than to completely drop his guard around the Witches.

"Well," Ariak wondered aloud. "He came here to learn about his enemies."

"Mother is already telling him everything about that," Warmth whined. She flopped to the floor and pouted dramatically. "What can I give him?"

"Well…He likes learning, and he likes being prepared. Maybe you can give him something useful, or tell him something he doesn't know."

"Ah, that's perfect," Warmth said, hopping to her feet. Inspiration seemed to have struck her quickly. She ran off back to her home, leaving Ariak alone once again, which suited him just fine. He resumed his watch over the lair of the Witches.

Within the lair, Sen passed through shrouded halls, searching for the eldest Witch. The home of the Witches of Winter was surprisingly expansive. Sen saw all manner of rooms in his search, from tempting libraries to an oddly orderly kitchen. One thing Sen noticed, but did not question, was that there seemed to be no bedrooms among the myriad chambers of the Witches coven.

Sen found Winter in some kind of sitting room. It held far fewer curios and decorations than the main chamber, but there was still a lot to be seen. A collection of ancient maps hung along one wall, displaying the world as it had once been before the United Republic had reshaped the maps. Winter herself was sitting in a wood-carved rocking chair, rolling gently back and forth as she observed the Avatar.

"The world has changed, hasn't it," Winter mused. She didn't particularly care about the state of the world; she just wanted to hear Sen's reaction. Sen did not disappoint.

"Superficially, maybe," Sen said. "People still do the same things they were doing back then. There's still a lunatic who thinks he's doing the right thing, and there's still an Avatar who's going to stop him."

Winter laughed under her breath.

"You do not disappoint, Avatar," She said. She rose from her rocking chair and walked over to him. "Such certainty in your voice, though you do not even know what you fight against."

"I'm learning," Sen said. "And of course, you're about tell me more."

"It is so," Winter said with a smile. "Though I will show you more than tell you."

Winter held up her hand and examined her gaunt fingertips. Her fingers clattered slightly as her golden rings tapped against one another. She smiled through wrinkled lips.

"Sarin longs for a world without chaos and order," Winter said. "Do you understand what that means, Avatar? A world without black or white?"

"I've been closer than most," Sen said. Years of apathy still burned in his skull, all the wasted years he had spent cowering in the Beaker Hall orphanage. Sen had a firsthand experience with a life without joy or pain, and he would not allow it to happen again.

"You have come close, yes, but you have not felt the truth of the matter," Winter said. She held out her hand and her fingertips lingered close to Sen's chest. "You do not understand."

"Now," She said, pushing her fingertips slowly forward. "Understand."

With a quick jerk of her wrist, Winter's cold fingers grasped Sen's heart, sending a cold shock through his blood. He flinched, felt a brief moment of fear, and then –nothing.

It was not a thing like death, or unconsciousness. Sen was awake, and fully cognizant of his life, but he felt no urge to move or act. In the back of his mind he knew that soon he would have to sleep or eat, but that was all that concerned him. He felt no desire to do anything; he did not long for the companionship of his friends, nor did he wish to seek out and defeat his enemies. In his heart there was no rage or love or sadness, or anything at all. There was only life, and nothing else.

Winter withdrew her fingers, releasing the grip of apathy, and Sen screamed louder than he had ever screamed before. He fell backwards, knocking the wall of maps to the floor as he slowly lurched to the floor. The pain of the impact was a welcome sensation in Sen's mind; feeling pain was better than feeling nothing at all. Sen clutched at his face with both hands, digging his fingertips into his face until he nearly drew blood.

For those brief seconds he had been robbed of everything and everyone he cared about. He had felt no desire to reunite with Hanjo or Miyani, or to spend any time with his other friends. All the love and trust he shared with the people he cared about had been torn out of his heart. He clutched at his skull, trying to cling to those thoughts, and never lose them again.

"And now you understand what you have to lose," Winter said with a chuckle. Few people were lucky enough to understand the horrible consequences of failure.

Sen clutched at the wall and pulled himself to his feet. In some people, such a rapid change from apathy to intensity might have caused a tumultuous explosion of emotions. Sen was not one such person. His brief experience with the apathy that Sarin intended to impress upon the world had narrowed his focus down to a singular point.

"Is that all you have to teach me?" he groaned loudly.

"This is all we can offer," Winter said.

"Then I'm leaving," Sen said, shaking off the last dregs of apathy and readying himself to face the world. Up until now he had been fighting a vague sense of unease about Sarin's plan to remove chaos and order. Now he knew exactly what the consequences would be if he failed, and that terrified him. He had never before been quite so determined to defeat Sarin. He could not allow the entire world to be condemned to that kind of living death.

"Until we meet again, Avatar," Winter said with a smile. Sen nodded and stomped towards the door. Wane bid him a cursory farewell on his way out. Sen cast aside the curtain that barred entrance to the Witches lair and stepped out into the frozen city of Coldharbor. Ariak quickly jumped to his feet as he saw the Avatar exit.

Sen intended to march right back to the North Pole and prepare for the future, but there was a slight speed bump on that road. Warmth was standing between Sen and Ariak, with her hands tucked behind her back.

"Hi Avatar," She said with a wide, but hesitant, smile. "I came to tell you something too."

Warmth danced slightly on her bare feet, clearly thinking of what she was going to say. She had options, after all. The other Witches would be mad at her for saying too much, so she had to choose the right one.

"Do you know why we live in Coldharbor?"

Sen looked around at the frozen city streets. His experience with Winter was clouding his thoughts, so he couldn't quite come to a conclusion on his own.

"No?"

"It's because it's quiet here," Warmth said. "It's quiet, and calm. It makes it easier to listen, and to see…Like ripples travelling through still water. Sometimes if you focus, you can see things, and hear them. Witches and masters and all kinds of people like quiet places like this, because it helps them see."

"…Okay."

"I think you could do it, Avatar," Warmth said. "Maybe if you focus, you could feel something. Anything."

Sen looked at Ariak. He was eager to leave, but Sen had a sneaking suspicion that Warmth was trying to tell him something. It would only take a few minutes. Sen paused, closed his eyes, and listened.

Warmth was right: it was astoundingly quiet. There was no wind to create noise, no snowfall to create motion, no life to add confusion. It was oddly serene, and Sen once again felt like he had been in a place like this before.

The quiet was all Sen felt, though. His head was still touched by his brush with apathy, and all his focus was internal. He could hardly see the echoes of the world that Warmth wanted him to see. He stopped focusing and sighed.

"Sorry, Warmth, I don't think I can right now," Sen said. Warmth frowned.

"That's okay," She said sadly. "Maybe you can try some other time."

Sen nodded. It would have to wait for another time, and another quiet place. Right now he needed to return to the North Pole. He had business to take care of. Warmth presented one more slight delay. She surprised Sen by jumping up and wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

Moments ago he had been so determined to storm onwards to his destiny, but the embrace gave him some pause. He allowed himself to wait for a moment. He could not be so afraid of losing friendship and love that he stopped enjoying them. He wrapped one arm around her and enjoyed Warmth's embrace.

It ended quickly, and Warmth scampered away from Sen, looking suddenly shy. Sen waved goodbye and walked onwards towards Ariak. Ariak was glad to leave the Witches behind, but Sen looked over his shoulder one more time, just in time to see Warmth joined by her mother and grandmother.

They watched the Avatar leave, and as soon as he was out of sight, the elder Witches turned to Warmth.

"Do not feel guilty," Winter said. "You tried your best to warn him."

"You seemed oddly fond of the young Avatar," Wane said suspiciously.

"I'm a little girl," Warmth said. "My affection is capricious."

Winter and Wane both knew that was a lie. There was a connection there that the elder Witches could not see. The chilled quiet of Coldharbor did not enlighten them to the hearts of their daughter. The serenity did, however, allow them to hear echoes of the things that were –and what would be. They had seen the shadow and noise that Sen had not. They knew what was about to begin –and what was about to end.


	65. Book 4 Ch14: The Second Culling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sen realizes that his journey is coming to an end, dark forces go to work to ensure that the ending is swift and bloody.

Some winter sports enthusiasts called falling into the snow "eating powder". Ariak was beginning to see why. He spat out a mouthful of snow and got to his feet again.

Sen was pacing back and forth, waiting impatiently for Ariak to be ready again. He had been in a fighting mood lately, and not just with Ariak. He'd harassed nearly everyone he knew at some point in the past few days. Suda, Ada, he'd even pried Whistler out of her bed long enough for a sparring match, and then he'd gone after Master Yakkul and even Kunik.

"Try something new this time," Sen commanded. "Even if you think it won't work, just try it."

"I don't think anything will work," Ariak grunted. He might have been able to hold his own a few weeks ago, but Sen's skills had since surpassed Ariak's.

"Just try it," Sen said. "I need to be ready for anything."

He heard the footsteps behind him easily enough, but the blow aimed at his head was a little harder to detect. Sen bent at the waist to avoid the strike, and he quickly put distance between himself and his new attacker.

Whistler got her staff back to her side and braced it against her shoulder. She was glaring at Sen, her frustration clearly visible.

"Well, apparently you were ready for that," Whistler grunted. "What's your problem, anyway?"

"Oh, you know, usual teenager things, hormones, girls, homocidal maniac threatening to kill me and everyone I love, homework," Sen said. "Not necessarily in that order."

"Your sarcasm is impressive," Whistler said with a nod. "I have taught you well."

"This is serious, Sen," Ada said. "Is there something wrong?"

Sen held up his hands, then pulled it back down to his waist. He paced back and forth a few more times. He looked around at his gathered friends. The fact that they had all clustered around him said that they were quite concerned for his well-being.

"One more time, to take the edge off," Sen said. Whistler and Ada shared a very unenthusiastic look. "One more, and then I promise I'll explain everything."

Ada shrugged. One more sparring match wouldn't hurt.

"Who do you want to fight this time?"

"All of you," Sen said. The members of Sen's team looked back and forth between themselves in confusion.

"All four of you at once," Sen clarified. He pointed at Suda and then swept his finger across the rest of them. "Every one of you comes at me at the same time."

Sen was quick to ready himself for a fight. It took a bit longer for the rest of them to get onboard, and then a little longer as they discussed strategy. Sen waited patiently while they prepared themselves. Eventually they all got into position around him. Whistler, quite characteristically, decided to begin at Sen's back, out of sight, while the rest fanned out in front of him.

"Hit me when you're ready," Sen said, beckoning them to strike.

The four challengers shared a quick glance and a nod. Whistler struck from behind with air, while Suda and Ariak stroke from the sides with water and earth. Ada shot right down the middle with her sword ready.

Sen dodged the first blows by vanishing underground. Gun looked at him curiously for a moment as the bolts of earth, water, and air passed harmlessly above the surface of the soil. Sen was quick to follow the set of rapid footsteps and track down Ada. He emerged from the earth just to her left.

Eliminating Ada and Suda was his first priority. They were the most coordinated of his friends, and if the two worked together, they could possibly overpower him through numbers. Luckily that synchronization came with weaknesses.

Sen's first strike went for Ada's feet, aiming to disrupt her stance. He knew that stance and footwork were the most important aspects of swordplay, and by controlling those, he could control Ada. With Sen on her left and her sword in her right hand, Sen had a moment before he was in reach of her blades. He quickly summoned a sweeping lash of water to strike Ada's legs out from under her, sending her falling to the ground.

Before Ada had even hit the ground, Sen turned his attention to Suda. The metalbending master was possibly the most powerful of Sen's companions, but his protective instincts were a glaring weakness. He was too concerned with protecting his friends, and watching Ada fall set him off guard. Sen sent a boulder flying at Suda's stomach, knocking him backwards. It would take more than one strike to take a juggernaut like Suda down, but it was a start.

Taking down the titan was temporarily delayed by Whistler's aerial attack. She came from above, putting gravity behind her strikes, and Sen was hard-pressed to dodge it. While Sen was on the defensive, Ariak attempted to seize the advantage, but Sen's reflexes were fast enough for him to neutralize the attack. He kicked up a wall of flame, just to obstruct Ariak's vision, while he dealt with Whistler.

Whistler leaned on her staff when it came to offense, using it for sweeping blows of airbending and for physical strikes with the heavy metal shaft. Sen moved in to face her at short distances, risking a few close calls with her staff, but setting up for his next move at the same time.

The next time Whistler struck out with her staff, Sen rolled with the blow, feigning a hit. Thinking that she had struck true, Whistler's sadism kicked in, and she immediately readied herself for a follow-up attack, planting her feet firmly off the ground. As soon as her stance had solidified, Sen slammed his foot down, calling up a pillar of earth beneath her that launched her into the air. Whistler always struck harder when she saw a weakness to exploit, and that extra aggressiveness overcame her defensive reflexes. With Whistler still in mid-air, Sen slammed her to the ground with a pillar of air from above, and he turned his attention back to Suda.

With Ada still down, Sen could not exploit his protective instincts a second time, but Suda was still reeling from the first boulder to the stomach. His experience as a bandit had taught him how to deal with fire, water, and earth, but Suda was still unprepared for airbending. A few whirling cyclones set him off balance and then a single hammer burst of air was all it took to knock Suda off his feet.

That only left Ariak, who, after getting beaten several times today and having watched all his friends get beaten in less than a minute, was not feeling too confident. Sen raised a boulder from the ground behind Ariak and struck him in the back with it. Ariak was best when his quarry was right in front of him; attacking from unexpected angles was a quick way to take him down.

Sen looked around. Ada was already back on her feet, but she showed no signs of wanting to continue the match. Whistler and the rest were still groaning on the ground. For a moment Sen believed he'd vanquished his entire team, but one member had slipped his mind

With a rumble from the ground below, Gun burst forth, catching Sen in his jaws playfully. He shook Sen around a few times before depositing his master on the ground gently. Gun sniffed at Sen as he started to laugh.

"Okay Gun, you win," Sen said. He had hardly expected his Animal Guide to want to join the fight. Gun rubbed his broad forehead against Sen a few times before returning to the soil. He didn't like to be above ground for long in this cold climate. Sen stood up and shook off some of Gun's slobber before it started to freeze.

"I was expecting that to go slightly better," Whistler admitted. They had all gotten their butts kicked separately, but she'd figured they'd be able to beat him together.

"Man, why are you the one who still needs practice," Suda grunted.

"Come on now, you're all really good," Sen said encouragingly. "I just know all your weak spots."

"That's very kind of you to say," Ada said sarcastically. "Now, I believe you owe us some answers?"

Sen waited for them all to regain their footing and gather in front of him before he continued. He also took some time to pick the appropriate words. He felt like this was quite close to being a momentous occasion. He needed to be able to give a speech if it came to that. For now, it was just him and his friends, so he kept his tone more relaxed.

"I've been thinking a lot lately, about what I can do to really prepare to be the Avatar."

Suda nodded. It was a difficult question to answer, enough to cause severe stress all on its own.

"For a long time now I haven't been able to come up with more than a handful of ideas. At first I was upset, I thought I was missing something."

Sen clenched his fists tightly for a second and then tucked his hands behind his back. He looked around at his friends before he continued.

"Then I realized: Maybe the reason I can't think of anything to do to prepare…is because there isn't anything left to do."

The Avatar looked them all over and nodded slightly.

"I think it's time."

There was a pregnant pause. Ada leaned forward slightly to break the silence.

"No more training," She said. "No more hiding. You're going to let the world know?"

"Yeah," Sen said with a smile. "I've got just one or two more things to do, and then –Yeah."

Though each and every one of them had a smile on their faces now, it was all for very different reasons.

"I can visit home again," Ada said.

"I'll finally get to be the hero I've wanted to be," Suda sighed happily.

"I can make up for my mistakes," Ariak said stoically.

"Man, we are going to beat up so many people," Whistler said, pumping her fist enthusiastically.

"I'm sure you all have some things you need to do to prepare," Sen said.

"The first thing we should do is break out Hanjo," Ada said, getting slightly ahead of herself.

"Well, if we're getting the whole team back together I say we start with the one that isn't in prison," Suda suggested. "We should call in Miyani."

"That's actually a good place to start," Sen said. "We can find her, and finish preparing while we wait to regroup."

"She's likely still in the South," Ariak said. "Kesuk has been dealing with her; we can likely contact him to find Miyani."

"Sounds like a plan," Sen said. A few other plans were proposed; Ada would get in touch with Ko Rin to track down Hanjo, Suda needed to wrap up his work at the hospital, Whistler would take care of any loose ends in the North. Sen nodded along in time with the conversation, but his mind was elsewhere.

The conversation went on for quite a while, well into the dark of night. The electric buzz of excitement was tangible in the air as they prepared to make their stand. Sen glanced up at the full moon overhead, and he smiled. It was time.

***

The full moon was a less inviting sight over the granite hall of the Shorewatchers. The North had been quiet in recent months, and the council of Huntsmen found itself scarcely occupied. It did not suit them well. The Shorewatchers were men and women of action, not well accustomed to sitting around.

Tinaaki had been reluctant to make any overt moves since his first meeting with the Avatar. He had been hoping to consolidate his forces, waiting patiently for the Avatar to make his move and spark the full-scale war against the Energybender. It got harder and harder to keep his men on a leash as the months went by. They were chomping at the bit, desiring a battle. Tinaaki was beginning to reconsider his position.

An idle discussion between impatient Huntsmen meandered on below Tinaaki's seat as two Huntsmen discussed recent crime rates. Tinaaki's attention gradually drifted, and he listened to the shrill wind howl outside the window.

Tinaaki had been behind his desk for a long time, but his hunter's instinct remained. He knew the sound that the arctic wind made blowing across the tundra. This was not it. The wind had a pattern. It had a goal.

The Huntsmaster held up a firm hand, silencing the discussion. As one, the Huntsmen quieted their voices and their breathing, taking the low, shallow breaths of a predator stalking its prey. With the chamber locked in silence, the unnatural howling of the wind outside was made more apparent.

Then the violence began. Crashing, screaming, shouts of pain. The Huntsmen scrambled to take up their spears. The grates were opened, flooding the Huntsmen's chamber with water, arming them further for the coming conflict.

"Who would be fool enough to attack us under the full moon?" Tinaaki wondered aloud.

"Who would be strong enough to succeed," Surma wondered. The sound of conflict had not stopped. There were many Shorewatchers here tonight, all of them well armed and vigilant. For an attack to go on this long was discomforting. It meant that their attackers were equally strong –or perhaps stronger.

"We are Shorewatchers," Tinaaki shouted. "Whatever happens, we stand our ground."

The Huntsmen made ready their defense, watching the door carefully for any signs of movement. A few expressed a desire to charge into the halls and fight their enemy head on, but Tinaaki held them back. A defensive strategy was more effective in this case.

With spears pointed at the doorway, the Huntsmen prepared to make their stand as footsteps echoed in the halls ahead. The door to the chamber soon slammed open. It was no enemy, but a haggard lieutenant, his coat torn and bloodied by battle, staggering through the door.

"It's Sarin," The lieutenant shouted. "The Energybender is here!"

Tinaaki took a step back.

"We need to retreat," Surma said immediately. "We can't handle the Energybender."

"We are at our strongest now," Tinaaki said, regaining his composure. "We must protect our people."

"If we stay here we are all going to die," Surma said. She prepared to lodge a further protest, but Kyros took her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"Take whoever will go with you and retreat," he commanded. "Some of us will stay to stand with the Huntsmaster."

"But you'll die," Surma protested.

Kyros looked at her, and his eyes said that he already knew the risks very well.

"Tinaaki's right, we're at our strongest now," Kyros said. They had most of their forces present at the hall, and their waterbending was at its strongest. If they were to make a stand at all, it would be best to make it now. But it would not do to be entirely unprepared.

"Find Ariak," Kyros shouted as Surma, Letho, and a handful of others began to retreat. "Find his companion, Sen. He is the one who can stand against this."

Surma and all those who retreated with her headed for the back of the room. The Shorewatchers had prepared for eventualities such as this. Their chamber held a hidden entrance to the ice caves of the glacier surrounding their headquarters. It was a treacherous path, not easily followed by anyone who did not know the caves well. Kyros watched them vanish into the icy cavern and then returned to his defensive post.

"We will make our stand," He said to Tinaaki.

"And we will win, old friend," Tinaaki said. It bolstered his confidence to have his most trusted friend at his side. "Between the two of us, what can we not handle?"

Tinaaki readied his hands. He felt the full moons strength surge through him. The Energybender was mighty, true, but was he a match for bloodbending? Tinaaki put his faith in the unholy power wielded at his fingertips.

Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway before them. The sounds of violence had faded away, indicating that the battle was waning outside. Tinaaki hoped that it was a victory for his men, but with Sarin himself on the battlefield, he doubted it.

The sound of footsteps reached their peak, and their new guests arrived. One figure in a grey hood stepped into the chamber. Tinaaki wasted no time.

"Kyros!"

The two joined their efforts and extended their grasp to the trinity of foes they faced. They reached out with arcane power, grasping at the heart of the enemy. The man in the grey hood was lifted into the air by their joined power, contorting with pain as they worked. Kyros let out a triumphant shout, and the two bloodbenders worked together to draw Sarin closer. The hooded figure contorted as he was drawn upwards, revealing his face. It was a young man, his face not marked or weathered. He was a scholar, not a warrior, and he was not Sarin.

"How do you do?" Dei Sensheng said, managing sarcasm through the biting pain. They'd learned the art of the decoy from the incident in Tunuk Bay. Dei Sensheng would hold their attention for a moment while greater forces made their move.

Not amused by his deception, Tinaaki pulled Sensheng in close to examine him. Sensheng flashed a slight smile.

"Were you relying on your bloodbending to save you? Funny."

In a flash of water and ice, the door to the chamber burst open as a trinity of figures clad in blue dove into the chamber. Casting up ice and snow to cloud their movements, the three soldiers evaded the initial volley from the defensive Huntsmen and met them head on.

"So were we," Sensheng said sadistically.

With swift, clawed gestures, the attackers twisted their hands, and in so doing took hold of the blood of the Huntsmen. Swift and merciless in their manipulation, the bloodbenders made quick work of their opponents, until Tinaaki and Kyros turned their attention away from Dei Sensheng and towards their new bloodbending opponents.

A battle between bloodbenders was a strange thing to witness, filled with swift striking gestures but little real impact. It was deceptively harmless looking to an uneducated bystander, at least until Tinaaki began to use his spear. While Sarin's bloodbenders possessed numbers, Tinaaki and Kyros were far more experienced, and quickly gained the advantage. Tinaaki wasted no time in using his spear to even out the numbers while Kyros kept the enemy bloodbenders under control.

Yet the deceptions and distractions orchestrated by Dei Sensheng were not complete. With TInaaki and Kyros' focus divided, a fourth figure in blue entered the room, swift as a knife, moving with hpredatory determination towards Tinaaki.

The Master of the Hunt attempted to shield himself from this new arrival, to prevent their hold on his blood. He did not. The figure in blue clenched their fist and Tinaaki felt his defenses crumble, and a malevolent grip chilled his blood. Kyros turned to aid his friend, but he fared no better against this new bloodbender's rage. Kyros as well was overwhelmed and held in place by the bloodbender's power. Sensheng stepped forward as Kyros and Tinaaki struggled in the painful grip of bloodbending.

"Esteemed gentlemen," Dei Sensheng continued sarcastically. "May I introduce Kida, youngest of the Red Moon sisters."

Kida drew back her hood, exposing her face. She was young, younger even than Ariak, and there was an obvious family resemblance to the bloodbender who had kidnapped Ariak, including the mania that gripped her features. But while the kidnapper had been rendered incoherent and manic by her desire for revenge, Kida seemed unnaturally focused. Her insane rage had been honed so intensely that it had become a sharpened blade.

"Oh, you recognize me," Kida said to Tinaaki, feigning surprise. "I'm surprised you actually looked my sister in the eye before you stabbed her in the back."

There was enough venom in her voice to strike a man down with words alone. She walked around Tinaaki like a hungry beast toying with her prey. Dei Sensheng nodded at her, and she ceased her circle.

"I know we promised him to you, Kida, but we do need to get something out of him first," Sensheng reminded her. They had a deal. Kida had sought them out weeks ago, offering her bloodbending in exchange for their help in finding Tinaaki –and Ariak. She wanted vengeance, and they wanted her knowledge of bloodbending to fight the Avatar. It was a vile arrangement, but it worked.

"Of course, Dei," Kida droned. "Take your time. I have so much to think about, after all. How to go about it…"

Kida playfully and murderously drew a finger along Tinaaki's chin, cutting through the skin with her fingernail. A drop of blood trickled to the ground slowly, and Kida smiled.

The open doors to the chamber echoed with light footsteps once again. The sounds of chaotic battle were fading outside. Kida had trained many of the Energybender's soldiers in bloodbending, and their power was decimating the Shorewatchers. Sarin stepped through the chaos, unmindful of the carnage around him. He entered the chamber, and the grey-ringed eyes of Sarin soon looked down at Kyros and Tinaaki with disdain.

"Where have the Shorewatchers been hiding the Avatar," Sarin asked.

"I have never met the Avatar," Tinaaki said.

"You are a poor liar, Huntsmaster," Dei Sensheng said. "Even with that aside, it's obvious to anyone the Avatar is here. He has to learn waterbending, and he's not been seen in the South, so he must be here."

"He's in the United Republic," Kyros said. "There are many waterbenders there. He's learning from them."

"You have a much better poker face, Kyros 'the Blood', but we know he came here. He thought you Shorewatchers could protect him."

Sarin scowled at the interrogation. This was a waste of time. He knew that the Avatar was in the North thanks to the Hssk, but the Mind-Eater would not risk getting close to the Avatar again. To ascertain Sen's exact location, they had to resort to more conventional methods.

"Enough of this," Sarin declared. He gestured to Kida, and she raised the two hunters off the ground slightly. Sarin walked over to Kyros and looked him in the eye.

"My promise to Kida guarantees her Tinaaki's blood," Sarin said. "But you can walk away from this, provided you cooperate. The Huntsmaster trusts you with everything."

Kida's fingers twitched, and Kyros' body twisted agonizingly. Sarin allowed this to continue for a moment before holding up her hand for the torture to stop.

"Neither of you are being noble, neither of you are protecting anyone," Sarin shouted. "If I do not know exactly where to find the Avatar, I will destroy every home and every life in the North until I find him! I will melt this frozen wasteland down to an ocean of blood!"

Sarin gestured once again to Kida, and she dropped Tinaaki to the ground. For a moment he thought he was free, but he had barely hit the ground before Sarin's hand grabbed his throat. A grip tighter than Sarin's hand closed around Tinaaki's very soul. The air began to howl with arcane energy, filling the room with the high-pitched shriek of Sarins Energybending. With a quick pull of his hand, a stream of cobalt energy burst forth from Tinaaki's neck.

"Perhaps that will remind you who you are dealing with," Sarin scoffed.

Tinaaki was free now, of both Kida's grip and Sarin's. But he could still do nothing. He could not feel the power of the full moon coursing through him. He reached out to the ice and water, and he felt nothing.

"My bending…"

"Only a fraction of what I will take from you before this is over," Sarin said. "Kida will watch you die tonight, Huntsmaster, but cooperate and I will ensure she does not make you suffer."

A bloodthirsty grin split Kida's angry features. Tinaaki felt limp, hollow, and powerless. Kyros was still in the grip of the bloodbender, and the other Huntsmen were long gone –or worse. Tinaaki was already on his knees, but he found a way to sulk ever lower. He remained silent still, however. Sarin leaned in closer to his ear, speaking quietly.

"It would be best for you to seek my mercy," Sarin said threateningly. "Kida is…inventive, in all the most terrible ways."

Tinaaki looked up at the youngest of the Red Moon sisters. Kida picked at her bloodstained fingernail and smiled viciously. Tinaaki had no doubt in his mind that she had thought of many creative ways to make him suffer.

"He is here," Tinaaki sighed. Kyros closed his eyes in shame. "He is in the capitol."

Finally satisfied, Sarin leaned in close. Kida took a few steps forward as well, focusing all her attention on Tinaaki. As soon as he spoke, her vengeance would be at hand. Kyros began to twist his fingers idly. Kida was losing focus. He had a chance to make a move.

"And where exactly can I find him?"

"He is in-"

An earsplitting scream interrupted the powerless Huntsmaster. Kyros wrenched against the grip of Kida, tearing open his own veins to escape her grasp. Wracked with agonizing pain, but free for a brief moment, Kyros attacked, lashing out with everything he had, driving the Energybender and the bloodbender back, clawing at them with water and blood, forcing them away.

It was a brilliant moment of defiance against overwhelming odds, but in such circumstances even the most herculean efforts were meaningless. His enemies soon regained their footing, and Kyros was once again in Kida's grip. He was spent now, completely hollow. There would be no second escape, not for Kyros.

Tinaaki, in his cowardice, had made more of Kyros' valiant efforts. He was gone –fled down the same path as Surma and Letho. The path led out into the icy tunnels, lethally dangerous to those that did not know how to traverse them. He was out of the Energybender's grip. Kida let out a low roar of frustration as she saw her quarry had escaped.

Kyros sighed. With Tinaaki out of the equation, the Energybender would at least not know where exactly to look for the Avatar. There was still a chance for escape. There was still hope. For some.

The Energybender stepped forward, his face bent with displeasure. He knew Kyros would not be so pliable to interrogation as Tinaaki. He would not waste his time.

Kyros bowed his head. His only regret was in blindly following for so long. Tinaaki had nearly thrown away everything they stood for. At least, with his last moments, he had followed the right champion.

"The Avatar will stop you," Kyros sighed.

"No. He won't stop me from saving this world," Sarin said. He placed his hand on Kyros' chest. "And he won't stop me from doing this."

With a sudden, brief shriek of Energybending, Sarin pulled his hand away, rending Kyros down to his very essence. The hollow shell of a Huntsman collapsed to the ground.

"I apologize, Kida, did you want to do that?"

"He meant nothing to me," Kida grunted. "I want the Huntsmaster and his family. We should go after him."

Kida had agreed to join them only on the condition that they aided her in her vengeance against Tinaaki and his family. With her bloodbending behind them, Dei Sensheng had finally been able to plan a successful attack against the Shorewatchers. The North was no longer closed to Sarin; no longer a safe haven for the Avatar.

"We'd be wasting time," Dei Sensheng said. "We can't follow him through the caves. Our best bet is to use the Blade Ship to beat him to the North Pole. We'll be able to ambush him, and prevent him from warning anyone of our attack."

They perhaps could have pursued Tinaaki through the ice caves, but Sensheng had no interest in pursuing Kida's personal vendetta. He was here to capture the Avatar, and the best way to do that would be to focus on the North Pole. The Blade Ship would get them to port faster than any travel on foot. They would even beat the Shorewatchers that had fled earlier. There would be no time for them to warn anyone of the impending attack.

"If you say so," Kida said with a fake smile. Sensheng had the oddest feeling that she knew exactly how she was being manipulated. The bloodbender left Sensheng and Sarin to their own devices as she sauntered off to search the halls of the Shorewatchers blood-stained headquarters.

"We'll attract unnecessary attention, arriving in the Shorewatchers vessel," Sarin said. "There will be many still ready to fight us."

Sensheng nodded. Even with the Blade Ships' speed, they would not make it to the North Pole while the full moon was still overhead. Without their bloodbending, they would not be able to mount as powerful of an offensive. Any attack would still be devastating, but success was unlikely. They would have to plan very carefully. Sensheng paced back and forth for a few minutes, thinking over their options.

Kida returned to the central chamber, toying playfully with a spear.

"I never took that murderer for a sentimental sort," She said. "He kept his son's spear."

She spun the spear in her hands, testing the grip and the weight. She froze it suddenly and admired her own reflection in the blade.

"Won't it be so poetic when I cut Ariak's heart out with his own spear?"

Kida continued to play with her new toy. Dei Sensheng was slightly impressed. Her murderous insanity had actually given Sensheng a useful idea. He reached down and grabbed Kyros' fallen spear, and examined the Shorewatcher's uniform coat.

"I believe you're on to something," Sensheng said with a twisted smile.


	66. Book 4 Ch15: Shattering, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Energybender's forces descend on the North, spreading chaos in their wake.

"Now, Kesuk is very busy, and he doesn't have much patience for the North, so you have to convince him very quickly. Play the Avatar card if you have to."

"It won't be long before everyone knows," Sen said with a shrug. "I might as well lead with it."

It was a strange thought, being so open with his identity. Sen had been keeping it secret for so long, it almost felt wrong throwing it around. But if it got him Miyani back, he would tell the whole world who he was. He'd spent too much time away from his friends. First Miyani, and then Hanjo. It was time to get his friends back.

It was an especially cold day, as winter had begun. Sen had a scarf wrapped tight around him to ward the cold away. The bit of red fabric wrapped around his neck was a nice bit of color, for a colorful day. Today he would be one step closer to getting his friends back.

Ariak had arranged a private phone call with the Chieftain of the South, which would hopefully be enough for Sen to learn where Miyani was. Once that was done, they could track her down, and then use her power to help liberate Hanjo. Just the thought of it was enough to put a spring in Sen's step.

His guide on this journey was significantly less light-footed. Sen being the Avatar meant a lot of stress. It was for the better, ultimately, but Ariak was loathe to leave his home completely behind. He would have to abandon the North, his home, and everything he'd ever known. He would miss everything, even the Shorewatchers patrolling the streets.

Ariak glanced at one such patrol and paused. He recognized that spear.

"Arnook, is that you," Ariak said. Every Shorewatcher spear was intricately carved, and unique in that regard. Ariak recognized the pattern of a former friend, but that friend did not respond. "Arnook!"

The Shorewatcher walked by without acknowledging Ariak. Sen paused and turned his head. Something was not right. He felt fear in the Shorewatcher's heart.

"Go talk to your friend," Sen commanded.

"But the phone call-"

"Go talk to him," Sen shouted. Ariak nodded stiffly and complied. He chased after Arnook and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around.

He was not Arnook. The man in the Shorewatcher uniform was unfamiliar to Ariak, and seemed confused to see him. Ariak looked the man over curiously.

"You're not Arnook," he said.

"You must have me confused with someone else," The Shorewatcher said. Sen could feel his nerves reaching a boiling point.

"You have Arnook's spear," Ariak said, glancing to the wooden weapon at the Shorewatcher's shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Oh, just a new recruit, must have had a mix up," The 'Shorewatcher' said nervously. He looked at his spear casually.

"No Shorewatcher would ever misplace their spear," Ariak said suspiciously. "Who are you?"

It only took a second of focus for Sen to realize what was happening. The man's chakra had the mark of an artificially created bender: one of Sarin's men.

"He's with the Energybender," Sen shouted. "They're impersonating Shorewatchers!"

The Shorewatcher patrol broke off, one staying behind to fend off Sen and Ariak, while the Arnook impersonator retreated. He pulled out a large radio and activated it.

"We've been found out," He shouted in panic. "We need to move now!"

Ariak's fist slammed down on the Shorewatcher imposters skull, silencing him quickly, but the damage was done.

The message spread across all the false Shorewatchers across the city, sparking their surprise attack. Screams echoed from distant streets as the attack began in full. In mere seconds the chaos blossomed, as the sound of violence and the screams of the innocent echoed out across the icy city.

"No," Sen said, his voice left hollow by despair. "No!"

They had been just days away. Just a few more days and all of this might have been avoided. Ariak was quick to stand and return to the Avatar's side. Perhaps with a few more days time this might not have happened, but there were no days to spare, and it was happening. They needed to act.

"You wanted to save the world," Ariak shouted. "Start with my home. What are we going to do?"

Sen snapped to his senses. This was only a disaster if he let it be. He had the power to stop this.

"The Energybender's trying to spark a war," Sen said, coming to the correct conclusion rapidly. "Chief Kesuk already distrusts the Shorewatchers. If he thinks they've launched a coup, he might order a full invasion."

"And in the meantime local security will be fighting the real Shorewatchers," Ariak said. "All of the North's protectors will be fighting each other. Even if the deception fails, the North will be devastated."

"You take to the streets, spread the word as much as you can," Sen said, pointing out across the city. He then gestured towards the Chieftains palace. "I'm going to find the chief. If Atana knows we might be able to keep this from spiraling out of control."

Ariak nodded and grasped Sen's shoulder tightly.

"Good luck."

With that last sentiment, the two parted ways. The flames spread across the city, as did the heroes.

***

Kunik kept a careful eye on the city as the smoke began to rise. He wondered perhaps if he should do something, but he figured that Yakkul would hear about anything important happening sooner rather than later. There was no need for him to run off when Yakkul would just get a phone call. Better for him to keep an eye on the gate.

His assumption was proved correct when a host of Shorewatchers marched towards the gates. Kunik was no fool. The Shorewatchers would not send a hundred men to deliver a message or a warning. This was an attack. Kunik was quick to retreat towards the center of the compound. Yakkul was going to be so mad.

"I hate to interrupt your day off," Kunik said. "But it seems that the Shorewatchers are attempting to destroy the city."

Yakkul stopped eating his popcorn. Slowly, he leaned forward, and paused his mover. He kicked his foot against a coffee table, and one of his swords snapped free from its hidden compartment.

"Take up arms," He shouted at his students, his voice echoing throughout the compound. "I haven't been training you for nothing!"

Dozens of swords flashed through the air at once, as Yakkul's students prepared to put their training into action. Yakkul, Kunik, and Ada went to the roof to examine the surroundings of the compound. The Shorewatchers were trying to breach the gate, and by the looks of things they would soon succeed.

"I can't understand why they'd do this," Yakkul said. "But if they want a fight I'll give them one."

Ada grit her teeth. This was uncharacteristic for the Shorewatchers. Even the attack itself was poorly timed. If they wanted to launch a coup, they would have done so during the full moon, not the day after. Something was wrong.

Whistler vaulted her way to the roof, looking around at the chaos that was unfolding in the North.

"I heard we were going to be hurting people," Whistler said. "What can I do?"

"You and I need to find Sen," Ada said. "We've got to regroup."

"Save your planning," Yakkul shouted. "We have contact!"

A battering ram of ice slammed into the gate and shattered the metal. Shorewatchers marched through, their spears high, aimed for the heart of Yakkul's compound. The swordsmaster would brook no threat to himself or his students. Stomping his foot down hard, Yakkul called up a ramp of ice from the roof to the ground. He skated down towards his enemies, then propelled himself along the snowy ground, surfing amidst the ranks of the enemy.

Ada and Kunik were quick to follow him down the icy ramp, using the inertia of their descent to plunge headlong into the attacking Shorewatchers. Whistler went the long way around, gliding over the horde and then plunging down to the ground to attack from behind. The false Shorewatchers had been expecting blades, but not airbending. With her usual advantage of surprise, Whistler forced the enemy forward, right into the blades of her allies.

The combined blades and bending of Yakkul made him an impressive vanguard as he swept his foes aside with waves of water, then cut them down with sweeps of his blade. These Shorewatchers had brought just nigh a hundred men to face him –they had vastly underestimated Yakkul. He would have been able to handle this attack on his own, and having Kunik and Ada at his back made the effort trivial.

The rest of Yakkul's students joined the fray, charging forward in a horde of blades, hammering against the invaders with overwhelming force. The imposters were unprepared for the horde of sword-wielding students, and they were forced backwards, away from the gate, and then down the hill. Some among Yakkul's horde were more than eager to give chase, but he held them back. He knew something was wrong, and he needed to make sure they were fully prepared before they charged into battle.

Yakkul bent down to examine one of the "Shorewatchers" who had not been so lucky as to retreat. He grabbed the broken spear from the impostor's hands and examined it.

"This isn't right," He said. He recognized his handiwork, and this spear had been crafted for someone else. The Shorewatchers never misplaced their spears.

"They're impostors," Yakkul declared. "The real Shorewatchers must have been compromised somehow."

"It has to be the Energybender," Ada said. "We need to find Sen."

"They weren't expecting an Airbender here," Whistler said. The impostor Shorewatchers had been startled to see her. "I don't think they know where Sen is."

"Neither do we," Ada said. She looked out at the horizon. Ariak and the Avatar had been headed into the city to make a phone call. There was no way the two of them weren't caught up in what was happening.

"I need to go warn the Chief," Yakkul said. He sheathed his blade and looked towards the palace.

"Kunik! Take a handful of students and scout the city. Spread the word about the impostors, and tell anyone fleeing to come to the compound," Yakkul instructed. "The rest of you! Fortify our position and establish a safe zone for any refugees from the city!"

The horde of students nodded and set to work fortifying Yakkul's compound and patrolling the area. Kunik selected a few of the students and they all scattered into the streets of the city. Ada and Whistler headed out as well, searching for the Avatar. Yakkul sped off to the Chieftain's palace, praying under his breath that the Spirits would keep them all safe.

Yakkul's home was slightly removed from the city proper, so Ada and Whistler had a short walk before they reached the streets of the North. The moment they did so, they were bombarded by the sights and sounds of chaos. People were panicking, fleeing, trying to hide, and all the while the imposter Shorewatchers were trying to do as much damage as possible.

With a quick lunge, Whistler placed herself between a fleeing citizen and the Shorewatcher that pursued her. His knees made a very loud and satisfying cracking noise as Whistler's staff connected. Whistler made sure the rogue stayed down by striking him in the head with a heavy blow.

Ada likewise interceded in an attack to defend some civilians, but a quick look around the streets said that this might be a futile effort. There were hundreds of attacks up and down the street. As difficult as it was to ignore the senseless violence, the most productive thing to do would be to find Sen.

"Where would Sen be in a mess like this?"

"Where he's needed most," Whistler huffed. She briefly considered taking to the rooftops, seeing if she could find Sen from above, but splitting up with Ada would be counterproductive.

The sound of violence still rang from every corner of the city. Sen would be where he was needed, but he was needed in a lot of places right now. Ada grit her teeth. This was going to be a long day.

***

The Energybender was not picky in who he recruited to his cause; thugs and brutes lured by the promise of power made good footsoldiers, at least. They were also less likely to hesitate when attacking vulnerable targets: a hospital, for example.

Goaded on by over-eager comrades, a trio of Shorewatcher impersonators charged through the front doors of Yoguda Hospital, intent on sowing terror and pain. The rest of their troupe watched from outside for the chaos to begin. There was a brief moment of silence as the Energybender footsoldiers waited for the fun to start.

There was a sudden, loud, pounding, an impact so intense that the foundation of the hospital shook, and its windows rattled. The first of the soldiers had met his adversary. His fellows waiting outside the hospital waited patiently for the chaos to start.

Their anticipation was shattered, as was the front door, by one of their own going sailing violently through the glass door. The herculean strength of the blow that had struck him carried the launched trooper a few dozen feet through the air before he began to skid and roll across the ground. His waiting comrades watched him roll away down the street before they slowly, fearfully turned their heads back towards the door.

The third of the hospitals attackers exited the front door more slowly, dragged out by his neck. Suda's fist was clenched tightly around the soldiers throat. Suda did not break eye contact with the waiting troopers as he lifted the third soldier into the air by his neck, and then slammed him down face first. The icy ground cracked under the impact.

Suda released the unconscious soldier and flexed his arms. Excitement turned to hesitation as the energybender's soldiers realized exactly what they were dealing with. Some contemplated retreat. Suda did not.

He swept his foot across the ground in a wide arc and then drew it back, lifting up the soil beneath the soldiers feet and drawing them close. As the earth itself pulled them in, Suda slammed a single fist downwards, dropping every would-be attacker to the ground like a hammer. He gave them a moment to lie on the ground and contemplate their pain before he launched them outwards again, sending them flying into walls and windows.

Suda planted his feet. Chaos was unfolding in the streets around him, but Suda would stand his ground. There were wounded and vulnerable people inside the hospital, and he would not allow them to be hurt.

A small group of soldiers marched down the street, and Suda turned to face them. Suda was more than ready to handle such a small group, but they never got the chance to meet.

Surging out of a side street in a tidal wave of force, Ariak swept through most of the soldiers before they had a chance to react. Those that remained standing were quickly disassembled by Ariak's waterbending. The soldiers wore the uniforms of the Shorewatchers, but they were no match for a real warrior's skills. Ariak cut a swift path through the enemy and moved forward towards the hospital.

"Suda, is everything alright here?"

"Just fine," Suda said. "A few guys got in the hospital a second ago. I took care of it before anyone got hurt."

"Good, good," Ariak said. "We need to spread the word, Suda, these attacks are a feint, the Shorewatchers are being impersonated. As many people as possible need to know."

"Then get to work," Suda said. "I'll stay here and defend the hospital."

"Suda, we need to regroup," Ariak said. "Sen could call on us at any minute."

"Somebody needs to protect this place," Suda objected. He wasn't going to just leave the hospital undefended.

"We can defend ourselves," Tlun declared. He stepped through the broken doors of the hospital. A few members of the hospitals security team likewise entered the courtyard in front of the hospitals entrance. Most of the men and women here were trained for healing, but there were enough that knew how to fight that they could defend their own.

"Tlun. I was hoping to find you, you need to-"

"I'll be taking care of myself for now, Ariak," Tlun said. His voice was not exactly brimming with confidence, but he was making a good attempt at faking it. "We need to keep this place safe. If this is a real attack, then more people will be coming to the hospital very soon."

Ariak decided not to waste time with pointless proclamations of love and trust when a simple hug would very well get the point across. He grabbed Tlun in his arms and patted him firmly on the back. Tlun reciprocated in his own awkward fashion.

"Looks like the first of them are already coming," Suda observed. People were running screaming, towards the hospital. Suda and Ariak were forced apart as the parade of people ran forward, carrying the wounded into the hospital. Ariak looked over the crowd, trying to make sure they were safe as they walked past his face. He saw no one wearing a Shorewatcher uniform, but he did see a Shorewatcher spear.

His spear.

Ariak stepped the side as the blade surged towards his heart. The razor sharp spear dove under his arm, cutting through his coat and slicing the side of his chest. The scent of blood put the already frightened crowd into a frenzy as they swarmed towards the hospital. Ariak pressed his hand against the wound. The bleeding cut did not hurt him nearly as badly as the sight of the face in front of him.

"Your family must have such a good memory for faces," Kida taunted. "Your father recognized me too."

She looked similar enough to her sisters that Ariak recognized her instantly. Her face was dark, and harsh, like broken obsidian. In another time, Ariak might have found her beautiful, but any beauty on her face was hidden by her anger. Rage and hate clung to her features like dirt, burying anything human underneath bitter fury. Kida bowed sarcastically, taunting Ariak.

"You can call me Kida. I figure you should know the name of at least one person in my family, since you seem so intent on killing us off."

Ariak tried to push himself backwards, but his legs were not cooperating. As far as he managed to move, Kida followed him, walking slowly.

"It's alright, Ariak," She said, feigning sympathy. She pressed one hand against her heart while the other still clung to her stolen spear. "I'm here to make things right."

She clenched the hand against her heart, and the frost beneath Ariak's feet rose up to claw at him. The icy razor blade cut into his leg, slicing painfully through his ankle and cutting him to the ground. Kida stepped slowly forward, looking down at Ariak.

"I'm here to kill you."

She thrust Ariak's own spear downwards, towards his heart. Ariak pushed himself aside and dodged the blow. With his one good leg he kicked at Kida's stomach, pushing her backwards with the blow. She was quick to recover, and she brandished the stolen spear with murderous intent.

Ariak swept his hand in a broad motion, forming the ice into a wall between himself and Kida. Kida drove her spear right through it, shattering the ice. It was never meant to slow her down very much. Any delay at all worked in Ariak's favor.

Making his usual entrance, Suda arrived on the scene like a boulder, slamming into Kida with all his strength, forcing her backwards. Tlun grabbed Ariak and pulled him up and away from the fight, trying to heal his wounds as they fled.

Kida gasped for breath and pulled herself up. Suda had knocked the wind out of her. She tried to recover and refocus on Ariak, but Tlun had taken him into hiding.

"I have no idea who you are," Kida said, looking over Suda. She shrugged. "But if you insist on dying for Ariak's sake, so be it."

Kida struck with a lance of ice, and Suda swung his muscular arm, shattering the icy blade in mid-air. Kida was impressed by the show of force.

"You're insane," Suda said dismissively.

"Naturally," Kida agreed, nodding as she spoke. "I am not, however, stupid, or alone."

Kida gave a loud shout, rallying the soldiers of the Energybender to her. She had never imagined that fighting Ariak would be easy, and so she had made sure to bring backup of her own. Dozens of impostor Shorewatchers flooded the street, heading for Suda. Kida summarily ignored the metalbender and gave chase to Ariak and Tlun.

With Suda imprisoned by walls of soldiers, Kida resumed her hunt. Behind her coherent and playful demeanor was a burning fury. She had wasted enough time with playful sadism. The next time she laid eyes on Ariak, she would strike without hesitation. She could joke after she crushed his still-beating heart in her fist.

Tlun had done his best to keep Ariak out of sight, but Tlun was not particularly good at hiding. He had, however, done a decent job of healing Ariak's wounds, so Ariak was ready to fight again when Kida found them. The shock of her initial appearance had passed, and Ariak was more prepared to retaliate. He sidestepped her initial attack and tore the ground below, opening wide cracks in the ice. While she was off her footing, a swift-moving ball of water struck her in the chest, knocking her back. Ariak looked over his shoulder. He hadn't thrown that.

"What," Tlun said, prepping another attack. "I'm pretty sure she's going to try to kill me too."

Tlun was proven terribly correct when a spear of ice soared towards his chest. Ariak moved him out of the way by pushing on the ice beneath Tlun's feet. Tlun may have been trained to fight, but he was not a warrior by nature. He lacked the reflexes and skill to face someone like Kida one on one.

Kida closed the distance, striking at Ariak with the spear. Ariak lacked a weapon, so Kida felt she had the advantage in close combat. Ariak intended to prove her wrong.

Ariak took hold of her stolen spear. She may have claimed it as her own, but the carved markings along the shaft marked it as Ariak's. He gripped the spear tightly and twisted it, exploiting a familiar flaw of the balance. The spear turned, nearly pulling out of Kida's grip. Nearly, but not quite. Kida adjusted her grip and held it tightly. She shook the spear in turn and pushed Ariak away.

"This isn't yours anymore, Ariak," Kida taunted. She stabbed at his heart, and Ariak dodged. She struck again, forcing Ariak further and further back.

"This is a killers weapon," Kida said mockingly. "You're just not that kind of person anymore."

"I'm not," Ariak protested as he retreated from her attacks. "I'm sorry for what happened to your sisters, for what I did! You have to know that!"

"I do," Kida said. "I just don't care."

Kida continued her relentless pursuit, striking her spear at Ariak's heart. Suda occasionally glanced at the fight, but he was preoccupied with his own battles. He couldn't simply ignore the dozens of soldiers that had closed in around him. If he didn't deal with them, they would go after the hospital. He was fighting them off, if slowly.

The horde was thinned significantly as the icy ground rose up in broad spikes, grasping at the soldiers with icy fangs. Those that were not captured in the frigid jaws were quickly struck by glittering spears of ice. Suda looked over his shoulders, wondering if Ariak had somehow won his fight already, but the face he saw was significantly more geriatric.

"Granny Loqo?"

The aged doctor moved stiffly, but quickly, striking out with vicious blows of ice and water. There was a sadistic smile on her wrinkled face as she froze one of the last of the soldiers.

"If I can fix 'em, I can break 'em," She boasted. "Now go help your friend!"

Suda never bothered questioning the odd circumstances of Granny Loqo's combat skills. Ariak needed help.

Kida and Ariak were still locked in the middle of a climactic struggle. Suda appreciated a dramatic struggle as much as anyone, but practicality and the safety of his friends came before any appreciation for drama. While Kida was single-mindedly focused on Ariak, Suda dug beneath the ice for any amount of earth to wield. Deep beneath the permafrost, Suda found a workable amount of earth and called it up. Directly beneath Kida's feet.

The ice cracked and crumbled, and Kida let out a loud roar as she was launched skywards. Suda swept the boulder out from under her, sending her plummeting towards the ground. While in the air, she was helpless for a brief moment. Ariak quickly seized that moment of vulnerability and struck her with a sweeping wave, launching her backwards and slamming her into a wall. Suda warped stone and earth to create a grasping prison of rock to hold Kida in place.

Despite her defeat, Kida seemed oddly calm. The ever-present rage still clung to her face, but as Ariak walked up to her, she seemed almost disinterested. Ariak had retrieved her stolen spear from the ground where it had fallen, and he held it idly as he looked at Kida.

"You could end it now, you know," Kida taunted. Her narrow eyes glanced briefly at Ariak's spear.

"I know," Ariak said. He dropped the spear, letting it clatter on the icy ground. Kida had never for a second doubted that Ariak would walk away.

"See you soon, Ariak," Kida said. It was only a matter of time before one of her allies happened upon her and freed her.

"Time to move," Suda said, propping up the injured Ariak and guiding Tlun away as well. "Better get out of here before spooky spear psycho gets out."

Ariak gave a rapid nod in agreement. The further they got away from Kida, the better.

***

The road the palace was thick with Energybender soldiers. Sen could hardly turn a corner without having some new squadron of soldiers to cut through. Apparently they had the same idea Sen did; if the Chieftain was allowed to take control of the situation, the North might be able to mount a successful defense. Sen had to make sure that happened, and the Energybenders men were eager to see it not happen.

It was difficult for him to move forward, to ignore everything that was happening around him. He could hear screams, see smoke, feel trembling heartbeats, smell blood on the wind. The North was consumed by chaos, and Sen was surrounded by it all. It broke his heart every time he had to charge past some screaming civilian, ignore some burning building, but he had to keep moving.

It was difficult to move and fight at once, but Sen managed, always barreling uphill towards the Chieftain's palace. When he had to fight, he used that forward momentum to lend power to his strikes, diving into his enemies headfirst. He slammed past a duo of Shorewatcher impersonators and continued uphill, rounding a corner sharply. He came to a quick halt.

The enemy had apparently planned for someone to pursue them towards the chieftains palace, because they had prepared a roadblock. A line of soldiers manned a hastily-constructed barricade, blocking off access to the upper street. Sen briefly paused to contemplate a clever way around it.

Even as he thought, an icy ramp clawed its way up and over the wooden barricade. Master Yakkul skated upwards and over the roadblock, landing behind the hasty fortification. He turned blade and bending upon the soldiers patrolling the makeshift wall just as Sen followed along Yakkul's path. Sen paused for a moment to help the swordsman in his fight.

"Your friends are looking for you," Yakkul said flatly. He was more focused on combat than conversation. He sliced through the spear of an impostor and then launched it backwards with a lance of water.

"They can wait," Sen said, with equal detachment. He made a few rapid jabs with his hands, sending bullets of water firing across the wall, scattering their enemies. "I need to reach the Chief."

"Leave that to me," Yakkul said. "Chief Atana trusts me, I can convince her more easily than you can."

"I have a certain ace up my sleeve," Sen boasted. He swept his hands, raising up a wave of water to sweep his enemies away. His red scarf shifted slightly as his arms moved.

"That's not a card to play just yet," Yakkul advised. He made sure to push the enemy soldiers out of hearing range before he continued. "If our enemy finds out where you are, they'll all storm your location. Better for us if they're unfocused, uncoordinated."

"You have a point," Sen admitted. "I'll-"

His thought was left unfinished by the sound of crashing ice and collapsing buildings, followed by a high-pitched scream. Sen had ignored many screams as he made his ascent to chieftains palace, but this one could not be ignored. It was followed by many just like it; high-pitched, shrill, short and terrified.

The screams of children.

"The school," Yakkul said under his breath. The Energybender's men were going after children. Sen's heart began to pound.

"Get to the Chief," Sen shouted. "I'll handle it."

Sen had lost track of how long he had been running now, but he ran again. A part of his brain was screaming at him to stop, telling him that he should be exhausted, but he didn't care. Adrenaline was racing through his veins, empowering him to move forward. The Avatar ran at breakneck pace towards the sound of the screaming, tearing past enemy soldiers and fleeing civilians alike.

Sen could hear the panicked cries of young children echoing from every window. Almost as an afterthought, Sen pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose and raised his hood. Saving the school might necessitate using all the power at his disposal, and if that were the case, he didn't want his face to be seen.

The streets were a blur as they went by, but one building came into focus the moment Sen laid eyes on it. The school, under siege, with a few desperate defenders the only thing standing between Sarin's forces and a massive number of innocent kids. Sen could hear the screaming of terrified children, and the bladed spears of those who would do them harm.

Sen preferred to think of himself as a man of analytical thought and careful strategy, but there are times when even the brightest thinkers had to charge straight forward. This was not a moment to be careful or cautious. If Sen hesitated, even just to think, then innocent children could be hurt. With an enraged war cry, Sen hit the attacking soldiers like the fist of an angry god, unleashing every spark of fury he had upon them.

Cries of fear and panic became an awed silence as frightened children watched Sen go to work. He held nothing back: no angry scream, no brutal blow, no element was held in check. Sen became a brutal hurricane of air, earth, water and fire, splitting soldiers, soil and sky with his anger. Ice and bones cracked as Sen's boulders tore through the enemy like wrecking balls. The arctic sky burned red as lances of fire carved ashen paths through their ranks. Frozen spires of ice emerged like fangs from above and below, trapping the soldiers in frigid jaws. The air was filled with howling wind and pained screams as whirlwinds scattered the enemy like dust in a hurricane.

The fury settled, the battle concluded, and there was only Sen, standing before a legion of the downed. His heavy breaths turned to cold clouds of fog as it passed through his scarf. Sen examined what he had wrought. Dozens of Energybender soldiers laid ruined before him. He looked over his shoulder. The children were silent but safe.

They looked at him with eyes wide in awe and admiration. They had watched every blow, every move, and they knew. He could see the recognition in their eyes. While the scarf and hood obscured his face, there could be no doubt that they knew who their savior was. The Avatar had saved them all.

The awe, the admiration, and the gratitude he saw in their eyes softened the rage that held his heart. They were safe now, and it was because of him. But only for a moment.

They thought they were safe, but Sen that was not the case. The attack was still ongoing. As soon as Sen turned his back, they would be in danger again. All he had done was delay the conflict.

A radio crackled behind him. Sen turned his back on the school and looked at the soldiers he had fought. One of them had clawed their way to a radio, intent on sending a message. Sen raced to intercept him –just a moment too late.

"The Avatar is here," The soldier gasped into the radio. Sen knocked him away from the radio, a second too late to stop the message. Sen clutched the radio in his hands and carried it away. Out of sight of the school, he shed his scarf and coat. He didn't want to be recognized by anyone later.

"I need confirmation," An all-too-familiar voice intoned. Sen recognized that voice from the message in Republic City. The same voice that had been broadcast across the world. The voice of the Energybender.

"Where is he," Sarin's voice demanded. Sen looked down at the radio. Idle chatter streamed across the airwaves as Sarin's troops communicated. The random chattering faded into white noise as Sen focused.

Slowly, but quite deliberately, Sen's thumb pushed down the talk button.

"I'm here, Sarin."

The crackling radio fell silent. Enemy chatter came to a dead halt. Though the machines fell silent, everyone within range of a radio could feel the tension surging across radio waves. Sen waited patiently for a moment, waiting for Sarin to make the first move. Sen heard the sound of continued conflict in the distance, and decided he could not afford to wait.

"You know, Sarin, I was getting ready to fight you head-on when you pulled this cowardly stunt," Sen shouted into the radio. "It's not going to work. I've already told the Chieftain about your deception."

It was a blatant lie, but Sen hoped the feint would work. If Sarin thought that his feint had been compromised, he might pull back. There was another long moment of silence and tension over the radio.

"Order a full retreat," Sarin's voice commanded. "Set up fortifications on the border of the city and along the docks. Blockade the city. All officers, rejoin me on the Blade Ship."

Sen looked around. The sounds of chaos faded. The attack was being called off. He almost breathed a sigh of relief. A slight crackle along the airwaves told him that Sarin was not yet done.

"I'll be at the docks," Sarin said. "You want to face me, Avatar?"

Sen's fist clenched tight around the radio. Sarin allowed himself a moment of pause, just enough to let the challenge sink into the Avatar's ears.

"I'll be waiting."


	67. Book 4 Ch16: Shattering, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To save the North and escape Sarin's clutches, Sen must take desperate actions -and come closer than ever to the battle that will change the world.

The tension in the throne room was palpable. Surma sat under the scrutiny of both Chieftain Atana and Ambassador Saruk. Though Yakkul had presented his case for the Shorewatcher's innocence, there was still no trust for the Shorewatchers. Not that there was anything left to trust.

The remnants of the Shorewatchers that Surma had led to the North had been attacked the moment they'd stepped into the city. Surma and a handful of others were the only ones who'd managed to surrender and make it to the capitol intact. Letho and the others were already gone. So far as Surma knew, she was the last Huntsman; the only leader of a mutilated army.

Not every Shorewatcher had been present at the Hall during the Energybender's attack, but even those who had been out and about across the North had come under attack. Being generous, Surma figured that the Shorewatchers were down to less than half their previous strength, and the attacks on local security had reduced the North's official army by about the same amount. The North had been crippled.

"I do assume that Surma is trustworthy," Ambassador Saruk began. He was the representative of the South, and he had to speak for Chief Kesuk in this matter. The Energybender's men had sabotaged all communication out of the North. "But the Council of Elders is heavily biased against your Shorewatchers, Chief Atana. Trust alone can no longer prevent this conflict. We need solid evidence that the Energybender was involved, not hearsay."

"Anyone who saw the Energybender attack is dead," Surma groaned. "The ones who survived did so by fleeing."

"So you didn't even lay eyes on him," Saruk said with a sigh. He turned back to the chieftain.

"Kesuk could have his armies set to march through the Portals in a matter of days," Saruk said. "The last message sent to the South said that the Shorewatchers had launched a coup. The South will arrive ready for war."

"It might be for the best," Chief Atana muttered. "Preferable to the blockade, at least."

It had only been a few hours, but the Energybender had already set a solid barrier around the North Pole. Previously he had been using only waterbenders to better impersonate the Shorewatchers, but now Sarin had called out his soldiers of other elements, effectively tripling his standing army. With the Shorewatchers in disarray, there was no force in the North strong enough to break the blockade.

"We can't risk Kesuk's armies coming for war," Yakkul interjected. "If the Energybender manipulates the truth again, it could spark a fire we can't put out."

"Well then we have to find some way to end this con," Saruk said. "We need proof!"

"You want your proof," A haggard voice shouted. "Here I am."

Tinaaki stomped his way into the throne room, looking like a hollow shell of a man. His Shorewatcher uniform had been torn to shreds, either accidentally or intentionally. He was a shadow of the proud Huntsmaster he had once been.

"Huntsmaster," Surma said humbly. "How did you escape?"

Tinaaki bit his lip and looked away from Surma for a moment.

"Kyros gave his life, so that I could escape," Tinaaki said quietly. "But his wasn't the only price paid."

He held up his hands to the Chief and the Ambassador, his fingers twitching feebly.

"My bending –it's gone," he moaned. "Who else but Sarin could do that?"

It was a brutal winter day in the North, but Tinaaki's words made the air turn even colder. The hollow space in Tinaaki's soul echoed with a discordant note.

"If we can-," Ambassador Saruk began, before stopping himself briefly. "I am truly sorry, Tinaaki. If we can confirm your condition, it should be enough to give Chief Kesuk pause."

Chief Atana nodded solemnly. At least that could be prevented, but it brought her little solace. One war had been prevented, but it was still clear that war was upon them. The collapse of communication in the North had prevented word from spreading to other nations just yet, but the Energybender had finally crossed the line. Small raids on minor cities could be ignored, perhaps, but a full blockade of a major city was an act of war, there could be no doubt. The tipping point had been reached. War was upon them.

A guard, one of only a handful left standing in the North, approached the throne room cautiously.

"Master Yakkul, several children are seeking access to the keep," The guard declared. The courtyard of the palace was an open refuge for those seeking asylum from the attacks, but the palace itself was being kept locked tight. "One named Ariak is leading them?"

Yakkul nodded. Surma was quick to rise to her feet. The last words Kyros had ever said to her were a command to seek out Ariak –or rather, one of his companions. Tinaaki lurched slowly to follow the guard as well.

Ariak and the rest of the group were relieved to finally reach the safety of the palace. After regrouping, Sen and his team had made a sweep through the city to assure its safety. Now they finally had a moment to breathe, but not a moment to relax. They needed a plan of action. Tlun had broken off from the group to help the wounded, and Yakkul quickly returned to the chief, so they were left on their own. Until Surma arrived, at least.

"Sen," She said desperately. "Which one of you is Sen?"

The Avatar was quick to step forward. Surma limped over to him and looked him in the eyes.

"Kyros said you could stop this," She sobbed. She had watched too many of her friends fall in the past few days. It had to end. Sen was her only hope, and she didn't even know why. "You have to stop this."

"I'm going to," Sen assured her. Tinaaki spat, and it made a sickening sound. He had followed Surma out of the throne room, to see the Avatar's arrival.

"You should have stopped this before it began," he said, choking on his own anger. He cleared his throat and continued. "You wasted time when you should have been-"

"You!"

Ariak stepped forward, slamming his arm into his fathers chest and pinning him against the wall. Ariak had kept his calm surprisingly well given the events of the day, but seeing Tinaaki snapped something in him.

"You read the family records before you came to fight the bloodbender! You knew there was a third sister! You knew about Kida!"

When Ariak had been held captive by Kida's sister, Tinaaki and Kyros had tracked Ariak down by connecting his kidnapper to the first Red Moon sister. They had to have discovered Kida in the process, and yet Tinaaki had struck down the bloodbender all the same, repeating the exact same mistake that had started the conflict in the first place.

"I knew," Tinaaki admitted. He knew that Sen could see lies. There was no point in resisting.

"You knew there were more, but you still struck her down," Ariak said. "You repeated the exact same mistake."

"I repeated your mistake," Tinaaki said venomously. "You started this."

"I know what I've done," Ariak said. He released Tinaaki and allowed his father to fall to the floor. "But I tried to make it right, I tried to make her understand, and you stabbed her in the back!"

"To save you, you ungrateful-"

"I didn't need saving," Ariak shouted back. "She was surrendering, and you struck her down like an animal. You are a murderer, Tinaaki, and Kyros, and Letho, and everyone else that died today died because of you!"

Ariak bent over and leaned into his fathers face. Tinaaki refused to look him in the eye. Ariak had expected that much. He sighed all the same. Standing and turning his back on Tinaaki, Ariak returned his attention to Sen.

"I believe we have a mess to clean up," Ariak said firmly. "Could you take care of him, Surma?"

There was anger apparent on Surma's face as she grabbed Tinaaki and dragged him away. He had a great deal to answer for, and what remained if the Shorewatchers would see justice done. Sen turned to Ariak as his father was forcibly pulled away.

"You're good?"

"I'm fine, Sen. We need to focus on the existing problem, not the idiot that caused it."

"Alright then," Sen said awkwardly. "We need to break the siege. The North relies on outside trade to keep its citizens fed. If we don't end the blockade, people will start to starve."

"A good idea to start with," Ariak said. He looked over his shoulder cautiously. Most of the refugees in the area had turned to their own matters, and were not paying particular attention to Sen and his friends. That meant they could speak somewhat openly.

"Maybe we should let Atana try to handle it," Ariak said. "Getting more involved right now might not be the solution."

"Getting more involved is exactly the solution," Sen said. "This is what I talked about, Ariak. All of you! This the opportunity-"

"No, Sen," Ariak said with stunning firmness. He'd never objected so strongly to one of Sen's ideas. "This is not the time for that."

"The Energybender's already here, Ariak, I'm the only one who can-"

"We are lucky that Sarin has moved for a stalemate," Ariak said angrily. "If he knows where to find you he will send every soldier he has to fight you, and innocent people will be caught on his warpath! I will not let you turn my home into a war zone again!"

Sen clenched his fists. Ariak felt some small amount of guilt, but he stood firm. They were sitting in one of the most populated cities on earth. It was not the time or place for Sen and Sarin to clash. Innocent people would be put at risk, even more so than they already were.

"Hate to say it, but Ariak might have a point. It was a good idea to go public on your terms, but Sarin controls the situation now," Suda said. "Finding you is exactly what he wants right now. It'd be dumb to hand yourself over."

"I don't hate to say it, because I say it frequently, but I think you're both idiots," Whistler said. "If Sen has to hide the fact that he's the Avatar, then the Energybender's the biggest guy on the playing field. He'll be able to do whatever he wants."

"This stalemate we have is temporary," Ada said. "Sarin will make a move to draw Sen out sooner or later. The conflict is inevitable, we might as well start it on our terms."

"We want to not start it at all, Ada," Ariak objected. "We need to move quickly before-"

"We'll never organize anything meaningful in time," Ada interrupted.

Whistler then added her opinion into the debate, and as usual, her abrasive habits turned a debate into a full-blown argument. Sen's four friends split down the middle as Ariak and Suda loudly argued their points against an even louder Whistler and Ada. Sen took a step back from the debate and leaned against a wall, near a window.

The battles of the day were over, for now, but the damage was still visible. There was not much to burn in the icy north, and yet there was still smoke rising on the horizon. From atop the hill Sen could see most of the North Pole, even through the coming darkness. The sun was setting, and the lights in the city were gradually coming on. Most of the light was centered around Yakkul's home and the Police Station, the only two established safe zones in the city besides the Chieftain's palace. Beyond those two clusters of light, there was an encroaching circle of grey lanterns; the markings of the Energybender's blockade. Between the dim lights of the blockade and the sharp illumination of the citizens refuges, there was a great blackness.

Sen looked away from the city and towards himself. He rolled up the sleeve of his thick shirt to examine some things he hadn't looked at in a long time. A circular scar around his wrist that had long since begun to fade, and a metal bracelet with a rectangular stone as its centerpiece. The only signs of Hanjo and Miyani he carried with him. He had thought himself so close to reuniting with them, but he'd been proven wrong.

Sen pulled his sleeve back down and crossed his arms. The argument carried on around him, as two sides battled back and forth over whether Sen should reveal himself as the Avatar. As the debate raged on, a thought occurred to Sen.

"Everybody shut up," Sen shouted. His friends immediately shut up, as did several completely unrelated people. Sen talked very loudly when he had an idea. "I just came up with part of a plan!"

"Part of a plan?"

"It's been fifteen seconds, Whistler, you see how much you can come up with in fifteen seconds," Sen shot back. Whistler shrugged idly.

"Anyway, I have part of a plan," Sen said triumphantly. "And it's one that doesn't require me to do any Avatar stuff to save the North. We can all agree on that, right?"

The group nodded as one. Sen nodded back. While they would argue all day about whether Sen should show himself as the Avatar, they all agreed that something had to be done to save the North. If Sen could accomplish that incognito, all the better.

"Alright, I'm going to put the rest of the plan together, and I need information. Ariak, Ada, I want you to go scouting around the warehouse district downtown, see what the barricade is like in that area."

Ariak and Ada saluted sharply. It was good to have a clear mission again.

"Whistler, I want you to go with them," Sen said. "Except instead of scouting, I need you to steal as many of the enemies radio's as possible."

"Yes! Hurting people and stealing stuff all in the same day," Whistler said excitedly. "Man, this is-"

She froze suddenly and looked around at Ariak, Sen, and the confused and frightened crowd of people that was in the Chieftains palace.

"…The worst," Whistler said hesitantly. "Today is terrible."

"Thank you for pretending to care about our misfortune," Ariak said. Whistler nodded solemnly.

"Okay, Suda, I need you to find that room where they keep all the architectural records and look up the docks for me," Sen said. Suda was quick to nod and be on his way. He didn't usually do the research, but he was always happy to help.

"I'm going to go deal with the Chief," Sen said. "I need her to cooperate too. And don't worry, no Avatar stuff at all."

"Not even a little," Ariak warned. "Atana's desperate. If she finds out who you are, she's going to insist on making a big deal about it."

"I know. I'll be careful."

Ariak and Ada broke off, with Whistler following close on their heels. Suda likewise went off to finish his own mission, while Sen headed for the throne room.

***

"I've lived here my entire life," Ariak said quietly. "I've never once seen it like this."

The city was thick with misery and pain, but thin on any signs of human life. Occasionally Ada saw some trace of life nearby, but any light or motion was snuffed out when they came near. The people that remained in the North were paralyzed by fear.

The circle of grey lanterns imprisoned them all in dim light. Ariak and Ada moved in shadowed ways as they approached the barricade. They snuck to a rooftop near the Energybender's barricade and found a good vantage point on the barricade. The moon provided little light, but through her binoculars, Ada managed to get a good glimpse of the soldiers manning the hastily constructed walls.

They wore the same colored robes and masks that they had always worn. The masks, marked by grey circles around the eyes to mimic their master, looked out over a city paralyzed by fear. Ada swept her binoculars along the line of the barricade, and quickly a worried frown crossed Ada's face.

"I've never seen this many before," She mumbled.

Long ago the Harrier had attacked Gai Zhu with sixty men, and Ada had thought that an army. Today she saw hundreds, perhaps thousands along the entire length of the barricade. They had vastly underestimated the size of the Energybender's army, and the Energybender had ceased to underestimate them. He was no longer being cautious or careful with his resources. He had thrown all his strength against the North, to ensure escape was impossible.

"I'd hoped we might be able to fight through this on our own," Ada said. "But this would take an army."

"I know Sen's clever," Ariak said. "But I hope this plan of his is really good."

Ariak paid close attention to every possible detail in the area, watching the entire region with a hunter's eye. Sen would need as much information as physically possible. The width and breadth of the barricade and all its soldiers fell under Ariak's observation. He didn't miss a single detail.

"Now we just need to wait for Whistler to finish stealing the radios," Ariak said.

"I did that five minutes ago," Whistler said. Ariak jumped slightly as her voice came seemingly from nowhere. Whistler had, unheard by either Ada or Ariak, joined them on the rooftop and was reclining with a pile of handheld radios in her lap.

"But we've been looking at the barricade this whole time," Ada said weakly. "We never-"

"Pickpocket," Whistler said. "I used to do this for a living, remember?"

Ada groaned and decided to stop questioning it. Whistler grabbed her stolen bounty of radios and followed them back to the Chieftain's palace.

***

"I admire your initiative, stranger," Chieftain Atana said. Sen had managed to talk his way into her company and present his plan. "But I will have to know who you are before I put the fate of my people in your hands."

"I'm…the detective, that solved the Sparrow Construction case," Sen said. Even without mentioning that he was the Avatar, he still had a few worthwhile accomplishments under his belt.

"Yes, I heard of that," Atana said quietly. "You are, by all accounts, a clever individual, but I can't simply sign over my armies to a detective, not in a time of crisis."

Sen froze. That was not the answer he had been anticipating. Atana had actually seemed impressed with the plan of action he'd suggested.

"You could enact it yourself, chieftain, I'm not asking you to hand me control of the North," Sen said. It didn't matter whether he had full control of the situation, as long as somebody competent was running things.

"It's a good plan, detective, but it's simply too risky," Atana said. "The safest bet is to wait for Southern forces to come to our aid."

"Our last communication with the South said they were already preparing," Ambassador Saruk said firmly. "The North can outlast this siege long enough for a real army to arrive."

"Not well enough," Sen protested. "You know the North Pole can't be self-sustaining. Without access to the docks, to fishing and trade, people will starve!"

"With careful planning and usage of resources, we can…minimize the impact," Saruk said guiltily. He knew the consequences of waiting, but he also knew the consequences of moving too quickly. Invoking Sarin's wrath could reignite the conflict, causing much more damage in the long run.

"You're welcome to remain and help manage the situation," Atana said. "We could use someone like you."

Sen grit his teeth. He could probably do something to minimize the troubles caused by waiting, but he still believed that acting quickly was the best course of action. He'd be better off trying to act on his own.

"I'll think about it," Sen said sullenly. "But I'm not sure you do need someone like me."

Sen was becoming more and more convinced that the Avatar was the solution to this problem. He couldn't commit to such a revelation recklessly, though. He would need to regroup with his friends first.

Suda was the first to find him, and he was in a much better mood than Sen was.

"I found the stuff you were looking for," Suda said. "That giant anchor statue is really-"

Suda was quick to notice the look of frustration on Sen's face and pause his own speech.

"You alright, buddy?"

"Atana turned me down," Sen moped. "Without her and her army, we have nothing."

"Did it ruin your plan that badly?"

"We can't be in two places at once," Sen said. "We need a distraction, a big one, just for a little while. We'll need an army to do it."

It had been a long time since Suda had seen Sen quite so dejected. His plan had been almost completely dismantled by one failure. Suda waited in silence while Sen considered his options. It took long enough that Ada and Ariak returned from their mission, with Whistler just behind.

"I got those radios you wanted, Sen," She said proudly, dumping the entire stack at her feet. Sen wasn't quite paying attention. He was staring at Ariak with an odd intensity.

"I cannot believe I forgot about them," Sen mumbled under his breath.

***

What was left of the Shorewatchers had all gathered in a single large chamber, sitting in silence and guilt. Though the deception had been revealed, there was still a great deal of animosity towards the Shorewatchers.

The most damaging blow to the Shorewatchers collective ego had been how easily people believed they would attack the North Pole. Few had stopped to question why the Shorewatchers would turn to violence so quickly; they had simply accepted it as if it had been an inevitability. Knowing that the people thought so little of them was a blow to the soul. One Sen was looking to give them a chance to repair.

"It's a good plan," Surma said. Sen had explained the details of his scheme, and Surma seemed more receptive than Atana had been. Ariak and Tlun had also spoken in support of Sen; they were known to the Shorewatchers, and their word carried some weight.

"I know I'm asking you to risk a lot," Sen said. "But this is the best course of action, I promise."

"I know there's a lot going on right now," Tlun said. "But the Shorewatchers were founded to take the risks that others wouldn't. TO protect the North, sometimes you have to take drastic action."

Surma nodded. Under Tinaaki they had lost much of their original direction, but the Shorewatchers were still meant to be a force for good. Surma

"Kyros trusted you, and I trust you," Surma said. "But I don't know if I can rally these men-"

"Of course you can't," Tinaaki said. Sen rolled his eyes as he insisted on shoving his nose into a conversation he had no part in. "I am-"

"You don't get an opinion," Sen said, pointing an accusing finger at Tinaaki. "You started all of this!"

"I am still the Master of the Hunt, and I will not be overruled!"

There was a very loud and very satisfying cracking noise as Tinaaki's knees were kicked out from under him. Ariak planted a firm foot on Tinaaki's leg to make sure he stayed down. He would have been perfectly happy ignoring Tinaaki, but if he insisted on making a nuisance of himself, Ariak was more than glad to stop his father.

"Surma, give him a vote of no confidence," Ariak said, pointing at Tinaaki.

"I…have no confidence in Huntsmaster Tinaaki," She said hesitantly.

"Look at that," Ariak said, removing his foot from Tinaaki's leg. "The entire Council of Huntsmen just voted you out of office. Now we need a replacement. Surma, nominate yourself."

"I nominate myself as the new…Huntsmaster," She said.

"Then the vote is unanimous," Ariak said, with just a hint of bitter sarcasm. He stepped over to Surma and bowed shallowly. "Congratulations, Surma. You are now Master of the Hunt."

Tinaaki had a look of panic and confusion in his eyes that stated quite clearly that he did not understand what was happening. It would sink in soon enough.

"Your previous leader maintained our strength in peace, but collapsed when faced with a real battle," Ariak said, casually ignoring his father. "Hopefully you will be more composed."

"You can't do this to me," Tinaaki protested. The look on his face said that he was not done talking, but in contrast, the foot on his face said he was very much done talking. There was a slight imprint of Tlun's boot left over when Tinaaki fell face first onto the floor again.

"Are we just taking turns hurting him, because if so, I call next," Whistler said.

"I deserved to do that," Tlun said, defending himself.

"If we're all done kicking a man while he's down, I still have things that need to get done," Sen shouted. Tinaaki was very low on Sen's list of priorities right now. "Surma, if you would please talk to your men."

Tinaaki made a slight groaning sound. Sen rolled his eyes.

"Would someone please get him out of here," Sen begged. He could not deal with Tinaaki's drama and saving the North at the same time. There was such a thing as too much too fast. He had to compartmentalize. Suda dragged Tinaaki out of the room.

"I'll need some time," Surma said. She was still coming to grips with the fact that she was the new Huntsmaster. It would have been overwhelming in normal circumstances, and this was an especially strange circumstance.

"It's fine," Sen said. "There are a few things we need to do anyway."

Sen dismissed them, and his allies went about their business. Ada, Suda, and Whistler started talking over their roles in Sen's plan, while Sen went on his own side mission, and Ariak began to talk to Tlun.

"At the end of this, I'll be leaving the North," Ariak said. "I don't know what you plan, but if you want to come-"

"I'll be staying," Tlun said. "The North Pole will need good healers in the next few days."

"I thought you might say that," Ariak said. "Stay safe."

"Keeping us safe is what heroes like you are for," Tlun said. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Ariak in a rare hug. "Don't forget that, Ariak. You are a hero."

It was hard to feel that way, with the part he'd played in creating Kida. Ariak reluctantly returned Tlun's embrace, but gradually held him tighter. It might be a long time before they got the chance to see one another again.

Sen wound his way through the halls of the palace, passing by the rooms packed with scared and wounded refugees. Too many people had been put at risk. He was close to giving them salvation, but there was one thing he had to put his mind at ease about first. A chance that had been cut off at the very beginning of this horrid affair.

The doors of the throne room were opened for him, and Atana seemed glad to see him return. Despite her refusal to help him with his plan, she still thought highly of his intelligence, and would be happy to see him help.

"Actually, I'd like to speak to the Ambassador privately," Sen said.

Ambassador Saruk reluctantly stepped aside to answer Sen's questions.

"Ambassador, about the Southern forces," Sen began. "I've heard rumors about a combustion bender. Is there any chance that she will...?"

Saruk rubbed his chin, but he stopped thinking about it quickly.

"It's meant to be classified, but I suppose under the circumstances," He sighed. "Yes, there is a combustion bender. One of the last messages I received before Sarin destroyed the radio towers was that she was aware of the situation, and had her own plan of action. She will be arriving, but most likely not with the main force."

Sen sighed. It was meaningless, he supposed, since he would hopefully be out of the North long before Miyani even had the chance to arrive. It was nice to know that at least one person was safe in this mess. Maybe Miyani could help the North when this was all over.

Sen left the room, and returned to his allies. The Shorewatchers were rallying. It was time to move.

***

It was under the scant light of a narrow sliver of moon that the army marched. There was an uncomfortable tension amidst the troops. What remained of the Shorewatchers marched shoulder to shoulder. They were still weighted by guilt and sorrow at their own failures and the loss of their comrades.

Sen's plan was directing them to a weak point in the Energybender's blockade, yes, but the plan was for them to attract far more attention. Sarin was here for the Avatar; if he knew that the Avatar was in a certain location, every single one of his soldiers would descend upon that place. They would lure in the Energybender's army and break the blockade, allowing innocent civilians to escape.

The soldiers believed they were on a suicide mission, but they still clung to hope. Rumors had been spreading. Some schoolchildren among the refugees claimed that the Avatar was truly in the North. It was nothing but a rumor spread by young children, but it was a much-needed glimmer of hope on a dark night.

It was more than a rumor, but not in a way that any of them knew. If the Avatar rescued them, it would not be in the way they were expecting.

There was a moment of hesitation when the front line laid eyes on the blockade. There were not many men present here, comparatively speaking, but there was a deadly force waiting all the same. Charging now would be a commitment to a war that none of them wanted.

But Sarin had made the first move. War was upon them, whether they wanted it or not. They might as well strike first this time.

The mismatched horde Shorewatchers was quick to hammer against Sarin's blockade. Here at its weakest point, a true victory might have been possible, but there was more to the plan.

Amidst the chaos of conflict, a few chosen soldiers took out radio sets and prepared to activate them. Stolen just hours ago by Whistler, the radios were still broadcasting to the enemies frequency.

"Avatar spotted," one soldier cried, making sure to capture the sounds of battle in the background.

"The Avatar is on the battlefield," Another soldier chimed in. The false reports of the Avatar scattered across enemy radios, spreading the word to every soldier of the Energybender. Sarin, sitting in the cabin of the Blade Ship, heard every word.

Dei Sensheng and regarded the radio messages carefully, as did Kida. She had considered abandoning Sarin's forces after they had failed, twice, to deliver her the promised vengeance, but she had been persuaded otherwise. With Suda having intervened in her attempts to kill Ariak, it had become apparent that Ariak and the Avatar were in league, which meant they now had a common goal.

"I'm surprised the Shorewatchers managed to rally," Sensheng said. "There can't be more than a few hundred left."

"Could they truly manage to break our blockade?"

"In the long term, it's unlikely," Sensheng said. "But they could create enough of a distraction that the Avatar could slip through."

Dei Sensheng was still not fully convinced that the Avatar was really present on the battlefield. The Avatar was notorious for avoiding direct conflict, a habit which infuriated the Energybender.

"Here I am, Sarin," Sen's voice declared, echoing out over every radio. Most of the soldiers of the north took it for just another soldier faking a report of the Avatar, but Sarin recognized the voice. It was indeed the Avatar, taunting him from afar. The grey rings around Sarin;s eyes furled as he narrowed his eyes in anger.

"You don't have enough soldiers to hold this barricade forever," Sen said mockingly. "Give me a few minutes and I'll slip right through your fingers one more time."

Complete radio silence. Sen muted his radio and waited. The silence continued for a few more minutes. Sensheng looked at his commander.

"Converge on the battlefield," Sarin finally ordered. Everyone aboard, even Kida, readied for a fight. "We're going after the Avatar."

Sen smiled triumphantly. Sarin's forces were taking the bait, and converging on the attempted breach of the blockade. The funny thing about radios, though, is that they said nothing about where the speaker was located.

Sen and his friends had tunneled right underneath the blockade, riding on Gun's back under the soil. Whistler had spoken all the while about how Gun's tunneling was actually helping them avoid trouble for once. The Badgermole had carried them all the way to the decks, where they were forced to emerge. The docks sat on a massive ice shelf, not solid land, so Gun could not tunnel to the edge of the water. They were still about a hundred feet from shore. Sen could see the Blade Ship bobbing on the water's surface from here.

In contrast to the chaos further inland, the dock was oddly calm. The waves pushed slightly against the icy docks, creating an almost soothing rhythm as they lapped against the coast. A massive iron statue of an anchor reflected the moonlight, adding a little more illumination to the area.

The night fell silent for a moment after Sarin's radio broadcast, and Sen's group dared to peek out from behind cover. The dark of the night would obscure them, but it also obscured their view of the Blade Ship. They barely noticed as a few dozen black silhouettes emerged from the Blade Ship's cabin.

Ada saw nothing in the distant figures that caused her alarm, but Sen was clearly affected. His eyes narrowed, and his heartbeat grew so rapid she could practically see the blood pounding through his veins.

"It's him," Ada said quietly. Sen nodded.

He could feel it from here, the void that was Sarin. Sen could sense body, soul, and breath, but he felt none of these things from Sarin. He was emptiness, a hollow space where life should be. Was it some intentional cover, Sen wondered, a shield to block Sen's extra senses, or was it merely Sarin's nature? Was he so cold as to lack even a heartbeat?

Sen turned away from Sarin's cold void. He didn't want to look. He let his friends keep watch over the Blade Ship while they waited for the plan to work. Sen flexed his fists tightly while he waited -for now.

"No, no, no," Ariak mumbled under his breath. Sen scowled heavily and turned back to the view of the ship. Of course something was wrong.

One by one Sarin's subordinates charged away from the ship, towards the scene of the battle, where they believed the Avatar to be. Kida was one of the first to leave, eager to head off to where she believed Ariak to be. Sensheng was one of the last left on board.

"Will you be leading the charge, commander?" Sensheng asked curiously.

Sarin looked out over the forzeon North, encircled by the grey light of his armies. There was a cold chill in the air, unnatural even for the North.

"No," Sarin said firmly. Sensheng cast a leery eye at his master, though he hid it from Sarin. "Confirm that the Avatar is here, and report to me."

Sensheng obliged, abandoning the Blade Ship and proceeding into the cold and quiet of the North Pole. Sarin was now alone on the deck of his captured vessel.

"That coward," Sen grunted.

"We should have seen this coming, he fell for a decoy Avatar once before," Ada said angrily. She clenched her hands tight around the grips of her swords.

"If he doesn't move, we can't get that ship," Suda said. Sen's plan had hinged on them capturing the Blade Ship. Once aboard, Sen would reveal that he was sailing away, and Sarin would be dragged into a pursuit, forced to abandon the North. But if Sarin still held the Blade Ship, that was impossible. It was the fastest vessel on the water; any other ship they tried to escape in would be quickly overrun.

"If we don't move quickly the Shorewatchers will be overrun," Ariak said. He looked to Sen in desperation. His plans had brought them this far. They needed one more stroke of genius.

Sen stared out at the empty space where Sarin should be. He was waiting, watching, a quiet figure cutting a hole in the night sky. Sen's eyes narrowed. All he saw in Sarin was nearly three years of anger. The destruction at Shen's Post and Tunuk Bay, the loss of Hanjo, the battle at Gai Zhu, the hunting Fogbender, and now this brutal attack on the North. All that anger and misery concentrated into a single point, in Sarin.

And they'd never even seen each other before today. They'd exchanged words for the first time earlier. Sen's ears still burned with Sarin's taunt: "I'll be waiting." Waiting just a few yards away, and yet they were an entire world apart.

But Sen had been from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation to the Spirit World to the North Pole. He had crossed worlds before. Sen's pounding heart steadied.

"How long will it take to get the ship running, Ariak?"

"A few minutes," He said. "Ten, at most."

Ten minutes, Sen could handle that much.

"Signal me when the ship's ready," Sen commanded.

"What's the plan?" Ada asked curiously. Sen never spoke, but the look in his eyes said more than a thousand words ever could. Ada tried to protest, but never got the chance.

Sen vaulted out of cover, out from his hiding place in the shadows and on to the icy docks. Sparse moonlight illuminated his sudden charge towards the Blade Ship. Even though the obscuring darkness blocked his sight directly, Sen could still feel it as Sarin's grey-ringed eyes turned to look at him. It sent a chill down his spine, but did not slow his steps.

"Sarin!"

Sen punctuated his shout with a lance of fire. The jet of red flames soared upwards towards the deck of the blade ship, briefly illuminating Sarin's hooded face. The flash of brilliant light lasted only a moment before Sarin was shrouded by darkness yet again.

With a sweep of his arms, Sen called up the waters of the ocean to lash out at Sarin. There could be no doubt. Sarin had to know exactly who he was facing.

"Is he insane?" Suda shouted.

"He's a distraction," Ariak retaliated, quickly catching on to Sen's plan. "We need to get to the ship and get him out of there!"

A quick blast of air from Sen was the final straw. Sarin dove from the deck of the blade ship onto the ice below, cushioning his landing with a slight spiral of air. Sen held his hands at the ready, waiting for Sarin to strike. The Energybender seemed content to stand there for a moment.

Here, just a few feet apart, the dim moonlight was enough to illuminate them both clearly. For the first time Sen saw his rival clearly. They were nearly equal in height and build, evenly matched at least in the physical regard. Sen could still sense nothing of Sarin's spirit. That was dangerous. Sen had come to rely on his extra senses in combat. Fighting without them would be difficult.

Sarin's grey robes shifted slightly as the winds changed course around him. He called upon the cold air, readying himself for the battle to come.

"Finally you stop running," Sarin hissed.

Sen didn't respond with words but with a quick blade of fire cutting through the air, diving towards Sarin's heart. The Energybender made a quick dash to the side, propelled by cutting winds that enhanced his speed. He unleashed a quick cyclone as retaliation, which Sen likewise sidestepped. Their probing of each other's defenses paused and they began to circle one another once again.

"Hanjo's told me much about you," Sarin taunted. "Your fury in combat, and especially your skills of observation."

Sarin abandoned his defensive stance and held his hands wide, mocking Sen.

"So tell me, Avatar," He said, making the title sound like a curse. "What do you see in me?"

Hatred. It was an easy question. Sen could not look at Sarin and feel anything but rage. After all the things he'd done, there was nothing else Sen could feel. Sarin was a cancer on Sen's life, a source of nothing but misery and suffering.

"You've been trying to kill me for three years, and now you want to talk?" Sen growled. "All I see is an animal I'm going to put down."

Sarin seemed disappointed by Sen's crude anger.

"What you should see, Sen," Sarin roared. "Is inevitability."

Sarin spun his hands, summoning a broad circle of spiraling air, too wide and tall for Sen to dodge around. Sen called up a massive shield of ice and pushed it forward, charging through the heart of Sarin's miniature hurricane. Coming out the other side of the roaring cage of wind, Sen threw a punch forward, and a blade of ice ripped out of the ground towards Sarin.

"There is only one way this ends, Avatar," Sarin taunted as he deflected the blow. A sweeping hammer of air descended from above, and Sen was forced backwards. Sarin began to walk forward slowly, launching a relentless barrage of small, swift strikes from the air.

"I was born, raised, and trained for one purpose," he shouted.

As Sen danced around the rapid blows of air, Sarin raised his hands and focused his mind.

"To be the end of the Avatar!"

Sarin's hand slammed down, and the sky fell with it. Sen was hit by the descending pillar of air and knocked to the ground, unable to avoid the crushing skyfall. Sarin attempted to strike while Sen was disoriented, but Sen was quick to recover. He shielded himself from the blow at just the right angle, using the gust of air to push himself backwards, launching a few retaliatory strikes at Sarin as he moved backwards. With some space to maneuver, Sen planted his feet.

Sen dug his heel into the ground and spun it right, raising up the ice into a pillar and sweeping it toward Sarin. In the same spinning motion he sent out a line of fire to Sarin's opposite side, intending to trap him between ice and fire. Sarin jumped up and backwards, allowing the two conflicting elements to crash into each other.

There was no hesitation in Sen's action. Sarin dodged, and Sen went after him once again, trying to force him further from the Blade Ship. He couldn't risk Sarin getting too close to his friends. Sen was the only one who stood any chance of resisting Sarin's Energybending. Anyone else fighting him could only end in disaster.

With that in mind, Sen took a few steps back. Sarin followed, attacking in kind with a lash of wind. Sen, used to having a few seconds of warning before an attack, only barely managed to dodge the first strike. He felt the air rush by, just inches from his face. He'd need to keep a better eye out for Sarin's attacks.

The ice cracked and shook as Sen pulled up two circular disks of ice to shield himself. He needed to focus on defending himself. He had Sarin's attention now, all he had to do was hold his ground until his friends got the Blade Ship working.

Blasts of air bounced off Sen's icy shields as Sarin closed in on his prey. When the Energybender was a safe distance from the ship, the rest of the group set out. Suda kept a close eye on Gun. Sen's animal guide was confused to be crossing ice, but that was perhaps a good thing. If he sensed the battle his master was in, Gun might have rushed to help.

Ariak called up a ramp of ice to the deck of the Blade Ship, wide enough for them all to climb up. As soon as they were aboard, he began shouting orders. Sarin's lieutenants had abandoned the ship earlier, so they at least didn't have to fight for control of the ship, but there was still a lot of work to be done getting the ship ready to launch.

The air was filled with the sound of shattering as one of Sen's shields was broken by Sarin's blows. Sarin's attacks were surprisingly relentless. His airbending was strange, different even from Whistler's aggressive airbending. Sarin wielded air like his own hands, occasionally using it to grip and control an object, occasionally hammering it down like a fist.

With one of his shields broken, Sen decided to abandon the defensive approach for a moment. He threw his remaining shield like a spinning saw blade through the air. Sarin deflected it by redirecting the flow of air, causing the spinning shield to veer off course. Sen sparked a fire in his hands, illuminating the dark night with red light.

Sen slammed both his hands together and let out a continuous stream of flame, following Sarin as he evaded the jet of fire. Sen focused on maintaining the attack, forcing Sarin to remain on the move.

With a quick motion, Sarin threw out his hand and clenched his fist. Sen felt the air close tightly around his torso a second too late. He was pulled backwards, thrown off his feet, and slammed against the ground. He hit the icy ground hard, and then was lifted up again, before being slammed right back down. Sen felt shards of ice against his back as the ice shattered beneath him.

He felt another motion in the air, and this time he managed to disrupt Sarin's attack. Sen flipped to his feet and turned to face his adversary once again. His skin was burning where he had slammed against the ground, but he was still ready to fight. He had to keep up the battle for just a little while longer.

The air roared as a blast of wind passed by Sen. The Avatar dodged again and again, staying only two steps ahead of Sarin's blows. Eventually, two steps became one, and then none. Cold winds ripped Sen's legs out from under him, forcing him down on to his face.

Sarin readied himself for another blow, and he took a step back with his left foot. Sen's eyes zeroed in on that one slight step. He was robbed of many of the tools he used to predict his opponents motions, but he still had his eyes and his wit. He was not completely disarmed.

The blow hit Sen in the chest, pounding against his ribs painfully, but Sen endured. He braced himself for the next strike. Sarin prepared, and once again stepped back slightly with his left foot. The burst of air that followed was once again aimed right at Sen's chest. Sen stepped to the side and twisted the ice, raising up a row of spike's to Sarin's left just as he prepared another attack. The icy spikes caused Sarin to hesitate in adjusting his stance, and the blow that followed was weaker, more sluggish, easy to dodge.

Sen smiled to himself. Sarin was still human. He had weaknesses, flaws to be exploited. All Sen had to do was learn to exploit them. Sarin saw the smile on Sen's face, and, surprisingly, smiled right back. His smile was a wicked thing, completely joyless and sadistic. Sen ignored the toxic grin on Sarin's face and continued the fight.

It was a brutal thing to go through. Sen endured a dozen blows, and landed few in turn. Sarin held the advantage –for now. With every step, with every blow, Sen learned more and more about Sarin's fighting style. Every footstep, every gesture, every turn of his head betrayed more and more about Sarin, and gradually, the tide began to turn.

Sarin planted his feet and threw his hands forward. Sen recognized the move. Sen lunged forward to dodge the hammerlike blow of air that came from above, and retaliated in kind. A cyclone briefly spun in front of Sarin's chest before exploding outwards, launching Sarin back. Sen exploited the advantage while Sarin was still caught in the air. Water struck him from below, launching him higher into the air, and fire descended upon him from above, knocking him back to the ground with a meteoric impact.

The Energybender was quickly back to his feet, ignoring the pain of the blows and returning his attention to his prey. The Avatar tried to press the attack, striking with all four elements in a relentless offensive, but Sarin evaded every blow. It was enough for Sen that he had put Sarin on the defensive; that was the first step to gaining a real advantage.

Even after all Sen's effort, Sarin was not helpless. He noticed the Avatar's tendency towards quick, vicious strikes, intending to keep him off balance. The forward inertia of the charge gave strength to Sen's blows, but it created vulnerabilities in kind.

Sarin's grey-ringed eyes narrowed as Sen stepped forward quickly. With a quick thrust of his hand, Sarin launched a cutting blade of air. Still charging forwards, Sen could not change direction in time to evade the blow. The razor of wind cut through Sen's sleeve and skin, scattering small droplets of red blood across the ice. Sen let out a small cry of pain as the bladed wind cut through him.

Suda had only just barely managed to get Gun aboard when the badgermole heard his masters cry of pain. He was prevented from moving by the railings of the Blade Ship's deck, but Gun still let out a cry ofdistress as he heard his master in pain. A cry that Sarin heard.

The Energybender turned his eyes to the Blade Ship, and his fists clenched tightly as he saw activity on the deck. He turned his greyed face back to the Avatar, anger clearly twisting his already altered features.

"You're still trying to run," He roared loudly, cutting the cold night with his anger. The winds around Sarin began to howl as he warped them with his anger. Sen had a sinking feeling that this was not going to end well.

Sen's fears were confirmed as a black blade cut through the darkness of the night. A winding trail of shadows signaled the Hssk's advance across the icy plain of the docks. The Hssk sprung from the ground, its blue eyes indistinguishable from the distant stars as they hung in the black void. The Hssk's body was nearly invisible set against the black night sky, but Sen could still see the four jaws flexing with arcane hunger.

For only a brief moment the Mind-Eater stopped to examine the Avatar. Then it crawled along Sarin's skin, sinking into his flesh, crawling through his eyes. Sarin shivered like cold ice ran along his spine as the Hssk dug itself into his soul. For a moment it seemed that the two were one; Sarin had the four jaws and the blue starlight eyes of the Hssk. Then the illusion faded, and there was only Sarin, yet darker, emptier than he had ever been before.

"There is no escape," Sarin hissed.

Cold grey energy crawled forth from Sarin's hands like hungry worms slithering through the air. Sen stepped backwards. The tendrils of air searched through the air hungrily, seeking prey. Sarin held his hand towards the Avatar, and the cold energy zeroed in on its target.

Sen ran as fast as he could, and the hungry grey light just barely missed him, instead crashing into the ice behind him. Where it was struck, the ice did not melt or shatter: it simply ceased to be. Where ice had once been, there no longer was.

"You think the Hssk can save you? He doesn't trust you, Sarin" Sen taunted. "He came to me, begging to be spared. He even offered to give up all your secrets!"

Sarin shook his hands, and the hunting tendrils vanished. There was a moment of hesitation, as perhaps Sarin and the Hssk had some internal argument. Sen took the moment to catch his breath. Energybending was a new threat, one he had no idea how to combat. He hoped that Ariak and the others would get the Blade Ship running soon. He might not be able to hold out much longer.

Sarin finished his internal debate, and he clenched his fingers into a clawed grip, grasping out at Sen with arcane power. Sen briefly felt an unholy grip on his body, but a surge of power from within shook it off. Sarin was clawing at his spirit, but Sen could fight back. He felt the energies of Raava and Vaatu coursing through him, protecting him from Sarin's Energybending.

"You should have taken the Hssk up on his offer," Sarin said calmly. "You might have survived."

The failed grasp at Sen's soul was not the end of Sarin's attempts, however. He could not attack Sen's soul directly, but he would go through the skin if he had to. His hands briefly glowed with grey light. Sen began to run.

Destructive rays of cold grey light followed him as Sen ran. He felt a deadly crackle through the air, and he swerved sharply. The cutting ray of cold light just barely grazed his arm. The sleeve of his coat was burned away. Sen put as much distance as he could between Sarin and himself, and then dove behind a wall stacked with crates, probably meant for shipping. The wall would offer no cover against the utter annihilation Sarin was capable of, but it would at least offer him a chance to hide.

Sen's coat was charred as if by fire, but the heat Sen had felt was not of any fire. Sarin was unwinding the energy that ran through all things. Sen's spirit was strong enough to resist, but anything else would be completely destroyed. The now-useless sleeves of his coat were stripped away as Sen removed the damaged garment.

With his arms bare, Sen's eyes flickered briefly to his hand, to the scar and chain he wore on one hand. Memento's of why he fought this battle in the first place. Sen turned away. Those could not help him now. Salvation, perhaps, could be found on his other arm.

The armband that Korra had once worn was still wrapped around his bicep. He needed her now. Sen had nearly been on even footing with Sarin before the Energybender had called on his spirit ally. Sen had his own spirits on his side. If Sen could connect to Raava's power, if he could go into the Avatar State, then he would be able to stand a chance. He might even be able to win.

Sen pulled the armband down to his wrist and clenched it tightly. He had spoken to Korra, to Raava, even to Vaatu. He had to be able to connect to the Avatar State by now. But he wouldn't do it by running.

With the armband around his wrist, Sen turned around to face the Energybender. He focused everything on the power inside himself, and closed his eyes for a brief second, putting all his faith in the power he held inside.

Sen's eyes opened, and there was nothing. No light, no power. Only Sen, standing like a fool before the Energybender.

The first blow struck his hand. The grey energy passed through him and around him, burning every nerve in his body as it struck, though it caused no physical damage. The furious power caught Korra's armband, and before pain blinded him, he saw the fabric start to burn, then burst into flames.

The second blast struck him in the chest. His shirt similarly caught fire, though only briefly. The cold energy caused no physical injury to Sen, but it set his heart alight with searing pain as it knocked him to the ground.

Focusing through the pain was difficult, but Sen managed. There was only one thing on Sen's mind anyway. As he clenched at his chest with his one good hand, Sen wondered why. Why he could not tap into his power, why he couldn't fight. Why, even through all this pain and suffering, could he not be a real Avatar? Even if he couldn't control the Avatar State at will, it should at least protect him from agony like this. Another pulse of pain through his heart burned any thoughts from Sen's mind, and his drawn-out cry of anguish filled the night.

Sen managed to pull himself to his feet, though pain still clouded his mind. Sarin closed his grey eyes and took a deep breath. He spared himself only a moment before he walked over to the Avatar, approaching his fallen prey. Sen was only vaguely aware that the Energybender was approaching. Pain still screamed in his mind as agony wracked him.

"You did- you fight well," Sen said. Maybe the right words could hold Sarin away long enough. He had to delay, somehow. It was near impossible to speak through the burning fire that devoured his every nerve, but Sen forced himself.

It accomplished nothing. Sarin was still approaching, wordless and unflinching. The closer he got, the more keenly aware Sen was of his impending fate. If Sarin laid even a single hand on him, it would be over. He would die.

"He taught you well," Sen stammered, letting out one last desperate word. "Kalden."

At the name of his brother, an icy chill ran through the air, and for only the briefest moment, Sarin hesitated.

A loud metallic groan cut through the air, followed by the sound of tearing steel and cracking ice. Sarin looked up and to his right. The mighty anchor statue that stood over the docks was being pulled downwards, slowly descending towards the ground. Suda was standing on the deck of the Blade Ship, straining under the effort of dragging the statue down.

The metal statue collapsed completely, crashing down on to the icy docks with thunderous force. The center of the structure collapsed immediately, shattering into icy dust in seconds. The cracks spread outwards, breaking the docks into fractional pieces that began to drift away from one another. Sarin was set off balance as the wave of destruction spread outwards, shattering the ice between him and the Avatar. Panic set into Sarin's grey eyes as he realized the deception.

As the docks shattered, Whistler dove to Sen's side, lifting him off the ground and throwing him over her shoulder. She bounced across the rapidly collapsing docks, hopping across the broken chunks of ice towards the Blade Ship. Sarin gave chase, but the ice did not cooperate with him. Ariak stood on the deck of the Blade Ship as well, churning the water and ice to destabilize Sarin's pursuit. The Energybender abandoned the icy ground and rose into the air, riding a cyclone in his pursuit of Sen.

A metal reel grabbed Sen and Whistler both, entangling them and drawing them in, just as Sarin's blow crushed the iceberg they had been standing on mere seconds ago. Suda's metal reels pulled them in quickly, slamming them onto the deck of the ship.

"Get inside," Ada commanded. She was at the controls, ready to take the Blade Ship out of port at a moment's notice.

"No time," Ariak shouted back. "Submerge now!"

Ariak readied himself. Ada knew what he intended. Slamming her fist down on the Blade Ship's controls, Ada drained the ballast tanks and sank the ship beneath the waves.

They all had one brief moment to look Sarin in the eyes as he descended from above, intent on reclaiming the prey he had been hunting for so long. Then the icy waves crashed around them, encircling them in frozen water as they descended into the depths. Ariak managed to keep the water at bay, keeping a bubble of air around them. He breathed a sigh of relief as the submarine sank deeper and deeper. Sarin could not pursue them through this icy water. They were safe.

The ship sat idle at the bottom of the arctic sea for a brief moment as Ariak led them all inside to the safety of the Blade Ship. Suda carried Sen, still unmoving, to the cargo bay of the ship. Gun whined loudly as he saw Sen laid flat on the floor of the room. Ada stripped away his coat and looked over the sites where Sen had been struck.

"There's no injuries," She said, confused. There were some slight burns where his clothes had caught fire, but Sen himself seemed untouched. That only made her more afraid. She could bandage cuts and salve bruises, but a wound she could not see made her helpless.

Sen was oddly quiet, although a rapid movement of his eyes said he was conscious –for now. He looked around at his friends. They had come through, even when he had been unable to save himself. With a slow, mournful nod, his head dropped to the side, and he fell into unconsciousness.

Gun forced his way through the circle of concerned friends and laid his head down close to Sen's. He let out the deep, slow sighs exclusive to a loyal pet whose master has been taken away. Sen's hair was ruffled slightly by the heavy breaths, and that was the only motion the Avatar made. They all watched Sen for a minute, waiting for him to move.

"We should…move. Get out of the North. Sen would want us to lure Sarin away from the North," Ariak suggested. Sen had knowingly thrown himself into danger to keep his plan from failure. The North was still swarming with Sarin's men, and they were all at risk.

Quietly, they all left Sen in Gun's care and returned to their posts, setting the Blade Ship on its course. They put some distance between themselves and the shore before they rose to the surface. They needed to make sure that Sarin saw them leaving.

Ariak took the lookout post as they raised the Blade Ship above the waves, looking back on the city that had been his home. The docks swarmed with activity. Sarin was preparing a pursuit. From the movement of lights across the dark city, Ariak guessed that he was ordering a full retreat. The plan had worked. Within hours, the North would be safe.

Ariak could only hope that it was worth the cost.

**END OF BOOK 4**


	68. Intermission 1: Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the attack on the North and his near-death at the hands of Sarin, Sen must confront his inability to enter the Avatar State.

Suda descended into the hold to take his turn. Whistler looked relieved to see him. She would never complain, of course, but they could all tell she didn't like watching over Sen.

The Avatar hadn't moved in two days. On every physical level, Sen appeared to be fine, but he was comatose nonetheless. He had been resting almost peacefully, with Gun at his side, since they had left the North Pole.

"No change?"

"None," Whistler replied. The first few times, they had tried to be optimistic, looking for any slight twitch of his fingers, but over the days they had given up on that. He would move when he moved.

Suda took over, and Whistler left the hold to take a look around. They were, as they had been for a long time, in the middle of the open seas, with no land in sight. Whistler took a quick look around at the expansive seas. She knew in the back of her head that the Blade Ship was fast, but with no landmarks nearby it was hard to gauge how well quickly they were travelling.

The door to the Blade Ship's cockpit was open, as always, so Whistler strolled right in. Ada was barely manning the controls. The Blade Ship was designed to be run by a skeleton crew; it could maintain its course with almost no work on the captain's part. Ariak was more uptight when he was behind the wheel, but Ada tended to relax. It made conversation easier, which was convenient for Whistler as well.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"South. We'll probably hit the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom soon enough."

"I mean what town are we going to?"

"I don't think we're going anywhere," Ada said with a shrug. "I tried to decide, and it just didn't…feel right. Sen usually decides where we go."

"Yeah well, he's unconscious," Whistler said bluntly. "So somebody needs to take charge."

Ada folded her arms across the desk in front of her and sighed.

"I don't think any of us are really leaders," Ada said. "At least not in this situation. We're Sen's team, Whistler."

"Don't I know it," Whistler said. "I wouldn't take orders from any of you other guys."

"Thank you for that, Whistler," Ada grunted.

"It isn't personal."

Ada pretended to be busy with the controls for a while. Whistler sat around and adjusted the screws on her staff. She'd hit too many people with it during the battle in the North: all that blunt trauma was knocking the pieces loose. At this rate it risked falling apart.

The routine was interrupted by the dull sound of shouting through the metal hull of the ship. Ada and Whistler immediately abandoned their ships. There was only one reason anyone would be shouting right now. Whistler and Ada dove below decks.

Sen was awake, and startlingly coherent. He was already up on his feet and stretching his sore muscles. Ariak and Suda were already asking him prying questions about his health and well-being. Gun was pacing back and forth along the cargo hold excitedly, nearly trampling several speedboats as he went. Sen finished stretching and scratched his animal guide on the forehead to calm him. With that done, Sen turned his attention to his friends and their questioning.

"I'm fine," Sen said. "I just had to take time to recover."

"Are you all there, like in the head?" Whistler asked. She tucked her right hand behind her back. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," Sen said ambivalently. Whistler tucked her hands away. Sen was right.

"Alright, so you still got all, like, seventeen of your senses in order," Whistler said.

"I'm fine," Sen assured them once again. "Where's the food?"

"Oh, we've got plenty, right over here," Ariak said, leading Sen to another part of the storage hold. The Blade Ship was kept well-stocked to supply dozens of soldiers at once, if necessary, so it had large stockpiles of food.

"It's mostly dehydrated and processed stuff, but it'll fill you up," Ariak said. Sen nodded thankfully and found himself something to eat. He ate in silence for a few minutes. While he ate, he took a quick look at the food available, and then at one of the nearby speedboats. He had a distant look in his eyes.

Sen finished eating, took another look at the crate of food in front of him, and then picked up the entire crate. Slinging the container of food over his shoulder, he walked over to the nearest speedboat and packed the food crate securely within.

"Sen?"

With the food crate squared away, Sen wandered over to another shelf and grabbed several canisters of gasoline, likewise packing them away in the speedboat. Ada got between Sen and any more supplies, stopping his progress.

"Sen, what are you doing?"

"I need to leave," Sen said casually.

"We're already on the move, Sen, we can go anywhere we need to," Ada explained.

Sen pushed her aside and continued searching for supplies to pack into his chosen speedboat. He didn't look any of them in the eye while he continued.

"I didn't say we need to leave," Sen elaborated. "I said I need to leave. Me. Alone."

Sen stopped packing for a minute as he felt the cold realization sink in to his friends. He waited patiently as they all considered their words for approximately seven seconds. After those seven seconds were up, they simultaneously exploded into a torrent of questions and concerns. Sen held up his hand, and they all fell silent.

"This isn't some spur of the moment decision," Sen said. "This is something I've thought I might have to do for a long time. I meant to talk to you all about it, but what happened in the North…My priorities have changed. I need to do this now."

"What could you possibly need to do that doesn't involve us?"

"Something important, alright," Sen shot back. "It's Avatar business."

"That's the excuse you used for your school sessions," Ariak protested.

"It's not even remotely the same," Sen said, slightly offended. "You think I would make excuses for some personal errand after what happened? After I looked Sarin in the eyes, after I fought him for the first time in my life, and lost?"

"That's not what-" Ariak said, before hesitating. Suda picked up a different train of thought.

"If this is about you losing that fight, Sen, it's nothing to be ashamed of," He assured him.

"I know that, Suda," Sen sighed. "It's not a fight I expected to win. But the way I lost…"

Sen could still remember it well. It had been just a few seconds, but it would be burned into his mind for a long time. Not just the pain, but the failure that had come before it. The inability to tap into the one thing that truly defined him as the Avatar. Without being able to control the Avatar State, how could he call himself an Avatar?

"I have something I need to learn, and it's not something that any of you can teach," Sen said.

Sen pushed one last container into place and examined his work, counting up the supplies he had available. His friends stepped forward as one to stop him.

"I don't want to do this," Sen shouted sadly. "I'm not happy about it, and if I could think of any other way, I would take it. Leaving is my best option."

"Why?" Ariak asked. "You can't just demand our understanding. Tell us what's going on."

Sen grit his teeth. He didn't want to tell them, and he hardly knew why. Was it shame, or perhaps that they might try to talk him out of it? Sen's face turned red and he eventually relented. Whatever hesitation Sen felt, his friends deserved to know what he was planning.

"Because I'm missing the last thing I need to be a real Avatar," Sen said quietly. "I have never been into the Avatar state. Not even once."

Ada opened her mouth, as if to protest, but she closed it just as quickly. Suda put a contemplative hand on his chin. He had been with Sen a very long time, and never once seen him unleash the Avatar State.

"I have been poisoned, electrocuted, drowned, bloodbent, Sarin attacked my soul!"

Sen clutched at his chest, counting out the numerous times his life had been threatened. Throughout it all, the Avatar State had never risen to defend him. A lack of control was one thing, but to completely lack such an important tool, even in desperate situations, was inexcusable.

"Something is wrong with me," Sen declared. "I need to find out why."

"But why does that mean you have to leave us," Ada asked. "Why can't we help you?"

Sen crossed his arms across his chest and looked away from them. Gun was trying to force his massive head into the circle of conversation. He had picked up on the argument and was trying to force his way in out of concern. Sen placed his open palm on Gun's striped forehead. He sighed loudly.

"Because I think you're the problem."

Ada recoiled like someone had stabbed her in the gut. The reaction was universal among Sen's friends. He was quick to clarify.

"It's not- I'm not trying to blame you, any of you, it's just that- How do I say this?"

Sen grabbed at his head for a moment. He should have started that off better. He thought about his past, and the words that had made him begin this line of thought.

"Someone told me once that letting go of earthly attachments is part of being the Avatar."

With a slow turn of his head, Sen looked over his friends, examining them all in turn. Ada, Suda, Whistler, Ariak, each one of them was so different, but so indescribably important to Sen. These were the people that had made him strong –but they were also what was holding him back. Without them he never would have made it out of his fight with Sarin alive. That was a good thing, and a bad thing all at once. He couldn't use his friends as a crutch. He had to be powerful enough to take care of himself.

"I don't have a home, a family –I barely even have any possessions," Sen said. He grabbed at the glasses on his face, the only things he had which were truly his. "All I have, everything I care about –it's you. My friends."

A sense of betrayal turned to a bittersweet sensation, a mixture of love and sadness. Sen briefly bit his tongue.

"I love you. All of you. But I have to let you go."

At that moment, Suda decided to do the exact opposite of letting go. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sen, nearly lifting him off the ground, before remembering that Sen was now too tall for that. Suda sighed deeply and, eventually, he released a somewhat uncomfortable Sen.

"You do your thing," Suda said. He sounded startlingly serious for a man who had just done so much hugging. "But first you let us know exactly where we find you when this is over."

Sen actually took up a smile, and a somewhat faint sense of confidence settled into him.

"Believe me, Suda, you'll know where to find me," Sen said. "I'll be the one standing up in front of the whole world saying 'I am the Avatar'!"

"You might want to work on that speech," Whistler suggested.

"No. That's exactly what I'm going to say," Sen shot back. Whistler rolled her eyes, but Sen saw the faint hints of a smile on her face.

They all said their goodbyes. Sen tried to keep everything short and simple, to avoid any temptation to linger. On the flip side, his friends tried to cling to him as long as possible, coming up with advice and questions to keep the conversation going as long as possible. Sen politely brushed them off and returned to his speedboat.

As soon as he attempted to step into the boat, he felt a sharp tug on the back of his neck as his coat was pulled back. Sen adjusted himself slightly, noticing that his coat was now stuck in place, and then slipped right out of the sleeves. He turned around to see Gun clinging sadly to Sen's coat, his fangs still dug into the collar.

"Gun."

Gun dropped the coat to the ground and pressed his nose forward. Sen placed his palm on it and pushed Gun's head backwards, eliciting a loud whine. Gun moved his head, and gently placed his jaws around Sen's arms, lightly tugging him forward. Sen pulled backwards, away from Gun.

"You're not making this any easier," Sen said. For the first time in this entire conversation, he almost felt like crying. His human friends at least understood what was happening and why. Gun sat down and moaned loudly. Sen tried to tune it out. He waved his hand at Ariak to get everything under way.

The Blade Ship was equipped to launch speed boats even while the ship was in motion, so Sen was not wasting time. The bay doors opened, and Sen looked out at the vast expanse of sea. He knew where he needed to go, but it seemed so far away.

No progress was ever made standing still, though. Sen hit the release, dropping into the ocean and speeding off into the distance.

***

The Blade Ship made landfall a few days after Sen's departure. True to her word, Ada had piloted them to some nameless chunk of the Earth Kingdom's northern coast. Ariak guided the Blade Ship to the coast and they went ashore, to get their bearings and determine their next course of action. No sooner had they gone ashore than Gun vanished beneath the soil, heading in an unknown direction. Suda tried for a moment to rein the badgermole in, but Gun had his own goals for now. Suda quickly gave up trying to control him.

The journey had been aimless in many ways since Sen had left. Ada had tried to take charge to some extent, but her friends were not interested in being led, nor was Ada too greatly interested in leading. Without Sen to focus them, they had very little in the way of goals.

The map was extensively examined for a great expanse of time, trying to determine their location. Ada eventually realized that they were a few miles from several small towns, some along the coast, some inland. None of them had any direct connections to any major cities, so they were still a long way from any population centers.

"So, which way are we heading?"

"No better place to get lost in a crowd than Ba Sing Se," Suda suggested.

"I don't think so," Ada said. "Sarin's angry and desperate. We get anywhere near a major population center, he'll have eyes on us."

"We need to be near the media, though," Ariak countered. "Televarricks, phones, newspapers, anything that would tell us about Sen's return."

"So we stick to small towns. That still leaves us a lot of options," Ada continued. "We probably shouldn't go east, that'll take us towards the Energybender-sympathetic parts of the UEK, but if we go too far west we'll hit the Republic's border, which he'll also be watching."

There was a loud metallic screech of metal on metal as Whistler zipped up her pack. She slung the full backpack across her shoulder and pointed down the coast in the direction of a town.

"I'm going that way," She declared. "So don't any of you follow me."

"You're trying to leave too?"

"Course I am," Whistler snorted. "You said it yourself, shortstuff, we're Sen's team. No Sen, No team."

"That's not what I-"

Ariak held up his hand to pause the conversation. He'd had a thought that deserved speaking aloud.

"Whistler may be on to something," Ariak admitted, quite reluctantly. "We're a team. Sarin has seen us as a team, and he will be looking for us as a team."

Suda nodded slightly as he caught on to the idea.

"You think if we're travelling alone he might not be able to track us as easily."

"Exactly," Ariak said. "He's looking for all of us, not one of us."

Ada put her palms down on the map. There were enough settlements nearby that they could all branch off in different directions and be just fine. That still didn't mean it was a good idea.

"I think we should stick together, in case something happens," Ada said.

"In the best case scenario, the next thing to 'happen' will be Sen's return," Ariak countered. "We'll regroup when that happens."

"See you then," Whistler said, saluting lazily in their direction. "Hope it's not too long. You guys are alright."

That was the closest thing to a real compliment that any of them would ever get from Whistler. She turned her back, unfolded her glider, and caught the next breeze to carry her up and away, over the treetops. Ariak was the next person to stand and prepare a backpack.

"I've made up my mind," Ariak said. He gathered his own supplies and set his course. He would head down the coast as well, albeit the opposite direction from Whistler's destination.

"Kida will be hunting me as well," Ariak said. "If she should catch up to me on a full moon…I'd be putting the rest of you at risk by staying. Luck be with you both. I hope we meet again soon."

Ariak set off down the coastline. Suda and Ada turned to one another sadly.

"If anyone should stick together, it's us," Suda said.

"Yeah, but-" Ada said hesitantly. "What if they're right?"

"If. If they're right. And if they're wrong we just split up like a bunch of idiots for no reason. Nothing good ever comes from splitting up."

Suda looked at Ada. He seemed slightly disappointed, but mostly sad.

"It's hard. I know. I don't think you and I have been more than a few miles apart since we met."

"Are you going to go back to Zaofu?"

"Not yet," Ada sighed. "With the way things are, it would be too risky. I'm just going…going to wait, I guess. And hope Sen finishes preparing quickly."

"So they're right," Suda mumbled. Ada sighed and nodded sadly.

Two more backpacks were prepared, two goodbyes were said, and two more divergent roads were walked. The Blade Ship bobbed idly in the waves, abandoned and alone.


	69. Intermission 2: Sensation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the individual members of Team Avatar scattered across the globe, each takes time to consider their past, and what it mean for their future. Before long each finds themselves face to face with old allies bearing a startling revelation.

The staff stayed hidden while she was in town. An airbender not wearing one of those silly uniforms would draw too much attention. The last thing Whistler wanted was attention. The first thing she wanted was soup.

The cooks in this town couldn't make miso soup half as good as some of the back-alley chefs back in the Republic, but it was close enough. Whistler could always add the ludicrous amounts of salt on her own afterwards. It was decent, it was filling, and it was cheap, a lot of things that Whistler needed. Most of the money she'd taken from their supply cache was reserved for things other than food.

It was a strange experience, having money that was hers. She was so used to filching whatever she needed from people's pockets, or eating whatever was lying around. She'd never really had to think about things like budgets, what she could or couldn't buy.

Every now and then she saw a wallet or purse improperly secured, a tempting target for even the least skilled pickpocket. She had never felt even the slightest urge to grab at them.

It seemed that at some point she had completely abandoned the ways of the thief. While the skills remained, as her theft of radios at the North had proven, she no longer had the mentality. She did not analyze every person as a potential mark, she did not scan for escape routes and hiding places in the city streets. She was no longer a thief by nature.

A part of her almost regretted that, but not quite. As it stood, she was in a neat little comfort zone between "neutral" and "evil". Not quite a hero, but good enough to not hurt people and steal things for no reason. From now on, she would only hurt and steal with a reason.

Whistler put her hands in her own pockets and ran her fingers through the small number of coins she held there. She figured now was as good a time as any to check the headlines.

The vendor stall that supplied the town with newspapers wasn't far from the soup store, so it was a brief walk. Whistler spent most of her time in the open at one of those two locations. She paid the vendor for a single newspaper and scanned the headline.

Another bold headline about the cleanup effort in the North. The newspaper talked in terms of uncertainty, describing the battle in the North as an "unprovoked assault" by an "unknown assailant". As if the whole world didn't know who was involved.

Whistler felt no small amount of scorn for this cowardly reporting, an entire world that refused to face the facts, but in the back of her mind she understood. The people had nothing to rally around. The Energybender and his forces were focused and driven; the rest of the world could not say the same. How could they believe in an Avatar that wouldn't show his face?

With a loud crackle of stiff paper, Whistler folded the newspaper away, and returned to her place at the soup counter. She felt hungry again.

"That'll be seven yuan," The chef said.

Whistler dug into her own pocket for a moment. She looked up for a moment, and saw that fourteen yuan had been placed on the table.

"This one's on me," Moldun said. The wizened huntsman sat down next to Whistler and ordered a bowl of miso for himself as well.

"Wasn't expecting to see you again, hunter," Whistler said. She hadn't seen Moldun since they'd hunted Gaemundr together in the Spirit World. That had been more than a year ago.

"Well, I've been looking for you," Moldun said. "I owe you for the help, after all. Could've been crushed if not for you."

"So is the free soup your idea of paying it back?"

"Yes."

"You think your life is worth a bowl of soup?"

"I do not have very high self-esteem," Moldun grunted. The soup arrived. Moldun passed Whistler her bowl and dug into his own. Whistler did not start eating yet. Moldun was nearly half-done with his own bowl by the time he noticed Whistler's reluctance.

"It's already mediocre soup, it's only going to be worse if it gets cold," Moldun suggested.

"You didn't come all this way to buy me a bowl of soup," Whistler said. Her eyes narrowed. Moldun squinted right back. He tapped his fingers lazily against the counter. The two of them stared each other down as their soup got colder and colder.

"Well, you've got me," Moldun said with a shrug. "Frankly I didn't want to come at all, but since you and your buddies split up-"

There was a sound of metallic clicking for just a brief second. Moldun, his reflexes honed by working with lightning, was quick to catch Whistler's staff as it unfolded and swung towards his throat.

"You really are a feisty one, aren't you?"

"Only when people are trying to fight me," Whistler grunted. She tried to rip her staff out of his hands, but Moldun's grip was surprisingly tight.

"Then you have no reason to be feisty," Moldun snapped. After letting Whistler tug a few more times, he let her staff go and took a few steps back. He held his hands up in the air.

"You and I are on the same side, airbender."

Whistler kept her staff raised. The whole metal assembly was steady in its place: Whistler's hands weren't shaking at all. Moldun meant her no harm. Still, she kept herself ready for a fight. Her hands had been wrong before.

"You didn't find me on your own," Whistler said. "Who are you with?"

A broad smile cracked Moldun's weathered face.

"You remember what you found in my bag?"

***

Suda had been second guessing himself for a long time. Eventually, the doubts had faded. He was right to be worried about getting too close to strangers, but this one, well, she was different.

Every day for the past few weeks, Suda had been attending a small film festival that the city was holding. It wasn't entirely because of his interest in cinema, naturally: before every mover they ran a newsreel that talked about recent events. It was a way to keep up with current events each and every day. Except today.

Today was Kaizo day.

Just thinking about Kaizo made Suda's stomach turn. He couldn't imagine having an entire day dedicated to those garbage films. He was going to sit out this particular day of the film festival. Thankfully there had been one girl who'd gotten sick of the Kaizo flicks early on, and had left the showings early.

Suda's initial interest had just been in the content of the newsreels, but as the conversation went on and on they drifted to other topics. Soon they were talking about Suda's interest in movers, and then hers, and then their other hobbies, and then on and on until Suda wasn't even sure what they were talking about anymore. Somewhere along the way he'd picked up that her name was Yoki.

"Alright, we've been all up and down our personal lives," Yoki said, rocking forward slightly. "What do you do for a living? What's your business?"

This was where the trouble came from. Suda couldn't get too close to people without revealing potentially dangerous facts. He decided to keep it simple.

"Oh, nothing steady," Suda said. "I interned at a hospital for a while, I think that might be a career for the future."

Ever since the incident with Nura, Suda had been restraining himself, focusing his attention mostly on the people he knew he could trust. It was fun, talking to Ada, Sen, Whistler, and Ariak, but they weren't everything he needed out of life. Suda was a bit more romantically inclined, an itch that none of his teammates could exactly scratch. Yoki, however, seemed to fit Suda's romantic ideal fairly well.

"A hospital, hmm," Yoki hummed. "You seem a bit large for hospital work."

"You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting there is to be done," Suda joked. "I know I was."

Sometimes Suda's muscles still ached from all the heavy lifting he'd done back in the North. It was painful to think about, but also satisfying. He had done good work, even if only for a little while. It felt nice to make a difference in those small ways.

"You have a point. Still, I think your talents would be served better elsewhere. They're always hiring good metalbenders in Republic City, you know," Yoki said.

"Yeah, I'm actually kind of acquainted with the chief of police," Suda said awkwardly.

"Chief Dormin? He's a good guy. Takes his work very seriously."

"You know Dormin?"

"I've done a bit of travelling," Yoki admitted. "I've met a lot of people. I even met Bolin once. I could even introduce you to him, if you're such a big fan."

"I'd appreciate that, if I hadn't already met him," Suda said smugly.

"You have not met Bolin," Yoki said in disbelief. "He lives in the middle of nowhere."

"And I just happened to be nowhere," Suda said. "It's a long story."

"You're just trying to look impressive," Yoki said.

"If he was trying to look impressive, he'd flex those muscles of his," A frail old voice said. "He actually does know me."

Yoki and Suda both turned their heads immediately. Sure enough, Bolin was walking up behind them, looking around slightly disdainfully at the crowd. He hadn't changed much since the last time Suda had saw him. At his age, it was impossible to look any older.

"A film festival, and nobody recognizes me," Bolin muttered sadly. "No appreciation, I tell you."

"Bolin?"

"Hello, Yoki darling, good to see you," Bolin said with a broad smile. "How's your brother?"

"Oh, you know how he is…"

It sounded very much like Yoki didn't want to talk about her brother right now. Bolin needed an excuse for her to leave the conversation anyway. He nodded off to the side.

"Yoki, would you mind if I spoke privately with Suda here for a moment," he requested. "He and I have some catching up to do."

Yoki gave Suda a lingering look and then excused herself from the conversation. Bolin took her seat on the bench, gladly resting his tired old body. Suda tried to act like he wasn't excited. As amazing as it was to see Bolin again, it seemed odd for him to be all the way out here.

"How's our Avatar doing?"

"Uhh, I don't know what to say," Suda began awkwardly. "The last time I saw him, he was running off into the middle of the ocean."

"Ah, these things happen," Bolin said. "I once lost track of Korra for three years. It'll be alright."

"Thank you?"

"He'll show up when he needs to show up," Bolin assured Suda. "In the meantime, we get to babysit the entire world. Nothing you and I can't handle."

"Oh man, are we teaming up? Is that what's happening?"

Ever since the first day they'd met, Suda had been hoping to fight at Bolin's side. Going into battle side by side with one of the era's greatest heroes, both on and off-screen, was a dream come true.

"Yep. You, me, and a whole bunch of other old people."

"Old people?"

"Of course," Bolin said with a sly smile. "All old people know each other."

***

Ariak kept to himself, far on the outskirts of the city. He had set up a secluded camp in a fairly defensible copse in the woods. He went into town every day to check on the local news and restock his supplies, but for the most part he waited patiently in the woods, far from civilization.

His camp was littered with wood shavings he had yet to clean up. He had passed the time by craving away at a strong branch of wood, shaping it into a solid wooden shaft, roughly the same size as the spear he had once wielded as a Shorewatcher, the spear that Kida now wielded.

Ariak gripped the makeshift weapon tightly, and gave it a few practice thrusts. The lump of wood was hardly a proper weapon, but it felt right to have a spear back in his hands.

All his life he had been trained to use a spear, to incorporate it into his fighting style as much as he incorporated his arms and legs. He had abandoned the spear as he had abandoned the Shorewatchers, but recent events had made him question that choice. With Kida wielding his own spear against him, he would need a weapon to rival hers. He knew that he and the bloodbender would clash again. He wanted to be prepared, and that meant taking up the weapon he had once wielded as a Shorewatcher.

In the North he had made every effort to correct his past mistakes, but they were still catching up to him. Kida was still out there, spreading the dangerous art of Bloodbending in service to Sarin. She was a threat to the entire world, and Ariak was partially responsible. He would never rest easy until she had been dealt with. To fight someone as vicious as her, he would need as much power as possible. If that meant taking up the spear again, so be it.

"Catch."

In many other circumstances, Ariak might have panicked and immediately went on the attack, but he recognized that voice very well. Ariak simply turned around and caught what was thrown at him.

In contrast to the crude chunk of log that Ariak had been thrusting around just a few seconds ago, the spear now held in his hands was a work of art. The shaft was masterfully carved from the dark, sturdy lumber that could only be found in the Spirit Forests of the North. The spearhead was crafted from a shimmering steel, vaguely tinted blue by an unknown alloy. The razor-blade head of the spear did have one dull side –it could be used to strike without cutting if need be.

Ariak tested the heft of the weapon with his hands for one moment, and then looked to the source of the spear. There was only one craftsman who could create such a work of art.

"Master Yakkul."

"I thought you might need a new one after everything that happened," Yakkul said. He sat down on a rock and relaxed slightly.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon," Ariak said, slightly suspiciously. "How are things in the North?"

"Every one of the Energybender troops was gone within an hour after you left," Yakkul said. "The South arrived the next day, and the cleanup started. Everything's going to be fine."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ariak said. "Now. About why you're here…"

"I was one of the only members that you'd recognize on sight," Yakkul said. "You had to know you could trust us."

Ariak looked once again at the spear that Yakkul had given him. That alone would be enough to cast suspicion off of him. If you intended to fight someone, arming them beforehand was probably not a good idea.

"And who is 'us'?"

"What's why it had to be someone you trusted," Yakkul said. "Because it's a little hard to believe that we've come back from the dead."

***

Every day Ada strolled by the Televarrick store repeatedly, catching subtle glances at the screens displayed in the windows. The news was not frequently played on the few display pieces available; every now and then they were blocked by spectators trying to catch glimpses of a pro-bending match. Ada mixed it up some days by looking at the newspapers or the news reel that ran before movers, but for the most part the Televarricks were her source of updates on Sen's situation. Or the lack of updates, rather.

Maybe it was presumptuous of her, but she had been hoping Sen would wrap up sooner rather than later. She knew in the back of her head that Sen might need a long time to prepare; it had, after all, taken him three years to get this far.

The thought of it made her heart sink. Three years. She'd been away from home for nearly that long, never getting closer than a phone call to the people she cared about. She'd had her friends with her for the longest time, and that made it easier to bear the homesickness, but now she was alone.

She could, perhaps, return to Zaofu, but it came with a lot of risks. She had the sneaking suspicion that she was being followed even now. People were looking for her. If she tried to go back to Zaofu, she'd only be putting people she cared about in danger. She had to put their safety above her own desires.

Even as she longed for home, a part of her wished to stay away. In her isolation she had been thinking more and more about Ko Rin. About her tainted blades, and the way Ko Rin seemed to always be in the shadows. She knew so little about her own master that she couldn't even be sure what she was suspicious of, but something about Ko Rin's words and actions ran like poison through her mind.

Ada sat down on a bench on the city streets and watched the world go on around her. This was a small town, hardly a bustling one, but it had lively activity all the same. People wandered back and forth, satomobiles skittered down the streets, and life went on. The normalcy was comforting to Ada.

She stood on the precipice of the greatest change her life had ever known. Leaving Zaofu and journeying with Sen had changed her life, certainly, but it was nothing compared to what was about to come. Sen's return was going to change the world, and Ada was going to be a part of that.

The world could change as much as it wanted, Ada thought, so long as her home was still the same. As long as she had Canto and her family, she'd be just fine.

Ada folded her hands and looked at the ground. There was a line of ants crawling along the tip of her boot. She watched them skitter in a row for a while. After a moment of inane observation, another pair of feet stepped up. Ada resisted the urge to look up. The ants had stopped moving.

"And here I thought you didn't like bugs."

Ada stopped resisting the urge to look up. She hadn't heard that voice in far too long.

Ada jumped to her feet, and sparing barely a second to look Canto in the eyes, she kissed him. It was the long, passionate kind of kiss that no one would ever be able to describe properly because it was too awkward to look directly at. What other people thought of her was no concern to Ada. She had been waiting years to have Canto in her arms again.

Canto was slightly more self-conscious, because he knew they were being watched by someone very important. He enjoyed the kiss for a moment, and allowed Ada to enjoy it as well. She deserved that much. After a while, though, Canto put his hands on her waist and tried to push her back. It did not work in the slightest, as Ada was significantly stronger than Canto, but Ada eventually got the point and let him breath again.

She didn't say anything just yet. She put a gentle hand on his cheek and looked him in the eyes. Canto hadn't changed much since she'd left, and that was just fine with her. Canto looked her over, and saw so many differences. Her appearance hadn't changed, not much at least, but something was different about the way she carried herself. Ada had always been very confident, but now she had much more skill and strength to back up that ego. Canto liked it.

After sharing that brief tender moment, Canto nodded to the side. Ada glanced away from the love of her life for a moment, and what she saw made him immediately release him.

Standing tall and proud, his piercing grey eyes staring them both down from beneath thick white eyebrows, Ko Rin watched his two agents reunite. There was no smile on his face. He tilted his head slightly as he saw Ada hastily release Canto.

"I knew what I was in for when I brought him," Ko Rin said. "Do not be embarrassed."

Ada was not embarrassed, but she pretended as if she was. She saw Ko Rin, and all she could think of now was the deception with her old blades. For some reason, Ko Rin was hiding something. Ada would never be able to trust him as she once had.

"It has been a long journey, and a complicated one," Ko Rin said. "But the time is coming for this to end."

The city streets took on new activity as multiple vehicles started flooding the area. The park was quickly surrounded by the new arrivals. The doors of the myriad satomobiles opened up. Suda was the first to step out, waving to Ada cheerily. Bolin stepped out of the vehicle behind him.

"I told you splitting up was a bad idea," Suda shouted. "This lasted what, like a week?"

Ko Rin paused slightly at Suda's words and then continued onwards.

"Soon the Avatar will return. We must be ready for him."

Other doors opened, and out stepped Whistler and Ariak, flanked by Moldun and Yakkul. Then more and more of the new arrivals revealed themselves, showing faces both familiar and new. This was not the organization of Zaofu's spies that Ada had been a part of. This was something greater, something that was supposed to be dead.

"You were wiped out," Ada said incredulously.

"You cannot kill an idea," Ko Rin said. As he spoke, he was joined by his companions; the ones who had gathered Ada's friends, as well as other familiar faces. Granny Loqo, Master Jung, Detective Zas, and even more, all gathered into one place under one ancient banner.

"We stand for the ideas of philosophy, beauty, and truth," Ko Rin concluded. "We are the White Lotus."


	70. Intermission 3: Conception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To confront his inability to enter the Avatar State, Sen returns to the mist-shrouded island to seek the wisdom of his mysterious former master, Hayao.

Sen didn't have to stop. He didn't need any supplies, or gasoline, or anything. He could have just kept on sailing right past. He felt compelled to go ashore anyway. He wanted to see it for himself. It would take him a few hours off course, but it would be worth it. Sen veered to the side, sailing towards the mainland, and made port in Tunuk Bay.

He recognized too much. Parts of the docks had been burned into memory forever; Hanjo's eventual return had done nothing to dull the pain he'd felt on that day. The damage to the city had been repaired on a physical level, and, it seemed, on a psychological level as well. It had been nearly three years since the Energybender had come to town. Life had long since gone back to normal.

The streets where Hanjo had once stood in battle against Sarin were now repaired, all signs of his struggle wiped out so that satomobiles could once again cross the street. The sidewalks were no longer bustling with people fleeing a hostile invasion; now they crawled with innocent civilians going about their business. They clung with their coats tucked tight against their bodies; the winter chill was setting in. Sen realized he had left his own coat stuck in Gun's jaws. Travel across the ocean had been a cold affair, and it would only get worse.

Sen stepped into a particular store. He had bought glasses her a long time ago, replacing a pair that had been lost. That had been one of the last times he'd seen Hanjo in the flesh. The store was much the same. He thought of picking up a spare pair of glasses, but decided he didn't need one. Sen acted innocuous, stepping amidst the racks of clothing casually.

He found himself facing the coats soon enough. He thought of Detective Zas' words. A long brown coat would suit him very well. Sen found one that fit him and looked himself over in the mirror. It was a good look after all. The cut of the coat made him cut a slightly more imposing figure; Sen was not very muscular, so the coat gave him an image of power he didn't normally possess.

Looking in the mirror, even before putting the coat on, brought a strange revelation to Sen. He had looked into this same mirror once, years ago. The reflection he saw now was not the same as the one he had seen then. In his last visit to Tunuk Bay he had been several inches shorter, much skinnier, and he had walked with a persistent slouch. Now he was taller, stronger, and prouder.

It was a strange thing, to not recognize your own self.

The clerk at the counter was hardly interested in Sen's appearance. She checked him out and sent him on his way without another thought. As a brief afterthought, Sen bought himself a bag of peanuts. He had nobody to share them with this time.

***

His next destination was not quite so traumatic in memory as Tunuk Bay, but it was still a deeply emotional place to return to. The memories of despair still clung to it tightly, despite everything else that had happened on the island.

The dim bank of fog clung to his skin and seeped into soul as he pressed onwards towards the island. The coastal city of Gai Zhu faded into the background as the fog consumed him. Sen thought briefly of the old city; whether he could find Nura, or the gym, or Hakajima's restaurant and its burning pork. He put thoughts of all that out of his mind. He had a very specific purpose here.

His speedboat hit stone, and Sen stepped onto the volcanic soil of Hayao's island. The smell of mist and volcanism filled his lungs with their acrid stench. Sen coughed and pressed onwards to the heart of the island.

The old stones had not changed much since his last visit. He knew that should he deign to climb to the summit, he would find the shattered craters where Miyani had first unleashed her fury upon the Harrier and his minions. His mind briefly drifted to Miyani. She was still out there, somewhere. It was all the more reason to focus his will and accomplish what he had come here for.

Sen stared only briefly at the entrance to the rocky cavern before stepping in. The place was abandoned now. Meditating monks and Miyani had once called this place home, but they were long gone. The cavern was empty and dark.

As he stepped through the quiet, darkened cave, Sen felt the same eerie calm that he had felt in the city of Coldharbor. He recalled the words of the youngest Witch, her lecture on the quiet corners of the world that allowed the wise to focus their minds. Apparently Hayao had claimed such a place for himself. It made sense now. Sen had been too distracted by his own inner turmoil to notice it on his first visits here, but now he could feel the serene chill of this place down to his core.

Sen stepped to the very center of the quit cavern, and cast aside the curtain at its entrance. Hayao sat, as ever, on a pillar of stone, surrounded by his circle of candles. It seemed that Zorotl was still making his visits, because the candles were as fresh and bright as ever, although even at their brightest they still barely illuminated the masked face that lurked under Hayao's hood.

"Avatar Sen," Hayao's booming baritone declared. There was a slight hint of happiness in his voice. "I did not expect to see you again."

"I didn't expect to come back," Sen said. He had no real fondness for Hayao. He was still bitter about the way the masked master had manipulated both him and Miyani. Even so, he respected Hayao's wisdom –and knew that he would require it. "But you're the only person I know who can teach what I need to learn."

He looked over his master once. Even the folds of his robes had remained unchanged since Sen had last laid eyes on Hayao. Though the man in the mask had not changed, Sen's perception of him had. Hayao seemed smaller, less eminent, and when Sen focused on the chi that flowed through Hayao's body, it did not blind him as it once had. Hayao was still a man exceptionally gifted in the art of chi, but Sen had grown to rival and surpass him.

"We will see," Hayao said. "I can tell by your voice that you have a great purpose in coming here, and so I will waste little time with pleasantries, but I must ask: have you any news of Miyani?"

"Not much," Sen sighed. "She's been fighting for a long time, but she was healthy, last I heard. She's alright."

"You miss her."

Sen looked away. This island had been the last place he'd seen Miyani. Just a few steps away they'd spoken their last goodbyes. It had been far too long since then.

"I do," Sen admitted. "But I'm going to fix that. We parted ways because she was ready to fight and I wasn't. I need to be ready to fight. I need to finish my journey."

Sen stepped forward, a few steps closer to the Fire Nation skull-mask that Hayao wore. The shadows remained, obscuring much of the white skull that he called a face.

"I need you to teach me how to be an Avatar."

There was a brief moment of silence. Sen waited patiently.

"Then you have come to the wrong place," Hayao's voice boomed. "I can no more teach you to become the Avatar than I can lead you to this very room. You are already here, just as you are already the Avatar."

"I know that," Sen protested. "I know I'm the Avatar, but I'm not…I'm missing something. I need the Avatar State, I need you to teach me like Aang was taught."

There were notes of desperation in Sen's voice that Hayao knew all too well. The master of the island briefly contemplated his course of action. This was no time for obtuse philosophy and elaborate plans. The road ahead was straight for the moment.

"Sit down, Sen," Hayao asked. "I cannot teach you like Aang, for you are not Aang. The lessons that he learned and the lessons you must learn are different. But I promise you I will do my best to teach you what you must learn."

Sen sat down, his legs crossed, in front of Hayao. It felt oddly circular to be back here again, learning lessons once more.

"I taught you once about the chakras, the path to enlightenment," Hayao said.

"It's why I came," Sen said. "You know more than anyone else I've met."

The lessons in chi-reading had changed the way Sen fought, and the way he perceived the world and the people in it as a whole. But the lesson had been unfinished. Hayao had not truly taught him of the final chakra, the Thought Chakra that connected him to cosmic energy, and would unlock the Avatar State.

"Now teach me," Hayao demanded. "Tell me how you have come to understand each Chakra in turn. Show me the journey that you have walked."

Sen paused, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths. He had walked a long road, and there was much to think about. Eventually he came to his conclusions about each chakra in turn.

"The Earth Chakra deals with survival, and is blocked by fear."

Sen opened his eyes and looked blankly forward. His eyes looked to Hayao, but his thoughts drifted into the past.

"For so many years I was lost and alone in Beaker Hall, letting myself be trapped by misery and loneliness. I was afraid of the consequences for trying to escape that cycle."

He remembered the day that had sparked everything, the bandit attack on Beaker Hall. Hanjo had stood to fight, even though it had ended poorly.

"Hanjo showed me that survival is not the same thing as safety. Survival isn't avoiding pain and suffering, surviving is being strong enough to suffer those things and still thrive. Fear keeps you away from harm, survival lets you grow stronger from it."

Sen, his friends, everything that had happened, would not exist without that one moment in the orphanage, that first brief instant where, thanks to Hanjo, Sen's courage had overcome his fear. He had suffered so much since then, lost people he cared about, and been hurt physical and mentally, but through all of that he was stronger. His journey continued.

"Water is the chakra of pleasure, and is blocked by guilt."

Sen knew the feeling well; his friendship with Hanjo had ended in disaster, all those fond memories turned into bitter regret by the events at Tunuk Bay. Still, he was not the best example of overcoming those feelings.

"Ada is a warrior, she loves to fight, but that same enthusiasm has made her hurt herself and people she cares about. When she trained under Sorikami she was so consumed by guilt she couldn't even stand up for herself. She overcame it, and she regained her passion, her love for what she does. Mistakes are inevitable, even doing what you love. If you let guilt taint what makes you happy, you'll never be passionate about anything."

Hayao listened, maintain his silent vigil, while Sen contemplated his next words. A slight smile found its way to the Avatar's face.

"Fire deals with willpower, and is blocked by shame," Sen said. "I don't think I need to tell you about me and Miyani."

Hayao did not respond, but Sen felt his acknowledgment all the same. The story of how Sen and Miyani had overcome their shame over their own identities was still fresh in Hayao's mind. It was among his proudest moments, to see the two of them standing so strong and proud together. Sen enjoyed that brief moment of fond memory and then continued on.

"Air is love, and it is blocked by grief," Sen said. He actually had to think about this one for a while. Love was not his forte. He did, however, know someone who perhaps had too much love to go around.

"Suda has every reason to feel sorry for himself. He came from a place with no love at all, but he's one of the most caring and selfless people I know. Missing out on family, friends, and happiness when he was younger –it's only taught him to appreciate those things more."

The white skull-mask remained silent. Sen waited quietly for himself for a moment. Hayao gave no signs of approval or disapproval in any sense. Perhaps he was just waiting for Sen to finish.

"That's it for the material elements," Sen mumbled to himself. The interpretation of the next two was much more esoteric, but he came to conclusions quickly.

"Whistler was-"

"Who is Whistler?"

Hayao's question was the first time Hayao had spoken during the entire lecture. At least he was listening. It only now occurred to Sen that Hayao and Whistler had never met.

"Whistler is my friend, and airbending master," Sen explained. "I kind of thought you would already know…"

"I do not know everything, Avatar Sen," Hayao said. "You will have to introduce us sometime."

"I'm not sure you should meet her, actually…"

Sen was fond of Whistler in his own way, but he well recognized the fact that she was not the friendliest individual, nor the most spiritual. She and Hayao would not mesh well.

"I have always been fond of the Air Nomads," Hayao said. "But I will take your word for it. Please continue."

"Right. Well, Whistler was –she was mistaken about where she belonged. She lied to herself for years, as a way to simplify her life and convince herself she was happy where she was. The truth inevitably found her, and she was forced to confront the reality. The conflict made her sick, until she accepted the truth and was honest with herself."

They were nearly done now. Sen almost dreaded the final chakra. Still, he had a steady road ahead of him, so he could at least get through the Light chakra.

"The Light chakra, the insight to pierce illusions. Ariak, my waterbending master, had a false impression of the word. He trusted people who didn't deserve his trust and followed a cause he didn't really believe in. He thought that other people could make him understand what was right and wrong. He had to stop trusting other people and start trusting himself."

And that was his journey so far. Sen felt refreshed, in a way, but still incomplete. The story was still unfinished. The power of the Avatar awaited.

"And then there is the Thought chakra. The path to pure cosmic energy, blocked by earthly attachments."

"Where you believe you have been stalled," Hayao said.

"Yes," Sen said. "It's why I came here alone. I left my friends behind, so I could separate myself from them."

"It does not sound as if you have separated," Hayao replied. "You spoke only of them, not yourself. You define your journey by the connections you have created, not your personal achievements."

"I know, and that's a mistake-"

"Sen, never call your friendships a mistake," Hayao commanded harshly. "They have made you strong, and shaped you into the man you are today. Nothing about your friends is a mistake."

"But I have to let them go," Sen said sadly.

"Letting go of your earthly attachments does not mean abandoning them. Think of what you have said, Sen. Each of these stories, each of the challenges, in every one of them there was conflict. One must face fear to survive, understand guilt to know pleasure, feel shame to understand will. The chakras are not a path that is walked in one direction."

Sen closed his eyes and thought, contemplating every word, as Hayao elaborated.

"To master one side is not to abandon the other. Without fear you would charge recklessly into your own doom. To master the Earth chakra one must face fear and move past it, through it, to survival. One side is as necessary as the other. Attachment without power is meaningless, but power without attachment is directionless."

Hayao paused for a moment to observe his protégé. He could feel a rising within Sen's heart. The Avatar was beginning to understand.

"You tell these stories of other people as if it is their journey alone, but you fail to realize that your story is theirs," Hayao said. "You have been with them every step of the way, and they owe you owe you as much as you owe them. You have inspired them as they have inspired you."

Sen nodded. He knew that he had his part to play in every story he had told. Each of his friends had overcome their own challenges through their own strength, but he had been there to support and inspire them.

"Of the final chakra, I would say this. Two defining truths, opposite but equal. The first: One is All."

Sen's focus, for a moment, was entirely on himself. He could feel himself alone in a void, with nothing else surrounding him. It was profoundly isolated. Only Hayao's voice echoed through the blackness.

"Within you is all the strength you shall ever need. You are dependent on no one, tied to nothing. Any bond you form only unlocks a potential that was within you all along. Any bond broken does not make you weaker for its loss. Your strength is yours and yours alone, and it is by your will that it is brought to the surface."

Sen took a deep breath. He emptied himself of thought and sensation, focusing only on the words, on the guidance that drove him forward.

"Equal and opposite," Hayao continued. "The second truth: All is One."

In the emptiness, Sen found connection. He could feel things in a way he couldn't describe. He could not hear or see the things around them, but he had a sense of them all the same. That feeling of connection expanded, reaching out across the stone, Hayao, and out into the ocean.

"Each and every one of us has the same soul," Hayao's voice said, filling the chamber of light with his resounding words. "We are all connected, in despair and in dreams, all bound by the same feelings of fear and courage, pleasure and guilt, shame and willpower, love and grief."

Hayao felt the tapestry of reality shift slightly as the Avatar found his place within it.

"But you are something greater than one mote of light in a sky full of stars," Hayao said. "You are the Avatar. The world's will and heart. Within you is the potential to drive destiny, to change every life and shape the world."

Sen could feel it now, the pulse of the world. Lights appearing, growing, fading, dying out. The pattern was alive, dancing, weaving together in intricate ways. Some of the lights were so closely woven they were indistinguishable, some of them so far apart they never touched. Some were dim and some were bright. Some were startlingly familiar, and others were completely alien.

"You have the power to shape lives, Avatar," Hayao intoned. "But the first life you must change is your own. You are connected to your friends, Avatar, but not by necessity. It is your choice to open your heart to their influence. Other people can make choices that affect you, but only you can make the choices that define you."

Sen reached out and took the pattern into his hands, holding it gently but firmly.

"Now, it is time for you to choose."

For a brief moment, Sen held the world in his hands, and saw everything.

Amidst the expanse of the world, he could not feel Sarin's presence. The Energybender had no thread in the tapestry of life that Sen now saw. What Sen could feel were his friends, Ada, Suda, Ariak, Whistler, travelling together, bonded strongly, in strange but familiar company. They had a goal, a purpose, something important, he could feel it. Hanjo was alone. He was afraid. Something had happened. Something terrible had come and gone. Something dark. A titanic darkness that cast its shadow over myriad lights. The darkness had passed over Hanjo, put fear into his heart, and moved on. It moved towards a cluster of life, and Sen could see Miyani in its path. She was a bright light, crowded but alone, lost in a city of strangers as the shadow approached.

Sen took one last look at this reality he held in his hands, and the last thing he saw was himself.

Hayao kept a steadfast watch over the Avatar's motionless form. Sen was journeying through infinity now. There was no telling how long it might take or what might happen. The volcanic cavern was still and silent as Hayao awaited the realization of Sen's destiny.

The shift was subtle at first, nearly unnoticeable to those not as perceptive as Hayao. The rising began, slowly increasing in its own indescribable way. Hayao could feel the entire world gather upon Sen.

And then stop. Sen opened his eyes, staring past his glasses with no unusual luminescence. There was no light in his gaze, though there was a clarity that had not been there before.

"Avatar Sen," Hayao stated questioningly.

"I know what you meant now," Sen said. "A long time ago you told me that I'm not the Avatar. The Avatar is me. I understand that now."

For so long Sen had been holding himself to a standard he could not reach. He thought he had to be someone like Aang or Korra to be the Avatar. That had been his greatest weakness; he saw the Avatar as a separate entity that he had to become, and so he had been unable to tap into his full potential. He knew now that he did not have to meet any standard or answer any obligations. It was his goals and desires that defined what it meant to be an Avatar, not anything else.

"I thought I could find myself in other people," Sen said, his voice touched by a slight hint of regret. "But I can't. Other people can try to guide me, or lead me astray, but I'm the only one who can set my course."

Sen stood up, his shoulders square and his back straight. He bowed to Hayao.

"It has been my great honor, Sen," Hayao replied. "I hope you are prepared for your journey."

"It doesn't matter how prepared I am for the journey if I never begin," Sen said firmly. "No more lessons, no more meditation. No more preparing to be the Avatar."

Sen turned around and marched towards the caves exit, every footstep a decisive action towards a greater goal. He knew exactly what he had to do now. No Avatar ever achieved greatness sitting in a cave. It was time to act.


	71. Intermission 4: Volition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the White Lotus at their back, Sen's team undertakes a daring mission to rescue Hanjo from the Energybender's secret prison.

"There's been no sign of either of them, sir," One of the emissaries of the new White Lotus said. "Our last trace of each says they were headed for the open seas."

"There's no way to track a man who's been on a boat more than a day," Detective Zas added. "We'll have to wait for them to make land."

Storms, shifting currents, and sea monsters could all create unpredictable delays for someone on the open seas. There was no way to say for certain when and where a ship would arrive.

"That could take days or weeks depending on their destination," Ko Rin said dismissively. "We have sufficient manpower. We must proceed without them."

The White Lotus had been hoping to locate Sen, and Miyani as well, before they went into action, but time was running out and there was no sign of the Avatar or the Combustion Bender. The White Lotus returning with the Avatar at the helm would have been a powerful rallying cry to start the war against the Energybender. As it was, the White Lotus would have to make do with what they had.

"what they had" was a force to be reckoned with. Ko Rin, Detective Zas, Bolin, and Master Jung had each taken a place around the central war table, a massive construct across which maps and diagrams were displayed. Ariak, Ada, Suda, and Whistler all had their own places at the right hand of one of the masters, and a myriad other allies had their backs.

It felt strange for them to be part of an army, especially an army that was supposed to be dead. Ko Rin had already explained how he had used his multiple connections and allies to rebuild the order in secret after its destruction, but it still felt strange to see them all here. For so long the small group of four had been the only real support the Avatar had. Now there was an entire army preparing to fly the banner of the Avatar.

Suda looked over his shoulder. Some of the faces in the crowd were familiar –a reminder that the Lotus had been watching over them the entire time- but most of them were strangers. There was an odd sense of reverence on the faces of the strangers whenever they looked at Suda. He realized quickly that to these people, he was the Avatar's right hand; a hero. It was odd to be idolized.

"We've had to delay for too long already," Ko Rin declared. "Our procrastination has cost us time and opportunities. We cannot allow another chance to go to waste."

"Things happen as they're meant to happen," Bolin said calmly. "We'll be fine."

Ko Rin gave Bolin a very stern look. The Spymaster of Zaofu had reorganized the White Lotus with a very specific plan of action to train the Avatar, but the entire plan had come crashing down when Bolin had handed off Sen's earthbending training to Suda, a chain of events that had ended with him hidden away on Hayao's island for months. There had been an attempt to get the Avatar back on track at Air Temple Island, but Sen had opted to go to Whistler instead of Sang Lug. The Avatar had at least been under Yakkul's supervision at the North Pole, but Ariak was another wild card in the training process. Ko Rin did not approve.

"Fate will not deliver the boy from prison," Ko Rin scolded.

The White Lotus had been gathered, even lacking an Avatar to lead them, for one purpose: to liberate Hanjo. The Avatar's friend was a powerful bargaining chip for the Energybender. So long as Sarin had Hanjo imprisoned, he held sway over Sen. Freeing the boy would allow Sen to act openly without risking his friends life.

"I didn't argue that," Bolin said. Tensions were high in the White Lotus camp, but Bolin was unfazed. He'd lost his ability to worry around the same time he'd lost all the color in his hair.

Ko Rin placed his palms flat on the war table and examined the map. The isolated prison that held Hanjo had been incredibly difficult to locate, and they had reason to believe that the prisoner would be moved soon. If Hanjo slipped through their fingers, it might be weeks or months before they could locate him again. That was time they could not afford.

A grove of long dead and dried-up trees hid the prison of the Energybender. Known colloquially as the Forest of Death, the forest was not only completely barren of any usable resources, it was also rumored to be haunted. With no reason or desire for a sane person to go there, it made an excellent location for a hidden prison. It also made it very difficult to sneak up on; any presence in the forest was immediately suspicious. A sneak attack on the prison would be next to impossible.

"We all know our roles," Ko Rin said to his gathered audience. "We only have one chance. We must not waste it."

***

There were sentries posted inside the hollow trees. The core of the wood had rotted away years ago, leaving behind nothing but hollow stumps whose bark had dried out into rock-hard shells. Some of the hollow trees were wide enough to fit a man inside, and they made excellent watch posts for the prison. Nobody liked being stuck on tree duty, but the commanders were being especially particular about guarding the prisoner after recent incidents. Twice as many people as usual were stuck cowering inside trees.

A bad job was about to get worse. One of the sentries heard a quiet thudding noise on the top of his assigned posting.

Scrawny and lithe as ever, Whistler dropped into the few inches of empty space and faced off with the startled sentry.

"Not very roomy in here," she quipped.

A quick rush of wind from below launched Whistler and the sentry out of the stump like cannonballs, sending them into the air. Whistler caught herself in mid-air with her glider and drifted gently back to earth. The sentry's descent was slightly less graceful. There was a dull thump as he hit the ground hard, and that sound brought Whistler a certain sense of sadistic satisfaction.

"That's the last of mine," Whistler said. Other airbenders of the White Lotus were clearing out the rest of the sentry posts. The hidden stumps made a very good way to watch the ground, but they had no aerial view. Gliding in from above was enough to negate them completely.

"Nearly there," Master Jung grunted. There was a very obvious tone of indignation in his voice. None of the other airbenders liked her very much, and they liked her even less when she was beating them. Whistler leaned against the sentry stump and relaxed while the other airbenders caught up.

"We're clear," Jung finally declared, and he was answered by the sound of revving engines. Whistler waited for a combat jeep to come roaring at her and hopped into the backseat as it drove by.

With the sentry posts down, they'd be able to close in on the prison before it could be evacuated. It was only a few moments past the line of sentry stumps when they saw the prison, and saw the alarms being raised.

"Bolin, keep your vehicles patrolling the exterior," Ko Rin shouted into the radio. "The rest of you, into the prison!"

A few vehicles bored off course and began circling the perimeter. Bolin and Suda were in charge of ensuring that nothing escaped the prison. Their troops formed a ring of circling satomobiles around the prison exterior while the rest of the White Lotus stayed the course. A cursory scan of the prison revealed a slight problem.

"That's more than we were expecting," Ariak muttered under his breath.

There was a significant troop presence around the prison, and all signs pointed to it being a recent movement. For some reason Sarin had redoubled his defense of the prison within the last few days. Ariak briefly worried that they might have been found out, but Sarin would have moved his men away entirely in that case. Something else had happened.

He had little time to contemplate that, as his vehicle came to a screeching halt. The truck spun around, and Ariak hopped to the back, cracking open the wooden shell on the back of the vehicle with his new spear. The prison forest was as arid as a desert, so Ariak and the other waterbenders would be supplying their own ammunition. The water tankard broke open in a spectacular flood of water, burying the front line of the enemy under a tidal wave. Ariak rode atop the surging wave and plunged into the enemy ranks.

While the gathered soldiers panicked under the sudden assault, Ada and the more stealth-minded members of the attack worked their way around the main force. They met with significant resistance of their own, in a strange turn of events. There were far more troopers on site than they had been expecting. Ada didn't bother thinking about it; she was quite single-minded at the moment.

The sword Yakkul had forged her saw its first real battle, and it liked what it saw. Steel danced from enemy to enemy like a cold lightning bolt. Ada did not linger on any one fight or opponent. She was a snake slithering through the enemy ranks, striking here and there, but ultimately driven towards a clear goal: Hanjo was somewhere inside that prison, and she would free him.

Master Jung and his airbenders had found themselves on the outskirts of the battle, supporting and fortifying the attack of the White Lotus, but rarely getting directly involved. While the airbenders were fully behind the cause of the Avatar, they still preferred to remain pacifistic while they had powerful allies to do the fighting for them.

An energybender soldier catapulted into the air announced the exception to that rule. Whistler spared a second to watch the enemy soldier fly, and then turned her attention to the next person she could hurt. She was not the rescuing type, usually, but she could contribute to the effort by beating up as many people as possible.

Whistler found herself enjoying her work. She really did like hurting people, for any reason or no reason at all, but it was so much better to hurt people for a good reason. There was something very satisfying in planting her metal staff firmly in the face of someone who actually deserved to get hit. She swung her staff in a broad arc, catching yet another soldier under the chin, and smiled to herself. One of the enemy soldiers caught sight of her sadistic smile and tried to retreat, and he turned his back on Whistler.

That proved to be a mistake. A loud scream pierced the battlefield.

Further down the enemy lines, another staff found its mark. Ariak was technically wielding a spear, but those who saw him would as easily call it a staff. He used the bladed edge only to cut through the weapons and shields of his enemy: the razor-sharp blade never came close to cutting skin. He would reserve his blade for those who deserved a cutting. Many of the soldiers here were just brutes and fools with no real part in the Energybender's schemes. There was little guilt to be found here.

Still, Ariak kept his bladed edge ready. There was a time for all things.

Ariak found himself a little too far ahead of his allies. He risked being closed in at this rate. He back away and rejoined the front line assault, keeping himself close to his allies. He joined Yakkul and the other White Lotus waterbenders in pushing their water supplies forward. In this arid area, the Energybender had not thought to station waterbenders as guards, so the water gave them a clear advantage.

"Any sign of the bloodbender girl?"

There was no full moon overhead, but Ariak was still wary of Kida's presence. She possessed a psychotic obsession with Ariak that made her dangerous and unpredictable. He had little desire to cross paths with her again.

"Haven't heard of many waterbenders on the scene," Yakkul responded. "Seems to be mostly footsoldiers, none of Sarin's heavy hitters."

That was not entirely accurate. Sarin's elite were waiting inside the prison, planning their escape. Hanjo's cell door slammed open as a final measure on their plan of evacuation. Hanjo grabbed on to whatever he could and held fast, trying to keep them in place as long as possible. He knew that rescue was coming. All he had to do was delay them long enough. He wrapped the handcuffs on his arms around a bedpost and tried to hold himself there.

"Enough of this," Dei Sensheng declared. He grabbed Hanjo by the back of the head and slammed him face first into the wall. That disoriented Hanjo enough for Sensheng to pull the prisoner away and hand him off to his assistant. The brute at Sensheng's side slung Hanjo over his shoulder and followed Sarin's second in command. The chains around Hanjo's wrists rattled slightly as they walked off. Sensheng was followed by the brute carrying Hanjo and his own three bodyguards as they proceeded into the depths of the facility.

"That behemoth must have led them right to us," Dei Sensheng grunted. First Tan Lung, and now this. It was an unmitigated disaster for their prison. The only way to get out of this would be to reveal a secret Sensheng had been hoping to keep hidden. One more ace up their sleeve lost in desperation, he thought to himself. They were running out of options.

"Go underground," Sensheng commanded. "The Machine is our only chance of escape."

"The Machine," a wizened voice hummed. "That sounds ominous. What are you hiding from us, Sensheng?"

Wood sandals clicked slightly on the prison floor as Ko Rin stepped forward. His snow-white robes cut quite a sight in the darkened hallways. Only cowards and the greatest masters could keep their clothes clean on a battlefield.

"Spymaster Ko Rin," Dei Sensheng said. "I'm surprised you managed to sneak up on us. You usually have all the subtlety of a hogmonkey."

Sensheng took a cautious step backwards, and his bodyguards stepped forward. A trinity of serpentine looking women in white uniforms stood between Ko Rin and Dei Sensheng.

"While one hogmonkey frets for your attention, the other steals your fruit," Ko Rin said, quoting an old, if silly, parable. "You have seen what I have allowed you to see."

A thin blade of metal emerged from Ko Rin's billowing sleeve, hovering in place before his hand. Ko Rin had adapted a peculiar swordfighting style by blending his stealth skills, metalbending, and conventional swordplay. Sensheng knew very well that the Spymaster was a formidable opponent despite his age. Sensheng's three female bodyguards brandished their weapons. They made a sinister crew in their matching white uniforms. Ko Rin found himself threatened by a sword, an earthbenders stones, and a pair of fans much like those wielded by Kyoshi Warriors.

"If the Spymaster takes one step forward, break the boy in half," Sensheng commanded. Hanjo groaned slightly.

"You're bluffing," Ko Rin said, taking a single step forward. The brute carrying Hanjo squeezed down hard enough to make Hanjo scream, and Ko Rin quickly stepped back.

"You think I won't throw away a bargaining chip, but I have plenty to gain by ending it right here and now," Sensheng boasted. "How do you think your Avatar will feel knowing his closest friends and allies failed to save his little friend? Will he ever trust any of you again?"

"Probably," Hanjo mumbled. "Sen's a pretty forgiving guy."

"You're remarkably confident for a hostage," Ko Rin observed.

"Well, that's just cause I'm hanging over this guy's shoulder backwards," Hanjo said. "So I can see Ada sneaking up behind 'em."

The man carrying Hanjo immediately whipped around, to see an empty hallway. Hanjo was particularly good at bluffing.

Now facing towards Sensheng, Hanjo lifted his chained wrists and threw his arms over Dei Sensheng's head. He pulled his wrists in tight, wrapping the chain around Sensheng's neck. Sarin's second in command gagged loudly as his throat was crushed by the heavy chain.

Ko Rin was quick to seize the situational advantage and dive forward with his blade ready. The white-uniformed bodyguard wielding a sword dove between Ko Rin and her charge, blocking Ko Rin's blow with her sword. The earthbender and the one wielding fans assaulted Ko Rin, forcing him back and away from their master. Dei Sensheng freed himself from Hanjo's chokehold and moved quickly, briefly turning to his bodyguards.

"Jan, Ken, Po, you stay and deal with our esteemed guest," Sensheng said. "You, follow me to the Machine."

Sensheng fled the scene while the trio of bodyguards battled with Ko Rin. The prison was not an expansive structure from appearances, but Ko Rin saw them disappear down a long tunnel. They had something underground. Most everyone was still above ground, scouring the prison. If Ko Rin did not catch them, they might escape completely.

It was not so easy to break free of Sensheng's bodyguards, even for one such as Ko Rin. The trinity of white-clad women were surprisingly vicious, and their varied weapons made them unpredictable. Ko Rin found himself constantly assaulted by sword, fan, and stone. Under normal circumstances a master such as Ko Rin would have won this fight easily, but the white-clad triplets were not fighting to win, they were fighting to delay Ko Rin as long as possible.

Above ground, Bolin and Suda's radio crackled to life.

"Vehicles escaping on the eastern side," Some nameless White Lotus shouted.

"Oh what luck, that's where we are," Bolin laughed. He stood up and faced towards the prison battle. Sure enough, a parade of five Energybender vehicles were headed their way. Bolin cracked his knuckles, which took quite a long time thanks to his arthritis.

With a deep breath and a stiff dropping of his arms, the ground by the side of Bolin's vehicle crackled and bubbled into red-hot lava. As the truck drove further, the lava grew and grew, trailing behind Bolin until it formed a massive trench.

The first fleeing vehicle hit the trench and came to an abrupt halt as its tires melted into the lava pit. The riders quickly fled out the back, crawling out of the back of the truck onto solid ground. The second truck in the line came to a halt just short of the lava trench, and others began to swerve around it completely.

"Turn around," Bolin commanded. It was possible some of those vehicles might drive around the lava trench and escape.

"No, I got this one," Suda said. He'd been looking for an excuse to start fighting all day. He'd never really had a chance to show off for Bolin.

With a loud whirr of metal on metal, Suda cast out a long bolt of cord from his zipline launchers. The line shot through the air like an arrow, striking the first truck at the front, and then snaked through the air to connect to the second. Suda clenched his fist and threw an uppercut, dragging a stone up from the ground. The cord attached between the two vehicles caught on the rock, causing both the trucks to veer sharply off course, slamming into each other as the reel dragged them around the stone. The fifth truck slammed headfirst into the raised boulder, ending the escape attempt with a metallic crash.

"Hah," Suda shouted triumphantly. "What do you think of that?"

"Nobody likes a show off," Bolin grunted sternly. Suda frowned. Bolin quickly snapped back into his usual smile.

"Kidding! That was awesome," Bolin said, holding his hand up for a high-five. Suda eagerly followed through.

"Seriously though, cool it with the fanboy thing," Bolin said. "You're as much a hero as I ever was. You can't look up to someone who's your equal."

"Oh, I mean, the saving the world gig was cool, but with you it's mostly the movers," Suda said. "I'm a big fan."

"Ah, well then, carry on," Bolin said with a polite nod.

Within the halls of the Energybender's hidden prison, Ada crept like a snake, moving quietly, and striking swiftly. She had pulled away from the main force of the battle to strike at the center of the prison. While the bulk of the Energybender's forces were outside, the few targets that remained within the prison were much more important. The soldiers outside the walls were little better than blunt instruments; the officers and commanders inside the walls were far more valuable targets.

Ada reached a room that should have been the center of the command structure, but found it curiously empty. It was not hard to see why: one wall of the room had been shattered violently, leaving a gaping hole in the structure. A similar hole marked another nearby wall, showing a trail of destruction through the middle of the base.

Ada's examinations of this curious scene of carnage was cut short when she noticed a more tempting target. Although the room was empty of personnel, it was not empty of important documents, most notably a blueprint of the prison. Ada took one look over the structure and reached for her radio.

"Suda, are you there," Her radio crackled. Suda could always recognize Ada's voice, even through the chaos of battle. She was one of few people who could pull his attention away from Bolin.

"Yeah, we're good, what's happening," Suda responded.

"I found a schematic of the prison," Ada said. She had been hoping to find the location of the prison cells, but the map had revealed something far more suspicious. "There's some kind of tunnel that leads far off-site to an underground chamber."

The very same tunnel through which Dei Sensheng was currently escaping, though this was unknown to any of them. Ada had good reason to be suspicious of the tunnel though. Zaofu had plenty of underground tunnels and chambers, and she knew she didn't want their enemies to find any of them. Whatever the Energybender was hiding down there was important.

"It looks like the tunnel ends about a mile southeast of this place," Ada said. "I'm heading your way, but I want you on site."

Ada walked through the large hole in the wall, back to the exterior and the battlefield. She quickly shouted orders and gathered Ariak, Whistler, and a vehicle.

"What, above ground? You want us to dig down?"

"Maybe," Ada said. She'd commandeered a vehicle to take her to the site, but it was difficult to examine the schematics while on the move. "It says something about deployment, I think it might raise something up from the ground."

"Anything else for us," Bolin said.

"There's something called 'The Machine' in there," Ada said.

"Sounds ominous," Bolin said. Suda nodded in agreement. "We'll be right there."

Bolin and Suda's driver carried them towards the site that Ada had described. It was impossible to tell where exactly it was, but there wasn't anything especially suspicious in the immediate area. Suda could see Ada's vehicle making the approach. They were still a fair distance away.

The ground below them started to groan. Bolin and Suda nodded to each other.

"Ada, you were right, something weird is happening," Suda said into the radio.

"Make sure nothing gets away," Ada said. "I've got Whistler and Ariak with me. We'll be there in a minute."

"We don't have a minute," Bolin said. The ground was starting to crack open.

With a groan of heavy metal and shifting earth, the hidden hangar opened up, exposing a massive chasm in the ground. As Suda and Bolin watched, a platform lifted up, raising some kind of machine to the surface.

"Never seen that before," Bolin mumbled.

It was some kind of strange fish-shaped device. Suda assumed it was a vehicle because it had large clear windows and a steering wheel, but the vehicle-assumption was somewhat challenged by the fact that it had no wheels. The only particular methods of movement that Suda could see were two massive fan-blades, one on top of the strange thing and another at the end of the tail.

"I think we found The Machine," Suda said. "Doesn't seem quite as ominous as I was expecting."

There was a loud metallic whirring, and the razor blade fans on the machine started to spin very slowly.

"Okay, that I don't like," Suda said. The spinning blades were starting to rotate faster and faster, creating such a strong breeze that Suda was finding it difficult to stand. Dust and wind started blowing all around them.

"Don't let it go anywhere," Ada shouted across the radio.

"I got this," Bolin said. He pushed his hands forwards, sending a pool of lava surging beneath the metallic legs of The Machine. The strange vehicle had two metal skids underneath it, like runners on a sled, so Bolin knew the pilots would have time to evacuate while those melted.

The lava never so much as touched the bottom of The Machine. Just as the molten stone reached the underbelly of the alien machine, the metal struts lifted off the ground slightly. Slowly, wobbling as it went, The Machine lifted off the ground, pulled into the air by massive spinning rotors.

"It can fly," Bolin muttered in disbelief.

It was hard to believe that Sarin's men had invented their own unique flying machine, but now was not a time to be stunned by disbelief. Bolin kicked his feet and launched a boulder at The Machine. With startling precision, the airborne vessel swerved to the side and dodged the boulder completely. Bolin had never seen anything capable of flying so accurately, not even Asami's hummingbird mechs. As it maneuvered, the side of the vehicle turned towards them, and a door slid open.

Suda caught a glimpse of two things as the door opened. The first: Hanjo, restrained inside the vessel, and the second, a firebender with his fingertips pointed right at Bolin's chest. Bolin was lifting another boulder, preparing for another strike. With the firebender trying to strike back, The Machine might stay in place long enough for Bolin to make that hit.

Bolin hadn't yet realized that Hanjo was on that ship. If Bolin took The Machine down, he might take Hanjo down with it.

Clenching his fist tightly, Suda shattered the boulder that Bolin was preparing the launch. The aged mover star had a second to be surprised that his boulder had shattered, and then the fire was coming at him. His reflexes were not quite what they used to be, and the red fire hit him broad in the chest, knocking him backwards to the ground.

The Machine began to rise. Suda sent both of his reels flying forwards, wrapping around the landing struts at the bottom of the flying machine. It continued to climb, despite Suda's attempts to pull it back down, and he was rapidly running out of line. He tried to anchor himself to the ground with heavy rocks to keep The Machine in place.

Ada was watching all this unfold with a small sense of helplessness. Suda wouldn't struggle so hard to keep it in place for no reason; Hanjo had to be aboard that thing. They had no way of chasing an airship. If The Machine took off, Hanjo would be lost, possibly forever.

"I have a plan," Ariak shouted. "I have part of a plan."

He was behind the wheel, but he took one hand off of it long enough to hand Ada his spear.

"I'm going to keep driving. When we reach Suda, you jump out and hook that around Suda's zip line. Whistler, give her a boost to get her going up."

"I don't like this plan," Ada said, clinging to Ariak's spear.

"You have five seconds to come up with a better one," Ariak said. "Too late!"

Without braking even slightly, Ariak roared past Suda and his desperate struggle to hold The Machine in place. Impulsively, Ada leapt from the vehicle and hooked the spear around Suda's zipline. With a quick swing of Whistler's staff, a surge of air and her own forward momentum sent Ada soaring up the metal line towards The Machine.

She slammed into the outer wall of The Machine with no grace at all. Seeing what was happening, Suda released his lines and instead wrapped them around Ada's waist, giving her a lifeline if she fell. No longer attached to the ground, The Machine began to rise again. Ariak kept following it from the ground, but The Machine was gaining height quickly.

Ada jammed Ariak's spear into the door of The Machine and wrenched it open. She wanted to get away from the spinning rotors whirring threateningly overhead. The door violently creaked open. The occupants of The Machine turned to face Ada as one. They had not exactly expected a person to be clinging to the outside of their flying machine. Ada looked back at them all, and one in particular.

"Hey Hanjo," She said stiffly.

Hanjo looked up at one of his captors, stuck his tongue out, and then kicked him in the knee. While the soldier recoiled in pain, Hanjo quickly wormed his way across the floor towards Ada. Ada grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him the rest of the way out, clinging to him tightly lest he fall.

"Why am I going out," Hanjo asked. "Shouldn't you be going in? We should be taking over-"

Hanjo saw the look on Ada's face and gave up on that line of thought.

"Ah, heroic stupidity," Hanjo sighed. "I missed that."

Ada reached down and cut the metal lines attaching them to The Machine. Dei Sensheng gave an unheard cry of frustration as the two plummeted downwards.

The whirring rotors of the Machine faded quickly into the distance as Hanjo and Ada plummeted downwards. Hanjo had his eyes shut tight. Ada looked straight down at the ground, and thought of how she had fallen before, in the Spirit Metal canyon.

A heavy impact struck her back, and downwards momentum suddenly became sideways momentum. Ada heard a loud torrent of swearing as Whistler' struggled to keep them all from plummeting to the ground.

It took everything Whistler had to keep them from hitting the ground like a sack of hammers, but through a few minor miracles, she managed. Nobody was getting out of this landing without a few bruises, but they were getting out alive. Whistler came to a rolling halt on the ground and rubbed her aching head.

"Stop falling off of things!"

Whistler's command went unheeded. Ada was helping Hanjo to his feet, asking him to hold out his hands. He complied, and with a quick swing of her sword, Ada cut the chains that bonded his wrists. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Hanjo," Ada said. "You're a free man."

Hanjo looked at his unbound hands for a moment. His eyes drifted away, towards the wide open world around him, and then they lingered on Ada. With a sudden jerk forward, Hanjo used his first act of freedom to wrap his arms around Ada and hold her close.

"Thank you," He said. It was a solemn thanks, despite everything. If he let himself say much more, he'd probably start crying tears of joy. Hanjo bit his tongue and tried to hold it all back. Ada returned his embrace.

"I'm so sorry it took this long," Ada said quietly. "I am never letting anything happen to you again."

"Let's uh," Hanjo sniffed loudly, still struggling to hold back some tears. "Let's not make promises we can't keep. You know I'm a troublemaker."

"Hey, I am the official team troublemaker now," Whistler objected. She and Hanjo stared each other down for a while, but they both quickly switched to smiling.

"Good to see you again," Whistler said. She grabbed Hanjo by the shoulder and shook him slightly. "Glad I can touch you this time around. Now I can smack you whenever I feel like it."

"I feel the same way," Hanjo said.

With a loud screech of metallic brakes, Ariak pulled his truck up to the side of the touching reunion. He and Hanjo exchanged an awkward glance.

"Hi, I'm, uh, Ariak, we haven't met, and, you haven't heard of me at all-"

Hanjo looked at Ada and Whistler. The two women nodded affirmatively. Hanjo smiled at Ariak, and Ariak smiled back. They'd have plenty of time to get to know each other later. Hanjo was escorted back to the truck, and Ada broadcasted the message across the radio: the mission was a complete success. Hanjo was free.

It brought some small comfort to Suda to hear that his desperate efforts had at least been worthwhile. He had Bolin propped against one of the dead trees, trying to do what he could to treat the burns on his chest. The White Lotus uniforms were armored, but Bolin was not exactly in the best shape of his life.

"Don't fuss so much," Bolin said weakly. "I've taken worse hits from Tahno."

"You weren't a hundred years old when you fought Tahno," Suda said.

There was a moment of silence. Bolin sighed heavily, heaving his burned chest. Suda froze in panic. He was worried that every heavy breath would be the last one. Bolin was less worried.

"Not yet," Bolin mumbled aloud. "Not just yet, I think. I've got a good feeling about it."

Despite Suda's protests, Bolin stood up. He tipped slightly to the side, and ended up grabbing onto Suda's arm for support, but he did manage to stand.

"You'd be heartbroken if I bit the dust," Bolin said. "And I never disappoint my fans."

"Well…there was The Return of Nuktuk," Suda said.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Bolin said sternly. He was glad when the truck arrived, carrying a very important change of subject with it. Suda and Hanjo happily reunited, and they proceeded again towards the former prison.

***

The battle at the prison wrapped up quickly once word had spread that Hanjo was free and Dei Sensheng had escaped. With no reason left to fight, The Energybender's men surrendered or attempted to retreat. Ko Rin oversaw the seizure of any useful materials from the prison. All of the men would claim to have forgotten useful information, but documents would not lie.

"Keep a special eye out for anything relating to The Machine," He commanded. "Sarin's men have technology we don't, and we cannot allow that."

"It's a shame the Avatar couldn't be here," Detective Zas said. "He had all kinds of ways to see the truth. Bet these troopers wouldn't conveniently 'forget' anything while he was around."

"The Avatar has peculiar truth-seeing abilities?" Ko Rin seemed particularly interested in that.

"Yeah, very useful trick," Zas continued. "Impossible to lie to him, even for the best liars. Did I not mention that earlier?"

Ko Rin frowned and stroked his beard. He turned his back on the Detective as he heard the heroes of the day approach. Ko Rin bowed deeply as Hanjo presented himself.

"Master Hanjo," Ko Rin said respectfully. "I am glad you are well."

"Thanks for the save," Hanjo said, without any formality at all. "So you're Ko Rin, huh? Sorry about stealing Ada from you."

There was a strange edge to Ko Rin's face as he nodded at Hanjo again. Ada was the only one to catch it. She knew that Ko Rin had never planned for Ada to escort Sen out of Zaofu, but Ko Rin seemed particularly displeased by how the Avatar had gone off course.

"Is Sen not here?"

Hanjo looked around curiously for any sign of his friend. Ada stepped up and caught his attention again.

"Sen went off on his own before we started planning this," Ada explained. "I'm sure if he'd known, he would have been here. You know he-"

"Yeah, I know, he would've been the first guy through the door," Hanjo said with a nod. It was disappointing that he would have to wait even longer to see Sen, but it would come in time. He'd waited years already. A few more days or weeks wouldn't hurt.

Ariak looked around curiously as well. He had been half expecting Sen to swoop in to save the day at the last minute. It seemed odd that the Avatar would not be where he was needed most.

"Now, Master Hanjo, I'm sure you're eager to enjoy your freedom, but I hope I can impress upon you for some explanations," Ko Rin said. Hanjo nodded affirmatively. If he could do anything to help, he would. He'd been out of action for too long, and so far he'd done more harm than good. It was time to be a hero again.

"Excellent. Now, when we arrived there was an unusually high level of security, as if there had been a forewarning of this incident. Do you happen to know of any reason why they would increase their security? I'd want to know if we were somehow given away."

Hanjo shook his head grimly. There was a good reason they had raised security, but it had nothing to do with the White Lotus.

"Follow me," Hanjo said. He led the way, somewhat reluctantly, back into the prison, into back chambers and side rooms that the scouts had yet to explore. Eventually, at the very back of the prison, they reached a room with a few tables. Only one table had anything on it; a broad white sheet, covering a lumpy silhouette that could only be a human body.

"I don't know what exactly happened, but two days ago, something attacked this place," Hanjo said. "They didn't try to free me, or even fight the guards. They just stormed past everything to go after the prison keeper. Tan Lung."

Suda's eyes narrowed. Tan Lung. He knew that name. He just couldn't quite recall where from.

Ko Rin stepped forward and raised the white sheet, keeping the body hidden from the younger ones in the room. He recoiled in disgust and replaced the sheet.

"He was always pretty nice, I mean, for a prison keeper," Hanjo said regretfully. Tan Lung had been on Sarin's side, but he had never truly been a bad person. Just a troubled veteran hoping to see peace in his lifetime. "He always took really good care of me. He didn't deserve…"

"Bisected," Ko Rin said disgustedly. "Cut in half at the waist."

"In one blow?"

Ko Rin nodded. Ada slammed her fist into her palm.

"Rahm. He's the only one who could fight like that."

It explained the massive holes in the walls she had seen earlier as well. Crashing through walls, singlemindedly hunting his target, and ending them with a single vicious blow –all signs pointed to Rahm.

"Right, Rahm," Suda said. "Tan Lung served with Rahm! He was one of the traitors that Rahm was hunting."

"I guess the warning never got to him all the way out here," Ada said. They had meant to warn every potential victim of Rahm's so that they could hide, but Tan Lung's remote hideaway had made that impossible.

"What are you talking about? Tan Lung never served with the General," Ko Rin said skeptically. "I handled the lists myself."

"Yes he did," Ada said. "He served in-"

Ada froze mid-sentence as the blood turned to ice in her veins. Suda looked up, looking past everything into oblivion.

"He was on the mission that found Miyani."

"The mission that was made classified," Suda said, his voice trembling slightly with fear. All the records of Tan Lung's mission with Rahm had been erased. Only the three soldiers and Fire Lord Goto knew of it, and they had all vowed never to speak of it again.

"There was only one other soldier on that mission," Suda concluded.

"Dahaka."

Ko Rin stepped forward, taking Ada by the shoulders and looking her deep in the eyes.

"Dahaka, the Dahaka, the President of the United Republic?"

Ada looked back into his eyes, and she nodded. Ko Rin released her.

"Full retreat," he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Abandon everything, back to the trucks!"

At the word of the Grand Lotus, the White Lotus quickly, if not unquestioningly, abandoned their efforts and returned to their vehicles. Ko Rin stomped into his flagship vehicle and shouted orders through the radio.

"General Rahm means to assassinate the president of the Republic," He declared. At the sound of his voice, every engine there started to rev. To get to President Dahaka, Rahm would have to cut through a considerable chunk of the Republic's police force and army – and there was a good chance he would succeed. If left unchecked Rahm could single-handedly cripple an entire nation.

The forces of the White Lotus sped through the Forest of Death, making a desperate charge towards the United Republic. Ko Rin was already planning their route. A northern swerve, and the Yangchen river could carry them to the Republic via ship much faster than the roads would. It was their best chance of beating Rahm. The dark General had two days head start, but they had no way of knowing how fast he could travel. They would have to give everything to beat him there.

In the midst of the panic, Ariak sat firmly in his seat, gripping his spear. Everyone else was planning how they were going to fight Rahm or pierce his armor. Ariak turned his spear and looked at his own reflection in the blade.

They were not going to make it. He had been on enough manhunts to know that Rahm would beat them to the Republic by a full day –perhaps only a few hours if they were lucky. That would be quite enough time for Rahm to do all the damage he needed.

Ariak tilted his spear further, distorting his reflection, scattering his facial features, giving him the appearance of an extra eye.

They would never make it. But they were not the only heroes in the world.

***

"Yes, I'd like to cancel this ticket," the customer said.

The clerk at the counter nodded. A lot of long distance travel had been getting cancelled lately, especially to the North.

"All the confusion up there really ruined your plans, huh?" The serving girl said. Her voice was full of sunshine, just like anyone in customer service. Her hunched over customer seemed less excited.

"You could say that," The customer sighed. She handed over her now-useless ticket stub to the clerk and waited for her receipt.

"Do you want a new destination or a full refund? We're offering total compensation in light of recent events."

The customer scratched her chin for a minute.

"Refund," She said.

"Excellent choice," the clerk said. "There's always something to do in this town."

Miyani received her refund and turned her back on the customer service desk. She'd been meaning to go to the North by sea, and hit the Energybender blockade from behind, but by the time she'd arrived at her first stop, she'd found out that the entire siege had been cancelled without her ever showing up. Now she had no idea what to do next.

Miyani adjusted her headband and started to walk the city streets. What the clerk said was true, after all. There was always something to do in Republic City.


	72. Intermission 5: Consciousness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unstoppable General Rahm and the Combustion Bender Miyani clash in the heart of Republic City, but they are not the only titans who will rise before the battle is done.

"The drills are increasing public fear that-"

"The people should be afraid," President Dahaka exclaimed. The reporter at his side was taken aback by the bluntness.

"Yes, there are soldiers patrolling the streets," Dahaka elaborated. "Because a terrorist organization has carried out a full-scale attack on the North Pole, and I am worried that we might be next. The media can deny it as much as they want, but this war has already started!"

Dahaka stepped into his office and slammed the door shut behind him. It was horrifying sometimes, how people were so desperate to keep things from changing. The people didn't want to believe that the nations might have finally reached the breaking point. It was up to leaders like Dahaka to realize and prepare for the grim reality: war was upon them.

The President of the United Republic sat down at his desk and looked over the next batch of problems that he would have to solve. This city was a tangled mess of problems on a normal day, and the recent problems had increased that exponentially. Dahaka would be lucky to sleep tonight. It was a cold, wintery day, with the sun obscured by thick grey clouds and a layer of icy frost on every surface. It was an appropriately grim day.

It didn't surprise Dahaka at all when a large, worried looking soldier practically knocked his office door down. Two uniformed soldiers walked over to each side of the President and pulled him out of his chair, carrying him up and out towards the door with a nervous pace.

"I don't recall scheduling an evacuation drill," Dahaka sighed. He had scheduled so many practice routines for the army he'd lost track. This was going to set him behind on paperwork.

"This isn't a drill," The soldier said grimly.

Dahaka nodded stiffly and increased the pace. As they walked, Dahaka noticed a gradually increasing military presence, watching every door and window. Soldiers were starting to line the frostbitten streets.

"Is this Sarin's doing?"

"No Mister President," The leader of the soldiers said. "We've received information from a credible source that General Rahm is heading for Republic City."

Though the White Lotus were still a ways away from Republic City, they had managed to use their contacts to warn Dahaka of the General's coming. Hopefully he could get out of the city before Rahm found him.

Dahaka didn't bother protesting or questioning the fact. Unlike many, Dahaka had never believed that Rahm was gone forever.

"What about the citizens? Is this a city-wide evacuation?"

"We're spreading word, but sir," The Lieutenant began grimly. "It seems that Rahm is after you. Only you."

Dahaka continued to run, but his steps were heavier. He had seen Rahm do so many terrible things to so many hundreds of people. The General was the closest thing this world had to an unstoppable force. Dahaka would try his best to flee, to hide, for the sake of his family, but the thought lingered in the back of his head.

If Rahm wanted someone dead, then they would die. Dahaka was no exception.

An armed military convoy took Dahaka through the streets of Republic City, aiming to get him as far away from this place as fast as possible. Through the thick glass window panes, Dahaka took what might very well be his last looks at the city he commanded. He could see soldiers and policemen flooding the streets in droves. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands. It still wouldn't be enough.

The walls and windows of the armored transport were thick and shielded, but even through it all, Dahaka could hear the sound of thunder.

The first vehicle in the convoy came to a dead halt, and the second crashed into it. Dahaka's vehicle swerved to the side, only slightly, before something else took hold of it. The steering wheel and the tires were useless; the vehicle was being dragged, not driven, to its destination. Dahaka sighed and waited.

The vehicle jerked slightly the other way as something else took hold, and then it stopped. Dahaka could hear sounds of violence.

The door was ripped open violently, and Dahaka was dragged out of the vehicle by a firm hand.

Dahaka could see it all now: Rahm was here, and he had brought destruction with him. It had been mere moments since he had made himself known, but one would swear that this street had been a warzone for hours. Buildings were cracking and crumbling, the road was torn to shreds, and the fallen paved the streets. At the center of this tapestry of destruction stood Rahm.

A black mask of metal hid the face that Dahaka knew, but there was still no mistaking the General. Only he would stand so fearlessly against hundredss of soldiers at once. Attacks of water, earth, fire, and air bounced off his armor while he scanned his battlefield. Occasionally he would raise his hands to crush some insect that had become too bothersome, but his focus was clear. He wanted to find someone: he wanted to find Dahaka.

The President's eyes were torn away from the scene by a sudden jerk the other direction. They were still trying to get him away. They thought they could escape the General. They were wrong.

"Come on, Dahaka," Chief Dormin said. He dragged the President further from the scene of destruction, hoping to get him away while Rahm was still distracted by the carnage.

Dormin cast out his hands, launching a metal reel towards a nearby rooftop. The metal zip line sailed a few feet, giving Dormin a brief hope of escape. Then it curled backwards, like a charmed snake turning on its master, and reversed course, striking Dormin in the chest, entangling him, dragging him backwards. Dormin released his grip on Dahaka: at least the President would not be dragged back with him.

The metal strand coiled around Dormin's body, up his torso and around his neck. Held aloft by the grip of the iron, Dormin was pulled through the air towards Rahm. For a brief moment, he looked the General in his metal-shrouded face.

"Do not stand between me and my prey," Rahm commanded.

The steel coils tightened with a sharp and deadly grip, and Rahm tossed Dormin aside. Dahaka looked on in horror as Rahm turned his attention towards him.

The General slammed down his foot, shaking the ground with a hammer blow. The street below cracked and crumbled, reshaping to the Rahm's whims. Those soldiers who still remained were thrown aside by a rising shockwave through the soil. Massive, jagged walls rose up around the area, isolating Dahaka and Rahm in an arena of shattered stone.

President Dahaka stood up. It was inevitable now, as it had always been. He might as well go out on his feet.

"Last of the traitors," Rahm's harsh voice bellowed. Dahaka had suspected from the beginning that this was about Rahm's warped code of honor. "Private Dahaka."

"President Dahaka," He corrected. He had nothing to lose, so he could afford a little bit of defiance.

"You are no leader," Rahm said. He advanced on his prey, taking slow, deliberate steps.

"I'm twice the leader you ever were," Dahaka shouted back. Rahm paused slightly, and his metal face lowered slightly in a grim glare.

"I led my army to victory, Dahaka," Rahm thundered violently. The sound of his voice shook the glass windows around them.

"You massacred innocent civilians," Dahaka protested. "They'd surrendered, Rahm, the war was over!"

"The war ended when I found Lokus and cut his head off!"

Rahm took a step forward, and the ground trembled. He held his sword hand high, ready to strike the moment he closed the gap. Dahaka stood his ground. He had resigned himself to this the moment he had heard Rahm was after him. Dahaka knew that nothing on earth could stop Rahm.

Dahaka was slightly misinformed.

The air cracked as a lance of white energy surged across the sky. Rahm looked down at his chest as a white line struck the center of his armor.

Dahaka was launched backwards as a thunderous shockwave blossomed outwards, scattering fire and debris with it. He hit the wall behind him and covered his face as rubble flew through the air, launched by the sudden burst of explosive force.

The rumbling explosion quieted, and the smoke cleared. Dust and debris finally settled. The arena wall that Rahm had raised around them had been shattered by an impact crater, created by Rahm himself. The General, in his gargantuan armor, had been launched backwards into the opposite wall by the explosion. He took only a second to regain his bearings before pulling himself out of the wall.

Descending the shattered walls of the concrete coliseum, another titan arrived in the arena. Miyani took a stand between Dahaka and Rahm, her shoulders squared and her fists clenched. All three of her eyes cast a burning glare at General Rahm. Rahm stared right back.

"The girl," Rahm growled quietly.

"Miyani," Dahaka gasped.

Miyani nodded grimly. With quick but quiet motions, she unstrapped the metal armguards on her forearms and tossed them aside. They would accomplish nothing against the titanic blade Rahm wielded, and the extra metal only gave him more tools to use against her. She could take no risks here. The two metal guards clattered against the ground, chiming like two bells to signal the start of the battle.

It was surprising enough that Rahm was still conscious, much less alive. He had taken a direct hit from a combustion bender and seemed to be shrugging it off. Miyani had never encountered a metal that could stand up to her power. His armor was made of something unusual, that much was obvious.

"How fortunate this is," Rahm mocked. "I was going to hunt you down next."

Miyani said nothing. She shifted her stance slightly, breathing deeply in preparation for what was to come. It was a cold winter morning in Republic City, bad conditions for a firebender. She would need to focus to gather the power she needed.

"Come, combustion bender, surely you have some defiant nonsense to spit?"

Rahm held out his open hand beckoningly while his other fist tightly clenched his sword. Miyani tilted her head slightly.

"Hawks have no words for mice," Miyani said. Rahm had a brief moment to narrow his eyes before Miyani took a deep breath, clenched her jaw, and unleashed.

Miyani had rarely pushed herself to her limits. She had tried to restrain herself, to be controlled and precise, but she abandoned all of that now. Rahm was a peerless beast, and nothing short of complete annihilation would stop his rampage. Miyani could not afford to hold back.

White fury cut the sky like a blade, and the sword of white light met the sword of black metal as Rahm blocked the blow. Miyani's lance of power impacted Rahm's blade and detonated in a burst of fire, light, and sound. As the explosive force consumed Rahm in a ball of fire and force, Miyani spared a moment to turn to Dahaka.

"Run," She commanded. Dahaka obliged. This was not a place for him anymore. It was a battle of titans now, and a mortal like him had no place in that fight.

The smoke and fire cleared, and Rahm was still standing. His sword was warped and scorched, but intact. At least Miyani knew it was possible to damage him now. She watched with some concern, however, as his sword began to reshape, taking on its old form, casting off the damage that Miyani had done. Rahm was using metalbending to undo any damage she did. If she wanted to win, she would have to keep him so disoriented he couldn't make repairs, or destroy him utterly in one massive explosion.

Rahm's herculean blade was fully repaired, and he pointed the sword at Miyani. She did not give him time to retaliate. Destroying Rahm with one attack was unlikely, so she would have to wear him down. She shot explosive bursts around his feet, hoping to knock him off balance, and then followed with arcing shots towards his head. His helmet was likely the most vulnerable part of his armor.

The General planted his feet and braced himself for the onslaught. His helmet warped, closing off the small holes that allowed him to see and breath. Fusing his armor into a solid fortress, Rahm weathered the storm of explosive blows. He felt his armor shudder and warp around him under the relentless onslaught of combustive power, but Rahm was quick to repair any damage done.

The barrage eventually ceased, and Rahm allowed himself a moment to open his eyes and observe the battlefield. The arena Rahm had created was consumed by fiery craters –but there was no sign of Miyani.

A bolt struck him from behind, knocking him forward onto the ground. With his armor sealed, Miyani had seized on his lack of vision to sneak around him for a flanking strike, placing herself high on the walls of the shattered streets to gain the advantage of high ground as well. While Rahm was on the ground, she moved again, changing her position before Rahm tracked her down. She struck again while Rahm was still knocked down.

Rahm's status as a General had been earned mostly through his own physical prowess, but he did have some knowledge of tactics. He knew what Miyani was trying. He planted his fist in the ground and pushed downwards. The arena walls collapsed, settling back into the earth. Miyani collapsed with them, falling down to the ground. She caught herself on landing and braced for another strike as Rahm looked around.

With the walls of the arena fallen, the battle was now open to spectators. Soldiers who had gathered to help Dahaka flee were frozen by the sight of Rahm and Miyani. An armored behemoth and a combustion bender stood in the center of shattered streets, shaking the city with their blows.

Rahm went on the offensive, charging towards Miyani with his sword raised. Miyani fired back with a quick bolt aimed at his face, intending only to blind him long enough for her to sidestep the charge. Even with Rahm blinded, she only barely managed to dodge him.

Miyani was used to being the juggernaut in her fights. Facing down someone who was larger, more durable, and perhaps even stronger was not something she was accustomed to. She wasn't well suited to dodging and moving quickly.

Rahm swept his hand, and the earth rose up in massive spikes. He had weapons other than his blade, of course, but Miyani was better at handling conventional bending. She stepped aside and loosed another bolt of fiery death at Rahm. The General defended himself by tearing a large chunk of wall from a nearby building and placing it between himself and the explosive bolt. The explosion impacted the chunk of stone and harmlessly detonated.

Through the new hole in the wall, Miyani saw civilians fleeing. This was new as well. Republic City was packed tight: She was lucky that Rahm had isolated himself for the start of the fight. If the battle shifted too far, she would have to worry about collateral damage as well.

The more she thought about her situation, the more it seemed like Rahm had the advantage. He was in his element for the fight, and he wouldn't care about the collateral damage.

Miyani wasn't worried. She knew that she wasn't the only one capable of stopping Rahm. For the moment, though, she would be relying on herself. She still believed that she could defeat Rahm on her own. She attacked a few more times, hammering on Rahm's defenses with explosive power. Rahm retaliated in kind, launching boulders and metal blades at her from a distance. He kept his sword close at hand, and occasionally he tried to close the distance. Miyani was careful never to let him get too close.

For the two titans clashing in the city streets, the scale of the battle seemed almost normal. They thought little of the blows they exchanged and the strikes they deflected. For the rest of Republic City, the consequences were earth shattering.

Windows across the city rattled and shattered every time the concussive shockwaves of Miyani's blasts. The ground trembled and quaked as Rahm reshaped the city to his will. Once, long ago, Sen had observed that Republic City had a heartbeat: as Miyani and Rahm clashed, that heartbeat stopped. People began to flee the city or cower in their homes as the shockwaves of their battle spread outwards. There were certain individuals, though, that walked calmly towards the destruction, rather than fleeing it.

Rahm charged forward, holding his left hand high to block Miyani's blasts. Miyani tried to blast at his feet to unsteady him, but Rahm was surprisingly quick for a behemoth of his size. In moments, he was upon Miyani, his sword arm held high, ready for a climactic blow. Miyani couldn't cause any explosion at this range. It was time to test a theory. She held up her hands.

Rahm's arm fell as Miyani's rose. With both hands, she caught Rahm's wrist, pushing against his descending blow. She felt her wrists twist and her shoulders begin to slide slowly out of place, but the blade ground to a halt. Miyani was holding.

The General knew much of combustion benders, of their enhanced strength and their tolerance for pain, but Miyani managed to surprise even him.

"I have killed your kind already," Rahm threatened.

"There is no one like me," Miyani retaliated.

Though Miyani had a lock on his sword arm, Rahm still had one fist to spare. He raised his left hand for a strike, and followed through with a sweeping blow. Seeing the fist coming and knowing there was little she could do to stop or avoid it, Miyani raised her feet slightly, loosening her stance. The metal fist struck her hard in the stomach, and she could feel her muscle and bone strain under the sheer pressure. A lesser being would have had their life come to an end with such a blow. Miyani was hurt, but she could still focus. The heavy-handed blow pushed her back, getting Miyani just enough distance from Rahm to launch one more attack.

Miyani's fire burst consumed a large portion of the city streets, igniting stray bits of wood and detonating the gasoline in satomobile engines. Rahm was shaken by the blast, as was most of the city. Miyani saw the expanding fire begin to consume the city streets as more and more materials ignited. She wasn't worried. In fact, this was just what she intended.

The cold grip of winter weakened her considerably by reducing the amount of heat she could draw on. The spreading fire began to scorch the city, turning the frigid air into a burning oven as it spread. Miyani felt the flames just barely lick her skin, and she smiled.

Miyani planted her feet firmly, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, reaching out to the fire around her. She threw her hands out, letting the flame brush her fingertips, and then slowly drew her hands back in, drawing the warmth with her. The flames began to diminish, slowly, at first, and then rapidly, one by one, they were doused, as Miyani drew on them to fuel her own internal fire. Crackling tongues of fire flickered out one by one as Miyani took their power for her own.

The last of the tongues of flame vanished into the cold air. Miyani opened her eyes, and Rahm saw them burn with unusual light. The combustion benders skin was steaming as the cold air grasped at her boiling blood.

Miyani pressed her clenched fists against her heart, forcing the inner fire outwards.

There was a tearing sound, like a sword cutting through armor, as the blade of light split the sky. It was fast, faster than the blink of an eye, travelling from the blood red mark of Miyani's third eye to Rahm in a mere instant. Rahm raised his blade to guard himself from the incoming ray of death. The lightning-fast bolt impacted Rahm's sword, and burst in a furious conflagration of apocalyptic scale.

Miyani had never actually felt the effects of one her own explosions before, but the detonation that followed was so massive, so thunderous, that even she felt the shockwaves. She crossed her arms in front of her face to shield herself from the flames as the earth-shattering explosion launched her backwards. She landed hard on the ground, feeling the pulsing shockwave of force scream above her face. For a second it seemed that the fire burst would never stop, that her combustive power had consumed the entire world, but the thundering explosive burst eventually settled.

Miyani stood, shaking off the ash of her eruption, and observed what she had wrought. The nearby buildings were still standing, so that was good. She couldn't see a single window on any of them that wasn't broken, though.

The dust began to settle on the street, or what was left of the street. There was more crater than road now. Broken sewer pipes poured water into the empty spaces where concrete and soil had once been. The sewer pipes were the only indication that any civilization had existed in this space: any merchant carts, satomobiles, street signs, had been completely obliterated, along with any other signs of humanity.

There was one other remnant in the explosion, but he carried no trace of humanity. Rahm stumbled forward. His armor was cracked, burned, deformed in almost every way, but it was intact. Rahm was alive. Miyani scowled intensely. The explosion had ignited a few fires around her, but there was not nearly enough for a second strike as disastrous as the first.

Some progress had been made, at least. In Rahm's right hand he clenched a twisted hunk of metal, the broken and melted remains of his once-mighty blade. Nothing could have survived at the center of such a disastrous burst, not even Rahm's behemoth blade. For a moment Rahm observed the broken remnant of his sword with disgust.

"You are right," Rahm admitted. "You are nothing like Gohrman."

Miyani nodded. Rahm talking was a good thing. The last attack had taken a lot out of her. She needed time to recover and rebuild her strength.

"He had nothing but greed and lust for power behind him," Rahm said. "But you. You are driven by fury. The thoughts of revenge on me must have consumed you all these years."

"You think this is about revenge?" Miyani scoffed. "I don't care about you, Rahm!"

Miyani waved her hand dismissively. Rahm straightened his back and released his grip on his broken sword. Now that was a curiosity. It was the truth, though. Rahm's attempt on her life had been years ago, and it hardly mattered to Miyani anymore. She had moved past that part of her life. She had a higher purpose now.

"I came here to save Dahaka, to save everyone," Miyani said. "To save them from you."

Miyani pointed an accusing finger at Rahm. The General seemed frozen.

He began to laugh again, louder and harsher than before. It grated against Miyani's ears almost painfully. Rahm was a man consumed by wrath and rage: laughter was foreign to him, and it took on a hostile tone. Eventually his brutal laughter ceased, replaced by a stern but equally hostile silence.

"You, a beast," He mocked. "You think you can save anyone?"

Rahm held out his hands, his palms open. Miyani heard the sound of cracking stone all around her.

"Then save them," Rahm declared.

The walls of skyscrapers all around Miyani began to crack and crumble as Rahm tore out huge chunks of every building around them. The air was filled with the sound of broken stone, bending metal, and screaming people. Glass windows began to shatter, and the sky darkened as a cloud of dust filled the air. With a loud sound of shifting metal and stone, a skyscraper began to lean visibly to the right.

Miyani looked around, her eyes rapidly bouncing between each of the four collapsing buildings around her. She had to think of a way out. She could cause an explosion on the other side of each building, equalize it- no, that would only make buildings collapse downwards instead of sideways. She could make sure the buildings collapsed at the same rate: the two would lean into each other- then they would crush one another, not stop their falls.

It dawned on her that this was not a problem she could fix. The air was choked with dust and debris as the buildings collapsed faster and further. The buildings all began to lean towards the center, preparing to collapse on Miyani and Rahm. Those who still could fled the buildings, packing the streets in a desperate attempt to flee the site of the collapse. The already grey sky darkened further as clouds of ash and dust rose into the air.

The General stepped forward through the crowd, gloating. He would survive the collapse of the buildings unharmed. Miyani, and the hundreds of people within those buildings, could not say the same. The streets were packed now with people fleeing the destruction, and they kept their distance from Rahm and Miyani, out of fear.

"Now you see what you are," Rahm boasted. The fleeing citizens avoided Miyani as much as they did Rahm. To these people, the street held only monsters, not heroes.

Miyani covered her mouth as choking dust began to fill the air. She could do nothing. The only power she had was destructive, and more destruction could not fix this. She was powerless.

The last few tongues of flame from Miyani's explosions still flickered in the dusty air. As she watched, every spark turned one way, pulled by some unseen hand, as the fire was drawn to an unknown point. She felt the same pull within her heart. As she watched the fire flicker and dance, Miyani smiled to herself.

Fire.

Hundreds of miles away from Republic City, at the prison that had once held Hanjo, Sarin observed the site of his defeat. The prisoner was lost, the White Lotus had returned, and the Avatar was still out of their grasp. Dei Sensheng was giving a long and drawn out explanation of their options. They had one last desperate chance to search for the Avatar.

The wind shifted, drawn to the west by an invisible force. Sarin's attention was drawn away from Sensheng's lecture. The clouds overhead had changed shape and course. That was no simple change of the breeze. Sarin's eyes narrowed.

Air.

Ariak observed the rising cloud of smoke and debris from the outskirts of the city. They still sailed upon the river, hoping it would carry them faster towards the center of the city and the site of the battle, but it seemed they were too late. They made every effort to move faster, but it seemed as though Rahm had already unleashed his wrath upon the city. They could see the rising smoke and dust at the center of the destruction.

The water beneath them moved strangely. There was no physical motion, not a wave that shifted the waters surface, but he felt it all the same. Something had changed. The water was being drawn somewhere.

Water.

At the heart of it all, Rahm was the last to feel the pull. The earth under his feet shifted, and he felt the whole world move. Like the massive shift of tectonic plates before an earthquake, Rahm felt the earth beneath his feet change and move.

Earth.

Gradually, they whole felt the shift. Suda, Ada, Whistler, Hanjo, all looked towards the center of Republic City. The towering pillar of light, the bridge between the worlds, was shining brightly amidst the black destruction. A world that had fallen out of balance was pulled back to order.

Fire, Air, Water, and Earth had a new master.

At the heart of the destruction and chaos, a hurricane breeze cast aside the dust and rubble, scattering the obscuring cloud that choked the air. The crumbling buildings were caught, stopped, and then returned to their proper places. Like a film reel played in reverse, chunks of stone began to fly back into place as the buildings were righted and repaired, finally settling solidly in their proper places. Fleeing citizens froze in place as the unbelievable spectacle unfold.

Around them, the chaos became order, and what had been destroyed was made whole. Collapsing buildings were righted and repaired as stunned citizens looked on in awe. The furious winds raced through the city and the sky, with such force that even the clouds above were cast aside, shining the light of the sun upon the city streets.

Shining ever brighter than the sun were two eyes of white light, staring out at the world from behind the lenses of glasses. Sen walked down the street, undoing the destruction and disorder of Rahm's attack with his very presence.

Hundreds of citizens who had once packed the streets in hurried terror began to back away slowly, not out of fear, but reverence. The muttered to one another in hushed tones of awe.

"It's him," one quiet voice declared.

"Avatar," Rahm growled. There was no mistaking the heavenly glow in his eyes.

"Sen," Miyani sighed quietly.

Sen turned his burning eyes towards the center of the destruction. He saw Miyani, and the warm smile on her face, and focused on her.

Sen did not speak yet. He began to step forward. His coat shifted slightly in the remnants of the hurricane breeze he had unleashed. Artists and poets of the coming generations would greatly dramatize the march, but in the moment, it was a simple but determined walk towards General Rahm.

"I recognize you," Rahm said sadistically. He began to walk towards Sen. "The boy who cowered in the Spirit World."

The titanic black form of the fallen General stood before Sen. The Avatar took a brief look at the brutal angles and thick armor plates of Rahm's herculean frame.

"Have you finally come to stand against me, after all this time?"

Sen looked over one the black behemoth once more, and shook his head.

"I'm not here for you."

Sen ignored Rahm and stepped around him, proceeding down the shattered street towards Miyani. The Avatar stepped forward and knelt down by Miyani's side.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm doing better," Miyani said. Sen opened a container of clear water he'd kept at his waist and used it to heal her bruises and cuts. As Sen worked to heal her injuries, Miyani leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. Sen paused briefly as her red-marked forehead rested against his shoulder.

"I missed you," She said.

"I missed you too," He replied after a short pause.

Despite the reunion they both desperately wished to enjoy, a shadow was still standing over them. Sen continued tending to Miyani's injuries in spite of the great shadow hanging over them.

"Do not ignore me," Rahm growled, raising his fist. With a swift turn of his head, Sen cast his burning eyes on Rahm.

With a sudden and almost impossibly quick swing of his arm, something struck Rahm so heavily and so swiftly that it knocked him back and away from Miyani. The scorched black armor sailed through the air briefly and then slammed into the ground a short distance away. Sen lowered his hand.

"Do not interrupt me," He growled back. His threats echoed with many voices, and far more power than Rahm could ever hope to bring to bear. While Rahm got back on his feet, Sen stood, and turned his attention back to Miyani.

"Can you keep fighting?"

"You can handle him," Miyani said, without a trace of doubt. Sen clenched his fists. Miyani believed in him, unquestioningly. It was time to prove he'd earned that trust.

"I'll take care of it," Sen said. "Stay here."

"I'm not completely spent," Miyani said, halting Sen's dramatic exit. "Just give me ten minutes."

She slumped slightly as she tried to relax. With Sen here, she felt much safer, and the adrenaline surge had worn off, leaving her a little hurt and out of breath. Sen smiled slightly to himself.

"Alright. Ten minutes."

Miyani nodded in response and took a step away from the destruction. Sen turned his back on her and focused on the shadow that lingered in the background.

"Thank you for waiting, Rahm," Sen said, with just a hint of mockery to his voice. Rahm let out a low roar of frustration as he pulled himself back to his feet.

"You will not win this fight," Rahm growled. "I will crush you!"

Rahm shifted his footing and flexed massive armored gauntlets, readying himself for a renewed battle.

"Oh, Rahm," Sen said condescendingly. "You won't even lay a finger on me."

Rahm had endured his final insult, and he charged at Sen. The Avatar didn't flinch in the face of the charge, planting his feet solidly on the stone. He focused, and drew the wrath of the world around him. As he had drawn the world to order, he now drew it to destruction. Every element heeded Sen's call as he focused his power on Rahm.

Sen threw his hand in the air, and the earth rose with him. The stone in front of Rahm's feet rose up, stopping his charge with a harsh clash of stone against metal. Sen clenched his fist, and the stone began to boil, turning into red hot lava as the stony fist closed its grip around Rahm. His armor began to burn and warp in the heat for a brief moment, and Rahm roared in pain.

Sen threw his hand down, and the fist slammed down as well, pounding Rahm back into the soil. The grip of magma collapsed around him, fusing into solid black stone as it cooled. Rahm broke the obsidian prison that enclosed him and rose to his feet.

The broken water pipes in the crater sprang to life, their trickling streams of water becoming a roaring torrent. The water crashed against Rahm, hammering him back to the ground. The snaking tendrils of water trickled through every crack in his armor, filling every crease and empty space. The water froze, expanding, pushing the plates of his armor apart.

Rahm clenched his fists, and his armor reshaped itself, pushing against the ice that tried to pry his armor apart. He rose, shaking off the broken shards of ice, and looked to the Avatar. Rahm was absent his sword, but she struck out with his fists, trying to crush the Avatar. Sen shifted his heel, and the earth below Rahm's feet rotated like a record player, spinning Rahm to the side and causing his punch to hit nothing but empty air.

In the brief second as Rahm regained his balance, Sen stepped forward and briefly taped the side of his hand against Rahm's armor. The resounding shockwaves that travelled through the sheets of Spirit Metal told him Sen everything about the armored suit, and the man within.

The earth rose up in a sharp pillar that caught Rahm from below, launching him into the air as it made its rapid ascent. Before Rahm began his descent back down to the earth, the sky itself hammered down on him. The hurricane gust forced him back down to the ground, pounding him into the earth hard enough to leave a crater in the already ruined street.

There was no rest. The crater closed around him, crushing him in the heavy grasp of the earth, pushing down on him from every angle as the soil itself became a coffin. The crushing weight ceased and Rahm was pushed upwards, back towards the surface. The water coiled around him, carrying him forward on a torrential stream. The water pushed him upwards, dragging his arms out, crucifying him on a cross of ice.

Rahm swung his arms wildly, cracking the ice and freeing himself. He stomped forward, driven by little more than incoherent rage. Sen stood his ground as Rahm advanced in a brutal charge. He had nothing to fear from Rahm.

The raging General struck out with his fists, slamming them down into the earth where Sen stood, but Sen no longer stood there. The Avatar propelled himself upwards, over Rahm. While he was aloft, Sen sent a pillar of air descending on Rahm's back, forcing him downwards and onto the ground. Sen landed behind the General and kicked his foot out, sending a boulder at Rahm that knocked him off the ground and further down the street.

"You cannot win, Rahm," Sen said.

"I always win," The General declared. He raised his hands and tore a massive chunk of the street from the ground, hurling the mountain-sized boulder at Sen. The Avatar held up his hands, and the boulder shattered into dust and sand as it impacted his palm. Sen swept the dust aside with wind and walked towards Rahm.

"You're strong, Rahm, but there's nothing behind that strength," Sen continued. "All you have is anger. No determination, no drive, no desire. You're single-minded."

The General was single minded, focused entirely on Sen's destruction. Some people thought that made him strong. Sen knew it made him weak. He had one perspective, one point of view, and only one way of looking at the world. That single-mindedness blinded him to the truth.

"I have seen you cower in fear, boy," Rahm mocked, recalling their first meeting in the Spirit World. "You are a coward!"

Sen tucked his hands behind his back. Rahm attempted to seize his moment of distraction, but Sen dragged his ankle along the ground to raise a hammer of stone against Rahm. The General let out a roar of frustration. He had yet to land a single blow against Sen.

"I was a coward, Rahm," Sen said. "And now I'm not."

Rahm rose, and just as quickly fell, pinned under the air itself as the sky fell. Sen stood at a distance, regarding the bestial general with disdain.

"I was a lot of things, once," Sen continued. "I was an idiot, and now I'm not. I was alone, and now I'm not. I was nothing-"

Sen raised his hand, and the air roared. Fire sparked to life, surrounding Rahm in spiraling circles. The air likewise coiled around Rahm, circling him at hurricane speeds, intertwining with the fire. Water rose, joining the cage of elements that surrounded the General, and finally chunks of stone joined the chaotic coils of elements.

"-And now I am everything."

Sen clenched his fist, and the twisting maelstrom of elements collapsed on Rahm. He was crushed, burned, and frozen in one apocalyptic collapse of the elements. The impacts overwhelmed him, and Rahm fell to the ground again. Slowly, weakly, he picked himself off the ground. His armor was still protecting him from Sen's onslaught. Rahm had not even come close to retaliating against Sen, but so long as he wore the armor, this battle would continue.

As he always did, though, Sen had a plan.

"You're a beast, Rahm, there's nothing to you but rage and hate," Sen said. Rahm got to his feet, and Sen allowed him to. Even at his best Rahm wouldn't be able to touch Sen. "Maybe that makes you stronger than some, but that single-mindedness makes you easy prey for someone like me."

"I will kill you," Rahm groaned quietly. Slowly but implacably, he began to march towards Sen.

"No you won't, Rahm," Sen said. "The only reason you're still conscious is because I've been stalling. For about ten minutes."

Rahm heard a quiet pop, and felt a spot of intense heat on his arm. Sen stood in place as the explosion unfolded, launching Rahm away with violent waves of force. He rubbed some dust off his glasses as the ash started to spread.

It had taken Miyani a moment to catch her breath and catch up, but she had never intended to stay out of the fight forever. She had no doubt that Sen could handle Rahm, but she was intent on seeing the fight through. She had started this, and she would finish it.

"That was twelve minutes," Sen noted.

"I don't own a watch," Miyani snapped back, holding up her bare wrist. "You want to quip or you want to save the day?"

"After you," Sen said, holding out his hand towards Rahm.

Rahm got to his feet just as another explosion struck him, as Miyani released a continuous barrage of smaller explosions. Rahm planted his feet and braced himself against the explosion, but was knocked off balance by an attack from the rear. A hammer of ice rose from the river behind and struck him in the back. Sen had flanked Rahm with startling speed, and struck him from behind while Miyani attacked from the front.

Explosive force burned against his front while the four elements lashed out at him from behind. Whenever he tried to move, tried to escape the grasp of explosive death, he was forced back into place by the Avatar. Earth hammered him, fire burned, air pushed, and water froze, all locking him place.

Furious explosions shook the armor from the front, crashing against him with unrelenting force. Rahm struggled and twisted and tried to work against the endless destructive assault, but Sen or Miyani punished every move he made. The General, once thought unstoppable, was locked in place, unmoving, between two of the world's most powerful forces. Rahm let out a scream of futile rage as he was trapped in the arena of annihilation.

One more bolt of combustive power struck Rahm's chest, and the air was filled with the sound of cracking metal. Rahm's armor was thought to be indestructible, but the endless stresses of two herculean forces hammering against it from both sides had rendered it fragile enough to be broken. Sen heard his opportunity and seized it.

With a stomp of Sen's foot and a sweeping pull of his arm, a large chunk of earth tore itself free of the ground and began to hover in the air. Sen slammed his fists forward, sending the boulder flying towards Rahm.

The projectile moved with blinding speed towards Rahm, and it struck the back plate of his broken armor. The Spirit Metal shell shattered loudly, sending splinters of broken metal flying across the battlefield as the armor was penetrated. The boulder didn't stop at the armor: it continued to push through Rahm's shell, catching the man himself and then flying out the front of the armor, forcibly dragging Rahm out of the shattered armor he had worn these past few years.

As Rahm was knocked free of the armor, the boulder dissipated into dust, leaving Rahm alone falling through the air. Miyani caught him before he hit the ground, catching him by the back of the neck and the waist, slamming him face first into the ground.

The lack of his armor did little to diminish Rahm's imposing figure. Even without the metal shell, he was still a goliath of a man, taller and more muscular than even Miyani. His appearance was unkempt and ragged; he was clearly not a man who cared for his appearance, as his clothing and hair had clearly not been tended to properly in years. Still, he was a force to be reckoned with. He did not allow Miyani to pin him for long. He struggled free from her grip and called on the earth around him. His armor was broken, but he had been a terrifying figure long before he had ever discovered the Spirit Metal.

Rahm tried again to warp the earth around him, and with a wave of Sen's hand, the earth denied him. In desperation, Rahm turned to Miyani, intending to fight her man to man. He threw a heavy blow towards her gut. Miyani planted her feet, let the blow hit her in the stomach, and then smiled mockingly as Rahm's fist came to a full stop against her abdomen. Without his armor, Rahm's blows were somewhat lacking.

Miyani grabbed Rahm by the throat and pushed him backwards, into Sen's waiting arms. Before Rahm even had time to turn around, Sen slammed his open palm against Rahm's back. There was a slight, harmonic chime, and a visible ripple of light passed through Rahm's body. The General's muscular arms drooped as he felt an unnatural exhaustion sink into him.

With a sweep of his hand, Sen turned Rahm to face him. He placed one firm hand on the General's chest and forced him to his knees. Then the Avatar reached out for Rahm's face, placing his thumb in the center of Rahm's forehead, and grasped his skull tightly. Rahm reached upwards, clawing desperately at the Avatar's face, but his hands fell weakly to the side, and his fingers never reached Sen.

The sound that followed was no discordant howling, not the way it was with other Energybenders. As light consumed Sen and Rahm, there was a harmonic ringing, massive and thunderous, so deep and resounding that it shook the very bones of the earth, like the tone of a bell the size of a mountain. The deep ringing echoed throughout the city and across the world. Miyani covered her eyes as the light expanded, consuming them all in a pillar of luminescence.

There was no great duel between the wills and spirits of Rahm and Sen. Rahm was strong, perhaps one of the strongest who had ever lived, but that strength had come from a psychotic single-mindedness. His determination was second to none, he would not be defeated, but where Rahm would not be defeated, Sen could not be defeated. The weight of destiny, not desire, was behind his will. Sen bore the strength of all the worlds hopes and dreams against Rahm's soul, and Rahm could never match that.

The light and the sound ended, and Rahm collapsed to the ground, hollow and harmless. Sen stepped away from the fallen General. He would be out for some time. Long enough for him to be restrained and imprisoned, at least. Rahm's end would not come in some glorious battle, Sen had decided. Rahm would face judgment for his crimes and pay the price, but not at Sen's hand. His end would come quietly, in a courtroom, one last insult to a man who had built a life on destruction.

Sen turned his back on Rahm and looked to friendlier faces. Miyani stepped forward to meet him, though they stayed a few steps apart, looking over each other. Miyani had always seen a certain kind of radiance in Sen's eyes, but the light in his eyes now was something else. Like looking into the sun, Miyani found locking eyes with Sen burned slightly. He noticed this quickly and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, there was no light, just the brown eyes that Miyani had seen before.

Miyani stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sen in a tight embrace. He eagerly reciprocated, holding her tight and close. They enjoyed their reunion in silence for a moment.

"You got taller," Miyani observed. The last time they had hugged, she had been able to rest her chin atop his head. She was still taller by a wide margin, but the difference was not quite so great anymore. She released him and observed all the ways he had changed since their last meeting.

"Thanks," Sen said a bit awkwardly. "And you, you got a little bigger yourself."

Miyani looked to her arms. She was not the same scrawny girl she had been at their parting. She had quite a bit more muscle on her frame now. Muscle that was still holding Sen tight in an embrace that was almost too firm.

"You can let go any time," Sen suggested.

"Not until you promise me you aren't going to run off for years again," Miyani said. She was only half-joking. Sen pushed his way out of her grip and stood his ground.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sen assured her.

"I thought so," Miyani said with a broad smile.

"That said, we need to go somewhere," Sen said happily. He grabbed Miyani by the wrist and pulled. "Follow me. There's somebody you should meet."

Sen had watched the worlds events unfold, and he knew exactly when and where a certain ship would be arriving in Republic City. He led Miyani down the riverbank, just far enough to meet them as they arrived.

Around the riverbend and down the flowing water floated a large ship bearing the banner of the White Lotus. Sen smiled broadly as it came into view. Miyani was shocked to see the old banner flying again. Sen was privileged with a small bit of foresight, so he wasn't surprised to see the Order returned, just a little bit ecstatic.

As the boat got closer, the figures on the deck recognized who was waiting for them, and they began to cheer and wave. Sen lost his patience. He grabbed Miyani, surprising her greatly as he lifted her off the ground, and then leapt upwards and over the river. He landed on the dock with a heavy thud, still bearing a startled Miyani in tow. The combustion bender took a second to regain her senses, but Sen wasted no time. He was standing in the middle of the ship one second, and then the next he had knocked Hanjo to the ground.

For the next few minutes the two of them were stuck together so tightly some might have thought there was glue involved. It was a mess of laughter, tears, greetings, and confused attempts at creating a coherent conversation as Hanjo and Sen were finally reunited. Anyone who took a look at them gave up on any ideas of tearing them apart. After nearly three years separated, the two friends deserved some time to themselves.

"I thought I'd see you again," Miyani said. She walked up to Ariak and put an arm around his shoulder. Ariak smiled and nodded.

"It's good to see you again, Miyani," He said. "I have quite a few stories to tell."

"You spend more than a day with these guys, that happens," Miyani said, nodding towards the rest of Sen's team. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Whistler. She released Ariak's shoulder and stepped over to her.

"Haven't met you," She said, extending her hand. Whistler took it and shook it firmly. "I'm Miyani."

"Whistler. Heard a bit about you. You make explosions with your forehead?"

Miyani brushed aside some of the dangling strands of hair, exposing the red mark on her forehead. Whistler laughed and rubbed her hands together in an almost menacing fashion.

"Oh yes," She said, with oddly sinister undertones. "You're my new favorite."

Whistler moved aside slightly as Sen barged forward, practically dragging Hanjo in tow. The dynamic duo had gotten over the initial euphoria of their reunion and had remembered that there were other people in the world. Hanjo stepped forward as Sen presented Miyani.

"Miyani, nice to meet you," Hanjo said. He saluted sharply at the towering combustion bender.

"Hanjo," Miyani said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you. Mostly that you were dead, so, I think we have a bit of catching up to do."

"Very much so," Hanjo said. Sen was trying to make a quick recovery, so he allowed his friends to mingle for a moment. He rubbed cheeks sore from smiling too much. There were worse problems to have.

For a moment the Avatar's team and the White Lotus colluded and mingled, almost as if it were a party. Reunions and congratulations were made, and the future was discussed. In the middle of it all, Sen watched his friends and allies mingle, while his heart swelled with pride.

This was the beginning. Here before him was gathered every brave soul he'd ever known, standing in the sunlight, unafraid. The age of hiding in the shadows and fleeing conflict were over. Now they faced the world on their terms.

Sen stepped forward through the midst of the crowd, towards the prow of the boat. He would have liked to stay in that golden moment of pride and joy forever, but the world demanded attention. Quite literally.

While they had enjoyed their reunion, the world outside had gathered in curiosity and reverence. Sen stepped out to the edge of the boat to look at the crowd that had gathered around them. Slowly, one by one, his friends joined him at the peaked prow of the vessel. Cameras began to flash and film began to roll as the Avatar and his friends stepped forward. For a brief moment, Miyani stepped back, away from the attention, but Sen put a gentle hand on her back and pushed her forward.

At the front of the crowd he saw Dahaka, still stunned by the events of the day. Behind their president, the citizens of the Republic spread out, looking up at Sen with a thousand eyes. He could feel their hearts, all of them, all their hopes, dreams, and fears. He could feel it all, and it was all centered on him. Sen nodded, while the gathered crowd waited quietly. Sen had kept them waiting for a long time already, he would not waste another moment.

"Fifteen years ago, a coward destroyed something beautiful," Sen shouted, gesturing to the white flower of the Lotus banner. The air itself froze at the sound of his voice, silencing every noise but that of the Avatar's words. "And two years ago an even greater coward told us that this world was broken, and needed to change. He tried to control us with fear, hatred, and guilt."

Sarin's and Kalden had delivered their messages via proxies and intimidation. Sen spoke directly to the people, talking to them as an equal, not a shadowed, threatening figure.

"The Energybender said that anyone who helped me, protected me, or hid me would suffer. But it was never just about me. They wanted to make this world afraid of its own better nature. To fear generosity, and compassion, and courage," Sen said. "They are so scared of the dark that they even fear the light for the shadows it casts."

Sarin had delivered a message to this same city, to this same crowd, once upon a time, but he had delivered it from behind a screen, his message filmed a thousand miles away. Sen spoke to them before their very eyes. The distance, however, and the presence mattered little to nothing. His words carried further and more effectively than Sarin's message of fear and despair could ever hope to.

"I am done being afraid. I am done hiding. The dream that a coward tried to destroy has risen again," Sen said, gesturing to the White Lotus banners once more. "The fear that he tried to create has fallen too. The Energybender said that anyone who helped me, protected me, or hid me would suffer. But I am not here to be helped, or protected, or hidden! I am here to fight!"

Sen leaned on the railing of the boat and looked over the massive crowd that had gathered before him. He could see a thousand eyes, a hundred cameras, watching his every move. By this time tomorrow the whole world would know what he had said today. That suited him just fine. There was something he wanted the whole world to know.

"My name is Sen," he declared. "I am the Avatar."

**END OF INTERMISSION**


	73. Book 5 Ch 1: Republic City Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Rahm defeated and Sen's identity finally known to the world, the reunited Team Avatar takes a moment to pause and think about the future.

**The Story of the Seven**

"The Avatar cuts a stunning and intellectual figure in a long brown coat of unknown origin," Hanjo said, reading the article aloud. Sen turned, admiring himself in the mirror. It was a very nice coat, and it looked good on him. He was glad people were recognizing it.

"The return of the Avatar has prompted a great deal of discussion, and it's too soon for even the most intrepid journalist to say how things will go for Avatar Sen, but after his battle with General Rahm, public opinion in the United Republic is definitely leaning positive," Hanjo continued. "Concerns are raised, however, about some of his allies, among them two former career criminals and a combustion bender."

"Of course they single me out," Miyani said with a sigh.

"I wouldn't say it's singling, considering they got me pointed out too," Whistler grunted. She had made herself the most comfortable of them all, sprawling out over the couch, taking up enough room for three people.

In the absence of a permanent residence, Sen and his team had been set up in a very lavish hotel room, apparently the finest in the city. They had made themselves quite comfortable. They were still waiting on a conclave of world leaders and dignitaries to assemble before Sen took any official action, so for the moment they had time to relax. Hanjo continued reading his magazine, but he avoided narrating it this time. He spoke up only when he came across a detail he found important.

"Hey Sen, apparently your socks didn't match when you were fighting Rahm," Hanjo said. He had a much different definition of "important" than most.

"What?" Sen looked down at his feet. He was wearing matching socks now, but apparently he hadn't been a few days ago. "My- Why do they even care about my socks?"

Hanjo held up the front cover of the magazine. A carefully posed model adorned the front cover, just below a title that read "Sing's Style".

"Why are you reading a news article out of a fashion magazine?" Ariak asked aloud.

"Because fashion critics are some of the most mercilessly critical people in existence," Hanjo elaborated. "If we want an honest opinion, we'll get it from here."

"That shouldn't make sense," Ada said. "So why does it?"

"Oh man, speaking of fashion, check this out," Miyani said. She stood up, raised her arms far above her head, and started stretching from side to side. Most of them looked on in confusion.

"What am I supposed to be checking out, exactly," Suda asked. All he saw was Miyani bending over backwards, which wasn't exactly an impressive view.

"No bellybutton," Sen said, pointing at Miyani's stomach. "Her shirt fits."

"I know," Miyani said excitedly. "Before I had to wear clothes for really fat people or have my belly showing all the time. I visited a tailor the other day, and I finally have clothes that fit!"

Miyani leaned backwards again, just to enjoy the feeling. When you were nearly seven feet tall and fairly muscular, it was hard to find clothes in your size. Having a tailor make clothes just for Miyani provided her with comfortable and functional clothes for the first time in her life. Just one of many benefits of working with the Avatar.

"Hey, well you might want to visit that tailor again and get something nice made," Hanjo advised. He was looking at the fashion magazine again. "Says here they're going to do a week-long expose on all seven of us. One person for every day of the week."

"Oh, hey, tell me when they're doing me," Whistler said. "I'm going to wear nothing but purple all day just to mess with them."

"Just the seven of us," Ariak wondered. "What about the rest of our friends?"

"Seven's a good number," Ada said. "It's good luck."

"Since when do we need luck," Suda said confidently. They'd made it this far despite some very unlucky breaks. Suda saw no reason to fall back on superstition now.

"The point is there are plenty of people involved in our success," Ariak said. "Why limit it to just the seven?"

"Because you're my team," Sen said. He turned around to look them all over. "I've had a lot of help, yeah, but you guys are the most important."

"Don't get sappy," Whistler scolded.

"Some of us like the speeches," Ariak said. He could always use a dash of inspiration, even during downtime.

"Well that's because you got self-esteem issues and the speeches make you feel validated," Whistler said. There was a profound lack of response from Ariak. Sen shrugged and decided that it would be best to change the subject.

"Whistler, you know Republic City pretty well, any place you think we should go?"

"I mostly know seedy dives in the Copper Slums," Whistler said. "But Fat Fong's Five-Yuan Pho comes highly recommended."

"That's a positively unhealthy amount of alliteration," Hanjo said.

"Also an unhealthy amount of whatever Fat Fong puts in the Five-Yuan Pho," Whistler said. "Whenever I used to eat there I'd spend the next week throwing up."

"Then why on earth would you recommend it?" Suda asked.

"Because with every other place I'd spend the next two weeks throwing up," Whistler explained, holding up two fingers just for emphasis. Ada gagged slightly.

"Well, I was thinking one of the restaurants that actually passes health code inspections," Sen said. "Maybe a nice one, you know, five stars and all that."

There was no shortage of fine dining to be had in Republic City. Sen figured that they should try to enjoy the high life in the brief window of opportunity they had.

"Could we really get a table at a good restaurant?"

"Easy way to find out," Sen said. He turned towards the door to their lavish hotel room.

"Hey, Valet constantly waiting outside our door to see if we need anything?"

"Yes, Master Avatar," said a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"How many of the cities best restaurants currently have a table reserved for the Avatar?"

"All of them, sir," the muffled door voice said.

"Thank you, guy outside our door," Sen said. He turned back to his friends. "So, what do you think? Seems we have our pick of the litter."

"Do you really think we should be going out to eat while the whole world is watching?" Ada asked. "I mean, I think we deserve it, but I know there are some people out there who wouldn't approve of us going out. Not everyone loves you, Sen."

Sen's dramatic announcement had won him a great deal of support, but it was not unanimous. The Republic had been a given, after he'd saved their president, and the Fire Nation was quick to get behind the new Avatar as well. Once it had been revealed that Sen was the very same person who'd broken the siege of the North, Chieftain Atana had quickly pledged her support as well. However, the Southern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom had yet to make any statement. That couldn't mean anything good.

"Ada has a point," Suda agreed. "We should be trying to make a good impression."

"Well, yeah, but I kind of want us to do something together," Sen said. He held his hands out to gesture to all of them at once. "This is the first time all of us have been together. I want to do something other than sit in a room."

"We'll have plenty of time to not sit in rooms later, Sen," Hanjo assured him. "Besides, this is a very nice room. The chairs are really comfy."

Everyone who was sitting nodded in agreement. They were the nicest chairs that any of them had ever sat in. Most of them hadn't even imagined that chairs could be this nice.

"Hanjo has a point," Ariak said. "Anything we want to do can be done after we utterly annihilate our enemies. We can go anywhere, do anything, once that's over."

"I think it'd be nice to go somewhere as tourists for once," Suda said. "I mean, the North Pole and Gai Zhu were nice places to stay, but we had to do things, we had responsibilities. Once this is all over we need to go on a vacation."

"You should all come visit Zaofu," Ada suggested. "At least for a start. We can go other places later."

"Let's not make any plans yet," Ariak said. "It was a suggestion. It won't do to get ahead of ourselves while there's still a battle to fight."

"You only say that because you haven't seen Sen go all Avatar on anyone yet," Miyani said, giving Sen a look of admiration. "With an entire army backing him up, I give it three weeks tops before we're knocking down Sarin's door."

"You may be slightly underestimating," Sen said. "We're going to need at least two months just to put the army together."

"But after that, three weeks," Miyani said. "Maybe four."

Sen gave her a very long, blank look. Miyani had a smile on her face that faded more and more every second that Sen stared at her.

"You've thought about this, haven't you?"

"Quite a bit," Sen said. "But, I don't really feel like talking shop right now. We'll get quite enough of that later."

"We are kind of running low on conversation topics," Suda mumbled. For the first day or two they'd done nothing but share stories of their travels with Miyani and Hanjo, and Miyani had shared a few stories of her own. After the tales of action and adventure had run dry, the conversation had been a little bit more meandering and pointless.

While they all thought about what to talk about next. Whistler scooted over a little bit and elbowed Miyani gently.

"Hey, so, you're huge," She said.

"Really? No one ever mentioned it," Miyani said sarcastically.

"Oh good, you can be sarcastic," Whistler said. "That's all I wanted to know."

"Is my being sarcastic that important to you?"

"Sarcasm is a big portion of my personality, so yeah. If we're ever going to be friends you've got to be able to deal with me being sarcastic basically all of the time."

"I think I can do that," Miyani said. Whistler nodded. She was rarely eager to make new friends, but a friend who could cause explosions was a good friend to have.

"And, you know, since we're sort of on the topic, you're huge. What's that like?"

Miyani shrugged.

"Hard to find clothes. Have to bend over to look at most things. Sometimes I bump my head into low doorways."

"That happen often?"

"Happened a lot in the South Pole. Didn't bother me very much, because all the houses were made of ice."

"Ice is still tough," Whistler said.

"My head's tougher," Miyani boasted. She planted her thumb in the middle of her tattooed forehead for emphasis. When her head hit a wall, it was the wall that broke, not the other way around. She did get a splitting headache, of course, as her forehead was very sensitive, but she didn't talk about that. It didn't make her sound tough.

Whistler's next topic of curiosity was head-butting, and that started a lengthy conversation indeed. As the two of them drifted further into their personal dialogue, the room shifted tones from one large group conversation into several smaller chats. Ariak finally indulged Ada in her desire to talk about Zaofu, and the earthbenders somehow found themselves talking about juggling.

The conversations drifted on aimlessly for a while, but never once did their conversation turn to the coming battles. In the past the seven had been spies, thieves, soldiers, and orphans, and in the future they would be soldiers, but for the moment, they were simply friends.

**The Story of The First**

Six targets popped up, and six targets went down. Sharp stones sailed through the air like arrows, finding their marks.

Hanjo stood at the far end of the range, waiting for the next round of targets to appear. Republic City had numerous training areas like this, places where people could practice their bending without risking damage to the city. Hanjo intended to make use of them.

While Sen had been out journeying across the world, developing his skills by training and fighting, Hanjo had been lingering in a cell, stagnant and useless. He'd fallen behind by an unacceptable margin. If he was going to be part of Sen's team, he needed to be able to pull his weight.

A White Lotus acolyte gave Hanjo some pointers on how to handle his bending, and the exercise continued. Hanjo had briefly considered asking Suda to get him caught up, but decided against it. Suda had trained him once before, and continuing that training would just be a reminder of how much time he had lost. Besides that, Suda was just a reminder of what Hanjo lacked.

It seemed, from Hanjo's point of view, that he was the weak link in the Avatar's chain. Surrounded by combustion benders, rogue airbenders, master swordsmen, Hanjo felt like nothing but an orphan who'd been in the right place at the right time. The only "special" thing he could do was meditate into the Spirit World, and that ability had been forced upon him by Sarin, not earned. He no longer even wished to use it, and so he was simply a mediocre earthbender.

The next target sprang up –a very large one. That meant he'd need a boulder.

Hanjo stomped his foot down and called up a large stone. He remembered lecturing Sen on how to lift a small boulder once, long ago. Now Sen was reconstructing entire skyscrapers, and Hanjo was launching rocks at wooden targets. Part of him wondered if he'd ever catch up.

Another part of him was quite certain that he'd never catch up if he didn't try. So he tried.

**The Story of The Hunter**

Alrok and Tlun sat side by side on the balcony of the hotel, far above the city. Though Tlun knew most of the details of what Ariak had been up to since they'd parted ways, he was interested in learning his personal view on events; what he was thinking, feeling, about all the things that had happened in the North. Months ago that might have been a conversation about their father, but now the central character to Ariak's troubled past was the bloodbender Kida. They'd had very little time to speak on the matter during the battle for the North.

He had explained everything by now. How it had all begun years ago with the first Red Moon incident, and then how it had continued through his abduction until the near-destruction of the Shorewatchers. As he told his story, it became abundantly clear that Ariak blamed himself, at least in part.

"I've heard nothing about her since we left the North," Ariak said, concluding his sad tale. I can only assume that she is still with Sarin and the enemy. I will see her again."

He could still remember the hatred in her eyes, and that rage haunted his steps. He knew that Kida's return was inevitable. It was difficult for him to relax. There had been a full moon about two weeks ago, and he had spent the entire night awake in his bed, dreading the sudden return of the vengeful bloodbender.

"You won't have to fight her alone," Tlun assured him. "Next time you see her, the Avatar will have your back."

"No," Ariak said defiantly. "She's done enough damage to innocent people trying to get to me. I will deal with this on my-"

Tlun slapped him on the back of the neck.

"Ow!"

"Don't be stupid," Tlun scolded. "She's crazy, and needs to go down. Trying to be noble about it just puts you at risk."

Tlun had likewise been threatened by Kida, but he'd had less of a hand in creating the bloodbender, so he felt less involved with Kida's story. That outsider perspective gave him a more reasonable view than Ariak.

"Every time other people try to get involved, it just gets worse," Ariak sighed, still rubbing the sore spot on his neck. "Enough people have been put in danger because of my mistakes."

"You are not to blame for anything she's done," Tlun said. "She's a psychopath, Ariak."

"No she's not!"

Ariak stood up suddenly and leaned against the balcony railing, looking out at the city below. His knuckles turned white as he grasped the metal rail.

"If she was that violent, if she was that insane, why didn't she join her sisters in the first Red Moon? Or the second? Why was it only after they died that she came after me?"

Ariak finally released the rails and turned back to Tlun.

"Maybe all this anger was just sleeping inside her," Ariak said. "But it still comes back to my actions. And I have to make it right."

Tlun tried to say something to comfort his brother, but Ariak wouldn't hear of it. He retreated back into his room. He sat down in the darkened chamber and grabbed a whetstone, and began to sharpen his spear.

**The Story of The Monster**

The hotel room Miyani had claimed as her own had seen its fair share of visitors, but they had mostly been members of Sen's team or the White Lotus. It was a bit of a surprise to see the President of the Republic standing outside her door.

"Hello, Miyani," He said awkwardly. "Do you…mind if I come in?"

She looked over Dahaka's shoulder at the myriad security guards who were stalking him.

"Alone, of course," Dahaka said. The chief of his security immediately shot that idea down.

"Please, captain," Dahaka chided. "If you're worried I'm in danger, I believe Miyani has already proven she's capable of protecting me."

There were several craters in Republic City that would attest to that fact. Miyani looked at the chief of security, and he began to sweat nervously. Dahaka shook off his entourage and stepped into the hotel room, quickly slamming the door behind him. He stood quietly for a while, looking over Miyani.

"Ah, excuse me," he finally said. "Where are my manners? I came here to thank you, didn't I?"

"No thanks needed-"

"Nonsense," Dahaka said. "You deserve it. You didn't just save me, after all. Most of the city would have been leveled if not for you and the Avatar. Now, it's a bit early to be thinking about statues, but I did get a commemorative plaque approved, to be placed at the site of the-"

"Dahaka, I'm really not interested in awards," Miyani said dismissively. Dahak paused suddenly and shook his head.

"No, no of course not. Silly of me. Anyway, please tell me: how have things been for you, since you beat Rahm? Have you been out in the city?"

"A couple times," Miyani said. She wasn't used to being so public, so she was still reluctant to wander about the city. "People look at me funny, but they don't run away screaming. Most of them."

"Some people do?"

"Only a few. Some people actually smile at me, so I think it evens out. Most people just let me go about my business. I think that I'm…accepted, at least."

"After saving their city, I'd hope you would be," Dahaka said. He seemed to be getting more and more nervous as he talked.

"Yeah, I think that's the thing," Miyani sighed. "We'll see how the rest of the world thinks about me. I think the South might be all right, but the rest…"

She knew for a fact that most of the United Earth Kingdom would hate her. They had a bad history with Gohrman, not to mention her association with the Avatar. She doubted that the Fire Nation would like her much either. They had a special stigma against Combustion Benders; they were regarded as dangerous mutants and a perversion of firebending.

"Don't let any of that bother you," Dahaka said nervously.

"I don't," Miyani said. What other people thought of her didn't matter. The only problem was that their hatred might prove inconvenient in the fight against her enemies.

"I'm making sure to get the word spread, of course," Dahaka said, with a slight twitch to his voice. "That Combustion Benders aren't the monsters that I- that we thought-"

His verbal slip gave him away, and his nervous monologue stopped. His tense shoulders drooped, and guilt sank into his eyes as he looked at Miyani.

"Dahaka," She said quietly.

"I should have done more," He said quietly. "You were just a little girl."

Dahaka could still well remember the look of fear and confusion in the young Miyani's eyes as Rahm's blade had swung for her throat. A little girl covered in the scars of torture, cowering in the dark out of fear of men who should have been there to save her. Though he had never spoken of it, the things he had seen, and his own actions, in Gohrman's dungeon had lingered with him for many years. Miyani stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You saved my life," Miyani said. It had been Dahaka's swift action and his willingness to stand up for her that had kept Rahm from finishing his lethal stroke.

"And then I threw you aside," Dahaka said bitterly. "Because I was too afraid to take responsibility for-"

"Dahaka, I should thank you for sending me away. You sending me to the Sun Warriors is how I found Hayao, and that's how…well, you know the rest," She said with a sheepish smile. She brushed a finger through her hair nervously.

"I turned out alright, Dahaka," She assured him. "Everything that happened to me, as bad as it was…I'm alright."

She had not been lying when she'd told Rahm that his past actions did not bother her. That part of her life was behind her. Every insult, every feeling of shame, every close call with death- that was in the past. Her future was a different story.

**The Story of The Shield**

Suda presented a formidable presence in the midst of the repair zone. Very little trouble would be caused with a goliath like him standing watch.

Although Sen had prevented the complete collapse of the towers, a significant amount of damage had been done to the interiors, preventing their residents from immediately returning to their residences. That meant a large number of people displaced from their homes, and wherever there were people in trouble, there would be criminals looking to exploit them.

Suda had volunteered to help the police in keeping order, out of respect for the late Chief Dormin, and out of an earnest desire to help. What remained of Republic City's police department was eager to accept his assistance. Suda's face had been on every magazine and newspaper for the past few weeks. Having one of the Avatar's friends oversee the situation improved people's morale greatly.

It surprised Suda how astonished people were to see him. From the looks on their faces, it seemed like people couldn't believe he was even real, much less that he was helping them. That was what came of being a hero, Suda supposed. You always ended up seeming larger than life.

Larger than life was a matter of perspective, though, and those who had known Suda before the Avatar's unveiling were not quite so enchanted. Even if they had only known him for a brief conversation.

"You know, I was a little upset when you left all of a sudden," A voice from behind Suda said. "I guess it was for a good cause, though, so I forgive you."

Suda turned around. Keeping an eye on a field full of refugees could wait for a moment.

"Yoki," He said, somewhat surprised. "How'd you get here?"

The last time Suda had seen Yoki had been halfway across the world in some small Earth Kingdom town. He'd hardly been expecting to see her again, much less so soon.

"I told you, I get around a lot," Yoki said with a shrug. She stepped forward and stood next to him. Her hair and makeup was far too well-done for someone who'd come just to help the temporarily homeless. Or maybe she was just naturally that good-looking. Suda wasn't quite sure.

"So, now that you don't have to lie about who you are anymore, you want to talk?"

"I'm really sorry about that, I just-"

"No, no excuses necessary, it's alright, I get it," Yoki assured him. "You had to look out for yourself, I get it. It's just that, since you don't have to anymore, I figured we should have another conversation. Full honesty."

Suda looked at her with eyebrows raised. She gave him a slight, awkward smile in return. Suda looked over her face quickly. Slight eye shadow, just enough to make her brown eyes pop out, just a touch of lipstick, foundation –enough makeup to make her look good, but not too much to make it obvious. He'd seen this before. He tended to have that effect on women.

"How about we talk about it over dinner," He suggested. "It's a long story."

Suda knew very well how to deal with women, and Yoki seemed like his type. He'd been avoiding dating ever since the incident with Nura, but now that secrecy and safety were no longer a factor, he figured he might as well try to put himself out there again.

"Oh, well, I have dinner plans, already, actually," She said, somewhat regretfully. "There's a charity event later…"

Yoki seemed very sad for a moment, but then perked back up quickly. She looked at Suda with a smile on her face again.

"…To which I could use a date," She said happily. "So, Suda, do they make tuxedoes in your size?"

"Yes, they do," Suda said quite plainly. "I'm not that big."

"Okay, good, very good," Yoki said. "I'm used to dealing with people who are…scrawnier. Movers are all about skinny people nowadays."

"Oh, do you make movers?"

It would certainly explain why Yoki travelled so much, and why she had been at that mover festival in the first place. Yoki looked to the side for a moment, as if she were trying to think of how best to avoid the question.

"Kind of," She said hesitantly. "We'll talk about it at dinner, okay?"

"It's a date," Suda said. That put a smile on Yoki's face again. She explained where and when Suda should meet her and excused herself.

Suda crossed his arms and smiled to himself. He hadn't had a date in far too long. As long as she didn't end up getting him and all his friends nearly killed, Yoki would be a marked improvement over his last relationship. He figured he could expect the best this time around.

He ran through the prospective date in his head while he kept an eye on the city street before him. This many empty buildings would make a tempting target for looters.

Suda decided he'd been standing in one spot long enough. If any would-be criminals saw him staying still, they might try to exploit his blind spots. He turned around and paced a bit down the alleyways. There was a lot of ground to cover.

His hunch about standing in one spot proved to be correct. He could hear the scrape of stone against stone from a far off alleyway. From the sound of it, someone was trying to disassemble a wall to sneak into an abandoned building. He could hear voices, four or five. Far fewer than could possibly challenge him.

Suda stepped around the corner, into full view. The would-be looters jumped at the sight of him. They were all young, with bedraggled looks that suggested they came from a poor background. No surprise, then, that they were turning to theft. Suda restrained himself from striking first. He remembered the days when he'd been not too different from these looters.

"That's enough," Suda declared. The looters took a cautious step back. It seemed they recognized him. No surprise there. Suda examined the pile of bricks they had removed from the wall. They'd been close to completing their hole in the wall when he'd showed up.

"Right now all you've got under your belt is vandalism," Suda said firmly. "Come with me before you dig yourself any deeper."

"Bite me, 'hero'," The apparent leader of the group shouted. He turned to run away. Suda didn't let him get very far. A whiplike strand of metal caught him by the waist and held the looter in place.

"Don't make this any worse for yourselves," Suda cautioned.

They proceeded to make it much worse for themselves. One of the young criminals grabbed a glass bottle lying discarded in the alleyway, broke it against the stone wall, and then hurled half of the broken bottle at Suda's head. Suda leaned to the side to avoid it, and while he was distracted, one of the looters attempted to cut Suda's line and free their leader. The only thing he did was get himself entangled in the metal strand as Suda looped it around his wrist.

"Get slagged," One of the other looters shouted. Suda rolled his eyes. He'd thought he'd heard the last of that word when Whistler had stopped swearing.

Suda swept his hand in a wide arc, and the roll of metal cord on his left hip unfurled, arcing out and around the group of looters. The metal cord drew tighter around the group, encircling them all and wrapping them together. Finally they were all caught and bound in a single metal loop, tied up together like a bale of delinquent hay. Suda pulled them in closer and looked down at them sternly.

"Now look what you've done," Suda scolded. "Resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in?"

"Take your lecture and shove it, meatwad," the leater said.

"Do you kids-"

"I said shove it," the leader repeated, quite emphatically this time. Suda scowled. Even at his worst, he'd at least been respectful to the people around him. These kids were just rotten to the core.

With a sharp pull on the metal cord that controlled them, Suda managed to drag the uncooperative looters from the side alley towards a main street. Once there, it was easy for Suda to get in touch with an officer and arrange to have them transported to the police station.

"Good catch," The officer said. "That group goes in and out of prison so fast we might as well install revolving doors."

"At their age? How much trouble can they get into?"

"Too much. They've been in for everything from assault to arson. If I didn't know any better I'd say they almost like being in a cell."

"Has anyone tried to talk to them? Snap them out of it?"

"Repeatedly," The officer said, disgustedly. "Usually to be met with swearing and complete ignorance."

Suda frowned. It made him a bit sick to his stomach to think about meeting those looters again. It would be heartbreakingly disappointing to see them repeat the same mistakes over and over again, unable to do anything about it.

Suda returned to his patrol, but his footsteps were sluggish now. His heart was no longer quite in it.

***

By the time dinner rolled around, Suda was feeling significantly happier. Wearing fancy clothes, eating good food, and spending time with a beautiful woman did wonders for ones mood.

The charity event was much more opulent than Suda had been anticipating. There was a red carpet lined with paparazzi and everything. Camera's flashed up and down as Suda made an unexpected appearance at the banquet. The Avatar and his allies had been fairly private up to now, so one showing up at a ritzy event like this would be the story of the evening. Suda smiled and waved and put on a good showing, but all along he was keeping an eye out for Yoki.

Just as it had been before, Yoki found him first. She grabbed his attention, along with his arm, and quickly pulled him down the red carpet, heading inside the banquet hall.

"You must be freezing," Suda said, quickly putting his arm around her. It sounded like a line, but for once it wasn't. Yoki was not dressed for a cold Republic winter. The flashy red dress she wore might have been suited for the tropical climates of the Fire Nation, but not here. She was visibly relieved to have Suda's broad arm over her shoulder.

"I will be much happier inside, and away from cameras," She declared.

"A little camera-shy? You might be in the wrong industry," Suda joked.

"I don't- I'm not an actress. I'm an agent, sort of."

"Could've fooled me," Suda said. "You look like a leading lady."

Yoki's face turned a little bit red, and Suda smiled, satisfied. Yoki continued inside, pushing her way through crowds at the edge of the banquet. Many people seemed to recognize her, rushing up to greet her, demanding to be introduced to Suda, and other general obnoxious rich people behavior. One of the more common questions was what Yoki's brother was up to, which seemed to exasperate Yoki greatly. She was quite happy to find a table and sit down.

"I get the feeling you don't like this kind of thing very much," Suda said, stating something that was quite obvious.

"Oh no, I love this, charity is great, I like helping people," Yoki said. "It's just, everything else that goes along with it is kind of abysmal. Awful. Abhorrent."

"Is the food any good?"

"Oh no the food's great," Yoki said. She made a strange gesture with her hands and a few waiters sprung into action to get them something to eat. As much as she hated these fancy balls, she seemed to know her way around them.

"So, how was your day," She asked. "You capture any bad guys?"

"A few," Suda said quietly. Yoki took on a look of concern.

"Did someone get hurt?"

"No, no it's not that," Suda assured her. "It's just…I think I had the wrong idea about police work. It's more about punishing people than helping them."

Yoki nodded and toyed with the edge of the table. Eventually she snapped her fingers and pointed at Suda.

"Teaching."

"What about?"

"I said you should be a police officer, but I was wrong," Yoki said. "But, I think I might be on to something here. Have you thought about teaching?"

"Like a schoolteacher?"

"Yeah! You could teach something like history. History would be good for you. You could even do metalbending coaching after school."

"I don't think I could teach, given I've never been to school," Suda said. His hometown's school had been a rundown piece of garbage, and Suda had never visited it anyway. Everything he knew he'd picked up on the streets.

"Doesn't matter. The Fire Nation Royal Academy actually has special programs for guys like you, adults who want to go back to school. I'm sure Goto would help you out, seeing as you know the Avatar."

"I don't know, Goto's kind of a jerk," Suda said.

"Oh goodness, tell me about it," Yoki said with a laugh. "You know, he is the only person who's ever criticized my make-up. I mean, I get it, maybe it looked bad, but you don't just go up to someone and insult make up that took two hours to do, you know?"

"You've met Goto before?"

Yoki nodded. Suda's curiosity had been sufficiently peaked.

"Is there anyone you don't know?"

"Not many," Yoki said evasively. "I get around a lot."

"You said you were an agent," Suda said. "Who are you an agent for?"

No normal mover agent would meet world leaders and old celebrities like Bolin. She had to represent someone important.

"Oh, you know, just my brother," Yoki said. "It's a family business."

The waiters returned in swarms with their food and drinks, laying down several plates of salads, soups, and chicken, along with at least three different beverages. As the dishes settled down around them, Suda gave Yoki a suspicious look. She had been hoping that the food would provide a distraction. She had been sorely disappointed. The waiters fled, and Suda kept staring at Yoki.

"Yoki," He began. "Who's your brother?"

Yoki stared forward at her salad for a while. She then grabbed one of the nearest cups and drowned whatever was inside it in one gulp, leaving behind a small lipstick stain on the rim of the glass.

Her delay only made things much worse, because here Suda saw Kaizo Uehara for the very first time. He looked even more pestilent and obnoxious in person. Suda's fist clenched around the edge of the table, and Yoki could swear she heard cracking wood. Suda's tight grip closed like a vice as Kaizo sat down in the seat next to Yoki.

"Hey sis, who's the big lug?"

Yoki sat hunched over in her seat, staring with no small amount of shame at Suda's face. The metalbender had frozen for a moment, as if he were made of glass. The only motion he made was a slight, aggravated twitch of his eyelid.

Suda stood up and extended his hand, his palm open.

"Suda," He said with a stiff voice. "I'm with the Avatar."

Kaizo grabbed Suda's hand and shook it. Suda was pleasantly surprised that he managed to resist the urge to crush Kaizo's skinny wrists in his fist. He released the obnoxious mover star and sat back down. Yoki seemed astonished by the relatively pleasant exchange.

"Oh, Avatar Sun, I heard about him," Kaizo said. Suda's eye twitched again. "Do me a huge favor, please buddy, tell Sun that there is an open offer, he can co-star in my next mover. I've always wanted to do a love triangle plot, and the Avatar is the only person who could ever compete with me for a girl, right?"

Kaizo laughed obnoxiously for approximately three seconds, then flashed a sly smile and stood back up.

"My public awaits," Kaizo sighed happily. "Nice meeting you, Suda."

Suda nodded, his lips pursed tightly. No sooner had Kaizo turned his back then Suda slowly turned his head to Yoki.

"Avatar Sun," He said blankly. Yoki rested her head in her hands.

"He was saying Avatar Sin a few days ago," She said, practically sobbing. She kept her head buried in her hands for a while. She loved her brother, of course, but he had a way of driving people away. Quickly. His popularity had gone to his head a long time ago, and he'd become an obnoxious shadow of his former self.

Which was why it was a great surprise to Yoki to see Suda still sitting down, staring at his bowl of soup with great intensity, when she lifted her head again. She put her hands flat on the table.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes," Suda said flatly. Yoki looked away. She looked back when she felt a very large hand resting on hers.

"But not that mad," Suda said, giving her a reassuring smile. He knew very well that he had no right to judge people based on their families. Maybe Yoki's brother was the most horrible, awful, abhorrent person in existence, but that said nothing about Yoki herself.

Suda closed his fingers around hers and held her hand tightly. It was all uphill from here, at least.

**The Story of The Sword**

In her long journey, Ada had wanted for many things. There had been times when she'd lacked a decent bed, food, clean clothes, safety –but through it all, the one thing she had missed the most was a hand to hold.

She had told the rest of them to restrain themselves, not to leave the hotel for any frivolous trips but when she'd been invited to go for a midnight stroll with Canto –well, some rules were meant to be broken. No one would ever know.

The two strolled hand in hand through the moonlit park, pausing occasionally to admire the reflection of the moon on the surface of the frozen lake, or to admire each other. They had been apart far too long. For most of their time in the park they said little or nothing, simply basking in each other's presence. The love struck period ended eventually, though.

"When are you going to come back to Zaofu?"

Now there was a question. As much as Ada would love to return home, she had responsibilities here and all over the world. On top of that, she still had her lingering suspicions about Ko Rin.

"Ada?"

She flinched. She had thought about the question for too long.

"Sorry…it's just a tough question. I have a lot of responsibilities."

"I get it," Canto said. "I kind of saw this coming as soon as you left."

Canto led the pair to one of the parks benches. It was still icy cold, so Ada leaned against Canto's shoulder, both to stay warm and to enjoy his company.

"Do you ever regret it," She asked quietly. "Telling me to leave?"

"That's another tough question," Canto said. "I know I regret this."

He ran his hands up her forearm, running his fingers against the rough scar from the night Sorikami had attacked Ada. She had been put at risk many times since she'd left Zaofu.

"But, since I met you, I have never seen you happier or stronger than you are now," Canto said. As many times as she had been put at risk, Ada had been given opportunities to learn and grow, to do what she loved and to make new friends. "I could never regret that."

Ada smiled and kissed him. The worries of the future could wait for a moment. Tonight was about her and Canto.

**The Story of The Rogue**

Incense choked the air. They said it was good to clear the mind. Master Jung might have been taking it slightly overboard. He felt he needed as much assistance in clearing his mind as possible. Jung kept his eyes closed and took deep breaths, savoring the silence. It had taken hours to arrange this moment of quiet time. The Air Temple was abuzz with activity as acolytes prepared to assist the Avatar, and Jung needed to savor this moment of contemplation while he could.

Every second of preparation collapsed like a house of cards when he heard the metallic thud of a staff slam against the wooden door of the meditation chamber.

"Hey old man, I got business with you," A caustic voice declared. A quieter but no less irritating voice mumbled from behind the door as well. Jung grit his teeth, abandoned any pretentions of inner peace, and opened the door.

Whistler stood at his gate, with Sang Lung following close at her heels, occasionally being pushed back by a swipe from Whistler's staff. Whistler certainly seemed upset.

"You're not welcome here," Jung said calmly.

"And believe me, I don't want to be here," Whistler said. "But seeing as I got an invitation, and seeing as I am trying to be kind of almost respectable now, I figured I would do you the courtesy of showing up."

"I made no invitation," Jung said.

"Oh well, glad that's cleared up," Whistler said with a happy sigh. "Guess that was just one of you bald nerds yanking my chain, right? Was this your idea, Suck Lump?"

"Sang Lug," He protested.

"Whatever. Was it your idea?"

"It was our idea," an elderly voice proclaimed. "And it was no prank."

Across the hall leading to the meditation chamber, four figures strode, dragging heavy yellow robes about them. Each of them was ancient, with wisdom and years of meditation written on their faces. Sang Lug and Jung immediately bent at the waist into deep bows. Whistler stayed upright.

"The old nomads," Whistler mumbled. She whistled loudly, pretending that she was impressed by their presence. Jinora led the group, with Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan behind her. The only remnants of the first Air Nation stood before Whistler. She shrugged her shoulders and tucked her metal staff away.

"Alright, you got me here," Whistler said. "What's your deal?"

"We simply want to talk to you," Jinora said. "Jung has told us a great deal about you, N-"

"Let me make one thing clear first," Whistler snapped, interrupting her quite suddenly. "My name is Whistler. You try to call me anything else, I'm walking, got it?"

"It does not do to reject who you are," Rohan said sagely.

"I ain't rejecting who I am, because Whistler is who I am," Whistler said harshly. "Any other name you might think I have is someone the old fart here thought I was."

Master Jung's face turned red with frustration as Whistler gestured to him. Ikki and Jinora looked at one another for a moment. Their aged faces betrayed little emotion, even as Ikki turned back to Whistler.

"Very well, Whistler," She said. "All we wish to know is why you rejected the Air Nation. What happened to make you turn away from our teachings?"

Whistler put her hands on her hips. She knew exactly why she had, but it was a difficult thing to put such a complex scenario into words. She paced back and forth through the wooden halls for a bit. Even after finding the right words, it was still hard to say them aloud.

"Because you made me feel like I was broken," Whistler said. "Because you constantly told me to do things I didn't want to do, and you told me that anyone who didn't do those things was living their life wrong. You said to me, meditating is the only way to be happy, inner peace is the only way to have power. Anyone who doesn't have those things is wrong, and weak, and evil."

For a brief moment her voice had cracked, and she showed some signs of sadness. It was but a brief moment. As she continued, her voice turned to anger.

"And you lied!"

Whistler gripped her staff, even though she didn't unfold it. It felt good to clench the cold metal in her fists.

"You said I could never be an airbender if I didn't live your stupid scripted life, and you lied to me," Whistler said. "You lied every day of my life, telling me there was no other way."

"We have always been open about other options," Jung protested. "There are airbenders in sports, or the military-"

"Whistler has not finished," Jinora said. Jung quickly fell silent. Good thing, too, because Whistler had nearly lost her patience.

"You can't tell people what they can and can't be," Whistler growled. "It's not your right to tell people they can only live their lives in certain ways. No matter how many options you give someone, you cannot say 'these are the only options'. We all need to be free to make a choice. You can make us face the consequences of that choice, but you cannot tell us there is no choice."

After a brief pause, Whistler nodded at Jinora, indicating that she was done talking. There was a moment of contemplative silence all around. Jung looked hurt, Sang Lug looked confused.

"Trying to teach all airbenders to follow one way of thinking and acting isn't just holding back people," Whistler continued. "It's holding back airbending. Every living airbender follows the same dogma, practices the same routines, the same techniques. It's holding the entire art back! Firebenders, earthbenders, waterbenders, they all have so many different styles and schools, and they can be healers, or builders, or warriors, but you say that airbenders can only be monks."

Whistler grabbed her glider and unfolded it, plating it firmly in the ground. In its basic form it was still a glider like any airbender would use, but its construction and design were far different from any Nomad staff.

"I am not like any of you. But I am still an airbender," She said firmly. "Everyone needs to be able to make that choice. Not to be like me, or like you, but to be their own person."

The four air nomad siblings looked at one another for a minute, and nodded in silent understanding. Ikki was the one to step forward.

"We understand," She said. "We have long wondered about whether the old teachings have a place in the modern world. It seems our attempts to cling to tradition may be misplaced."

"Hey, don't rewrite all the rules on my account," Whistler said with a noncommittal shrug. "The whole bald-head arrow-tattoo thing still works for a lot of people. You just got to realize it won't work for everyone. Don't force people to be something they don't want to be."

"We know," Ikki continued. "We will continue to teach the old traditions to those who will listen, but it seems there is a growing movement of people who do not want to listen."

Whistler tilted her head. That was news to her.

"Among the young airbenders there are many who would follow your example," Rohan explained. "They see that they can find happiness and fulfillment outside the teachings of the Air Nation."

"We have decided it is time for us to change," Jinora continued. "The Air Nation will no longer be a peacekeeping force, restricted to temples. Airbenders will live among the world just as other benders do."

Airbenders were no longer a rarity, so few in number that they had to be restricted to temples. It was time that the isolationist principles of the old Air Nomads were abandoned. While the old teachings would still continue, and many airbenders would remain among the temples, those that wished to leave would be free to pursue whatever they wished.

"We do not wish for this change to occur unsupervised," Ikki said. "You are the one airbender who has lived truly independent of our ways, the one who has explored the world. We wish for you to guide this new generation."

Whistler paused, and put a hand on her chin. Jung's jaw had dropped quite low. Whistler was earnestly surprised that neither he or Sang Lug had fainted yet.

"You want me to be a Master?"

"Yes," Jinora said with a nod.

Whistler took a firm hold of her staff and leaned on it for a support. The Nomad Masters waited patiently for her response.

Whistler threw her head back and began to laugh maniacally as she walked past the Nomad Masters and down the hall. Her raucous laughter continued to echo through the halls as she walked away, out the door, only beginning to fade when she mounted her glider and vanished from the island, her laughter drifting away on the wind as she glided away. The airbenders stared after her for a while. Though he had been silent thus far, Meelo finally turned his head to Jinora.

"You know, I don't think she's going to take the job," Meelo said.

"Shut up, Meelo."

**The Story of the Old Masters**

"I wish I was kidding, I honestly do," Moldun said loudly. He slammed his cup down against the table. "The entire Spirit World, so huge and so dangerous it hasn't been mapped yet, and I happened to bump into the Avatar and his little band."

"If I didn't know the Avatar better I wouldn't believe you," Yakkul said, before taking another drink. He and the other senior members of the White Lotus had gathered for a drink. They were not under quite the same scrutiny as Sen and his friends, so they could afford to cut loose.

"The most foolish part is I didn't even realize it," Moldun said with a sigh. "I get out of the Spirit World and I radio Ko Rin, tell him 'hey, we should think about recruiting these kids'. He yells back at me right away 'You idiot! That was the Avatar!'"

"Well that's what you get for running off the Spirit World for so many years," Granny Loqo chided him. "I knew right away when the Avatar found his way to me."

"And Zas, of course, went looking for him," Moldun said. "Breaking how many of our rules, was it?"

"None of them, technically," Zas said defensively. "I didn't give him any clue about the White Lotus existing."

"No, you just asked him for help on a case you were too dumb to solve," Yakkul joked. There was an unspoken agreement that Zas was going to be given a hard time tonight.

"Are you all ganging up on me for a reason," Zas said. Even after a few drinks he was smart enough to recognize a conspiracy at work.

"Oh, no reason at all," Moldun said. "Only that you couldn't find the Avatar in one of two places he'd ever lived."

Yakkul's home and Hayao's island were the only two places that the Avatar had spent more than a day, and yet when Zas had gone searching for the Avatar in the days before Hanjo's rescue, he had never checked with Hayao. It had worked out in the end, but that wasn't going to stop them from giving Zas a hard time about it. A so-called master detective should never miss such an obvious lead.

"Oh har har har," Zas said mockingly. "I know none of you would've wanted to go to Hayao's either."

"I s'pose that's fair," Moldun admitted. "That masked freak gives me the creeps."

Though this fact was being ignored in favor of Mocking Zas, nobody would have though to ask either of the people Sen had gone to for help in the Fire nation. Hayao and Sorikami had both turned down Ko Rin's invitations to join the new White Lotus. Sorikami had turned down the invitation due to her paranoia of metalbenders; she never would have trusted Ko Rin. Hayao, however, was harder to figure out.

"Got to wonder, myself," Yakkul said, taking another drink. "Why would he turn down all our offers to join, and then go help the Avatar anyway? I mean, we're the White Lotus, helping the Avatar is our whole thing."

"That man has been sitting on a rock for how long? I'm surprised he hasn't gone loony," Granny Loqo joked. She was significantly smaller and older, and the drink had gone to her head much faster.

"Don't underestimate Hayao," Yakkul cautioned. "Sorikami took him very seriously."

Moldun leaned back in his chair, clutching his glass tightly. A moment of silence fell over the table.

"He did help the Avatar quite a bit," Moldun mumbled. Hayao was an enigma, but one absolute certainty about the masked master was that he knew what he was doing.

Yakkul leaned forward onto the table and examined the bottle they were all sharing. He turned the brown glass in his hands over a few times.

"Maybe he knows something we don't," Detective Zas said quietly.

Amidst the cloud of slightly inebriated thought, a single chair at the table stood empty. Ko Rin had declined their invitation for a drink.

**The Last Story**

"You've become a fine Avatar," Bolin said. "Korra would be proud."

"I know," Sen said. "She told me so herself."

"Oh right, right," Bolin said, laughing slightly. The short laugh made him cough loudly. "I forget she lives in your head now."

Sen stood upright. Bolin was in a wheelchair now, so Sen had bent over to talk to him. It was about time for Bolin to be leaving, though, and Sen needed to be on his way as well.

"Goodbye, Bolin," Sen said, with a slight echo to his voice. He was speaking for two.

"Goodbye, Sen," Bolin said. "Take care of yourself."

Sen nodded and walked away quietly. He was not surprised at all to see Suda rushing up. He waved to Bolin's driver to hesitate slightly. Suda barely looked at Sen as he ran towards his old hero.

"Bolin! Bolin," Suda paused slightly to gasp for breath. "You're leaving? Why?"

Even as Suda asked for answers, he could see it plain as day. Just a few weeks ago anyone would have said that Bolin was surprisingly spry for his old age. Now he seemed withered. He took slow, shallow breaths, and rarely moved. His once squared shoulders slumped under the weight of fatigue.

"I'm going home, Suda," Bolin said.

"Hey, we- we're not finished," Suda said. He knew exactly what was happening, but he was desperate for it to be some other way. "The fight's not over! We've got to –we have to win."

Bolin's wrinkled face sank into a heavy frown, and then settled back to normal. There was still a far-off look in Bolin's eyes, but he seemed to be focused on the present for a moment.

"The fight never ends, Suda," he said.

Suda finally caught his breath and stood upright. He waited quietly for Bolin to continue.

"There's always another problem. Always another lunatic or tyrant waiting for their chance to ruin everything. We beat Sarin and someone else will need dealing with the next day."

Bolin fell silent then, and Suda had something he needed to say.

"I don't believe that," He protested. "There is always a way to win, you can't just give up."

"I'm not giving up," Bolin said. He had a slight smile on his face. "I've already won."

It was tiring to even turn his head, but Bolin did it anyway, turning to look at Suda. His faint smile broadened slightly.

"Do you want to know how you win a fight that never ends?"

Suda could feel a lump in his throat that he tried to choke down. He was afraid that speaking would make it worse, so he simply nodded. Bolin leaned in his wheelchair slightly, moving closer to Suda.

"You inspire someone else to keep fighting," Bolin said. "So that some kid on the streets learns what it means to be a hero. So that they keep on fighting when you can't."

Suda's red eyes spilled over into tears. Bolin nodded quietly.

"That's why I can go home, Suda. That's why I've won."

He reached out with a weak, gaunt hand and took hold of Suda's wrist.

"You are my victory."

Suda nodded, fighting back his tears. He wiped the bitter tears away from his eyes, clearing his vision as he felt Bolin release his wrist. He looked up and around at en empty street. Bolin was already gone.


	74. Book 5 Ch2: The United Coalition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A council of nations gathers to create a United Coalition, an extra-national military force with a mission to defeat Sarin. With armies gathered, there remains only one question: Who will lead the Coalition?

Everything had to be meticulous sculpted. Sen had been over his hair with every kind of comb and brush imaginable, making sure it looked its best. Also, he needed to waste time. Everyone else was taking much longer to get ready than he was.

"Where is my coat," Miyani shouted. "Did one of you take it?"

"Your coat is huge," Whistler shouted back. "Why would one of us take it?"

"No, wait, I have it," Ada said. "Sorry, I grabbed it."

"Why?" Whistler demanded. "So you could use it as a tent?"

"It was an accident!"

Sen did not command a particularly superficial group of people, but on a day like this, everyone was concerned about their appearance. This was to be their first major outing since the day Rahm had fallen. They had been out on the town before in minor, pointless appearances, but this was the first time they would be paraded in front of the press. They needed to look their best.

"Hanjo, you've been reading those fashion magazines," Ariak said. He was turning to examine his profile in the mirror. "Is the style to wear the coat buttoned or unbuttoned."

"Buttoned for business, unbuttoned for romance," Hanjo said.

Ariak swiftly buttoned his coat as Suda unbuttoned it. Nobody was surprised. Suda had been talking about Yoki for days now. He was positively smitten.

Sen had eschewed the more traditional fashions in favor of his coat. In not much time at all, the coat had become part of his "signature" look, as synonymous with him as the blue sleeveless shirt had been with Korra. He made sure every pocket and fold was in order and looked over the rest of his team. The women were getting dressed in another room, so inspecting them would have to wait, but the men all seemed to be in order.

"I feel like a mannequin," Hanjo complained. His clothes were stiff and uncomfortable. So were everyone else's, but Hanjo was the only one complaining.

"We dress for the occasion," Ariak said. Considering that this was a military outing, he might have preferred a more practical outfit, but it was out of his hands. One always dressed for the proper arena, even if it was a political arena.

Today the Avatar would be overseeing the formation of a new United Coalition. Representatives from every nation would be gathering to contribute resources and soldiers to a massive militia, operating independently of any one nation. The new military faction would be entirely devoted to hunting down the Energybender.

Though they had danced around the issue for nearly two decades now, the attack on the North and the return of the Avatar was forcing the world to make its stand. This was not necessarily a good thing. While most would certainly stand with the Avatar, it was also certain that some would stand against him. Sen would have to watch his movements carefully to avoid making this war any more disastrous than it had to be.

While Sen had no control over which nations would or would not participate, the Avatar was, by tradition, given a vote in one crucial aspect of the United Coalition: Who its leader would be. Every nation participating in the Coalition would propose their own candidate, and Sen could vote to support one such candidate –or nominate his own. The person he chose would massively affect the course of the coming war. It was a stressful decision.

The stress of the day did not weigh quite so heavily on some of the Avatar's companions. Ada knew that she was an accessory to the days events, at best, so the biggest concern for her right now was doing her hair right. It was somewhat difficult. Whistler was a lummox and Miyani was struggling with a changing room designed for people two feet shorter than her, so occasionally the entire room shook as something was knocked over.

"Phone call for Ada," A voice called. She was almost glad to have a reason to leave the room. Ada was fully dressed already, so she stepped out to answer the phone.

"Ada speaking," She said.

"Ada, good that I reached you," a stern voice said. Ko Rin. "I was worried I would be late."

"What can I do for you," She said blankly, trying to disguise the suspicion in her voice. Ko Rin was not the Spymaster without reason. She could not give too much away about her distrust of him.

"The voting on the United Coalition's leadership will occur today. I wanted to make sure I was not completely absent from the proceedings," Ko Rin said.

"If that's what you want, you might have shown up," Ada said. Ko Rin had returned to the shadows immediately after their rescue of Hanjo. He claimed he could better lead the White Lotus from the safety of Zaofu. Ada wasn't sure she bought that.

"I have my reasons," Ko Rin said calmly. "I do what is best, and at the moment, I believe it is best for me to stay in Zaofu."

"But you're calling now, so clearly you care about the outcome of today's vote," Ada said.

"I do," Ko Rin said. "Your fellow agents have been gathering intelligence on who the likely candidates will be, and I am not impressed."

"You have a better suggestion?"

"I do," Ko Rin said. "It may seem presumptuous, Ada, but I believe that I would make a suitable candidate to lead the Coalition. You should recommend me to the Avatar. Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada could feel it again: the burning behind her eyes that came upon her so often when she talked to Ko Rin. She could feel it like a venomous sting just at the front of her mind. It wasn't normal. At another time she might have simply chalked it up to her anger or suspicion, but she was past that point now. It was connected to Ko Rin specifically somehow.

"I will," Ada said flatly. She heard a satisfied hum from the other end of the phone, and then silence. Ko Rin hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. The phone was silent now, but Ada kept it pressed against her ear all the same. She wasn't quite ready to move just yet. She felt stiff.

The sounds of chaos coming to an end in the dressing room signaled that it was time to move. The men had actually gone about getting dressed in a fairly orderly fashion, in contrast to Whistler and Miyani's inept hijinks. Miyani had actually managed to make herself look decent, but Whistler had obstinately refused to dress appropriately. She disliked authority, and she wasn't going to dress up for a bunch of world leaders.

"I'm glad they're at least practical enough to not have you wearing dresses," Ariak observed. The outfits were flashy, yes, but there were some limits to the desire for fashion. The woman were wearing pants, at the very least.

"You know, I've never worn a dress," Miyani noted.

"I don't think it would suit you," Ada said. Miyani shrugged her shoulders. Fashion could come later. They had important business to attend to.

Sen led the way out of the door and onto the streets. Hanjo held up his hand in front of his face as the initial surge of blinding camera flashes went off, filling the air with light and the scent of burnt magnesium. There was always a crowd around the Avatar's door, just waiting for him to show his face. Sen didn't do the "smile and wave" routine that most celebrities might have done in this situation. This was a serious day, not the time to play to the crowd. Sen kept his eyes forward as he walked out to the Satomobile.

There had been an argument over how they should travel to the Coalition meeting; Suda and Hanjo had been in favor of retrieving the old Avatarmobile from storage, but Ada had shot that idea by reminding them that their old ride no longer had enough seats for the entire team. Though initially Sen had felt that a limousine was far too ostentatious, it ended up being their ride, as Miyani reminded them all that she was too large to fit into most other conventional satomobiles, unless they all felt like riding in the back of a truck.

They piled into the back of the limo, arranging themselves carefully. Miyani had to stretch out over two seats, slouching heavily to fit beneath the low roof. She had heard that White Lotus engineers were designing a car she could travel more comfortably in, but that would not be completed for a long while. For now, she squished herself uncomfortably into the satomobile and waited out the ride.

"Alright, show time," Sen said, clapping his hands together. This meeting was the beginning of their serious efforts against Sarin. "Anybody have any final thoughts on the conclave?"

"I wish they'd announce candidates beforehand," Ariak sighed. "It seems foolish to ask world leaders to vote on such short notice."

"They're allowed time to stop and research the candidates," Sen said.

"Not nearly enough," Ariak said. "Or else Rahm would never have been elected."

Sen frowned. There had only been two alliances to form a United Coalition in the past; once, at the institutions very founding, to root out the remnants of Kuvira's Earth Empire, and then again but a few short years ago, to fight the Seventh Kingdom. The first Coalition had been led by General Iroh, and the second had initially been led by General Shenron, but after his untimely passing, the Coalition had hastily elected Rahm as his replacement. That had, to say the least, been a mistake.

"That was a desperate decision," Sen said. "I doubt anybody will be quite so foolish today."

"I agree, I doubt it will happen again today," Ariak said. "Just pointing out a potential problem. We need to be on guard."

"We aren't even sure who the candidates will be yet," Sen said. "And, speaking of, I do get to recommend someone myself, if I feel like it. Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions?"

Do it, Ada's mind screamed at her. Say Ko Rin.

"Ko Rin would be a good choice," Ada suggested stiffly.

"Nah," Sen said swiftly. "He's a spy, not a soldier. We need someone military."

Ada's mind burned for a moment, but it gradually faded. Sen noticed the odd pressure.

"Are you okay, Ada?"

"Just a little stressed," Ada gasped. "It's…A very tough decision."

The look in Sen's eyes told her straight away that he didn't believe that for a second.

"I don't think you should nominate your own candidate," Ariak said, tearing Sen's attention away from Ada's odd behavior. "You're still very new on the scene. It would be better to back another's candidate."

"What if their candidates suck?" Whistler added.

"She's got a point," Suda admitted. "The world leaders might have very different ideas about how Sarin needs to be handled."

"I wouldn't vote for any candidate Goto endorses," Miyani said grimly. "The Fire Lord will want a scorched earth policy. He'd tear down half the Earth Kingdom to find Sarin."

"I don't think he'd be that aggressive," Sen said.

"Maybe not," Miyani said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "But I certainly won't join any Coalition led by one of Goto's lackeys."

"You're serious about this," Sen said in disbelief. "You might not join the Coalition."

"I'll still fight the Energybender, no matter what," Miyani said reassuringly. "But if I joined the Coalition, I'd be signing myself over to whoever is in charge. I won't hand my power over to someone who'd want to misuse it."

"While we're talking about joining up, I might not either," Whistler said. "You know how I am with authority. I'd rather be a…is there a free agent in war? A mercenary or something? Could I just kind of tag along with you guys?"

Sen leaned forward in his seat and looked over both of them. He couldn't believe that they were considering the idea of not joining the Coalition. He crossed his arms. They were still planning on helping, at least. He decided he wasn't going to try and lecture them about this right now.

"Just so we're all clear, I've got your back," Hanjo said. "No matter what idiot ends up in charge of the Coalition."

"Same," Suda said.

"Well don't try and make me feel bad," Miyani said.

"No, no, I totally get it with you," Hanjo said. "Whistler should definitely feel bad, though."

"Good luck with that," Whistler chuckled. She put her feet up and leaned back, enjoying the limousine ride.

Sen sat and stewed in his own thoughts. Even the cooperation of his closest friends would be dependent on who he chose as the leader today. Miyani could be a powerful ally even if she wasn't formally part of the Coalition, but she would be much more effective as part of the actual military structure. An organized military was better than groups of wandering heroes.

The limousine came to an abrupt halt in front of the Republic City congressional building. Sen was the first one out of the door, once again stepping into a blinding storm of cameras. This one was slightly smaller, at least. Unlike the swarm of paparazzi outside their hotel, everyone here was a representative of some newspaper or television network. They were held back from the main thoroughfare by a thick wall of security; the Republic was taking no chances. They would not allow this meeting to be compromised.

Sen walked up the broad marble steps of the building, with the cameras still watching him like hawks. There were also literal hawks, or at least hawk-like beings. Many spirits had perched upon the rafters and roofs of nearby building to watch the proceedings. Rumors abounded that many spirits were also willing to participate in the war against the Energybender. While they had no formal government or leaders to represent them, the spirits were making a showing at the conclave. That was a good sign.

The broad antechamber doors were opened to welcome him, and everyone in the room turned their heads simultaneously. The meeting would not begin for a few minutes, so at the moment important world figures were simply mingling in the antechamber.

As rude as ever, Goto immediately dismissed his conversation partner and stomped over to the Avatar, greeting him with a bow and a firm handshake. Hiss bodyguards, Luan and Zouf, gave Sen a stiff nod. They were both still a bit mad that Sen had left Gai Zhu without saying goodbye. Fire Lord Goto was in a considerably better mood.

"It's about time we got this rampage of ours underway, don't you think?"

"I agree," Sen said hesitantly. He would hardly call it a "rampage". "This day is long overdue."

"You're one to talk about things being late," Goto snorted. "Three years to get ready and you still show up halfway through the fight."

"I'd say he showed up at exactly the right time," President Dahaka interjected. He stepped into the conversation and bowed deeply before Sen. Sen returned the gesture.

"I never got the chance to properly thank you for your intervention," Dahaka said gratefully. He nodded to Miyani as well. "The two of you saved my life and my city. I can never thank you enough."

"I believe he'll accept your army as a 'thank you', Dahaka," Goto said with a dry chuckle.

"It was my pleasure, really," Sen said. "But…the army wouldn't hurt."

"Not to worry," Dahaka said. "I've had every intention of fighting the Energybender, even before your appearance. I've set aside a great deal of resources to be given to the Coalition."

"Thank you, Dahaka," Sen said. "Everything you give brings us a little closer to victory."

Goto stepped forward again. He was not one to be upstaged in the military field.

"I've prepared an impressive force as well," Goto boasted. "Between my troops and the Republic's, the Coalition will have a large military. Whatever else happens during the voting today, you will have an army, Avatar."

"The events of the day might make our work a little more inconvenient," Dahaka continued. "But with our forces combined I believe we can manage anything the Energybender can throw at us."

"That's good to hear," Sen said. "Though I certainly hope we can get more."

"Naturally," Goto said. "The only thing better than a big hammer is a bigger hammer."

Goto walked stiffly to Sen's side and pointed him towards the far side of the antechamber. A few more world leaders and their entourages were gathered on the other side of the room.

"The Water Tribe chieftains are over there," Goto said. "I wouldn't waste your time with Kesuk, but Atana might be worth talking to."

"We've met before," Sen said awkwardly. He had last seen the chieftain while he was still operating in secret. It was probably time for a formal introduction.

"I know Kesuk," Miyani said. "Maybe I can talk to him."

"You're welcome to try," Dahaka said. "Kesuk himself isn't the problem, he's sympathetic to our cause, its the Council of Elders he has to answer to. They aren't eager to get the South involved in another war."

"I'll give it a shot anyway," Miyani said with a resolute nod.

"Earth King Wu the Second is here as well," Dahaka said quietly. "But I wouldn't go anywhere near him. He's brought Ministers Raisu and Hua Long."

Sen frowned. He remembered Minister Raisu, and the Weavers he commanded. The entire eastern Earth Kingdom had a heavy bias against the Avatar, and Raisu was the de facto leader of the eastern provinces.

"Who's Hua Long? I haven't heard of him before," Sen asked.

"Financier. Raisu actually cares about politics, Hua Long is in it for money and power. It's a well-known fact he's been financing some of the Energybender's operations."

"And he gets invited to the conclave?"

"If he's here, it means that the United Earth Kingdom parliament has voted for him to represent them," Dahaka said. "Which means they've voted against joining us."

Sen grit his teeth and nodded stiffly. He had never expected them to join, but he'd been hoping that the Earth Kingdom would be indecisive at best. If they were completely rejecting the Coalition, then the Coalition would have to allow Sarin to operate with impunity in the Earth Kingdom –or risk a full scale war by invading.

"That's the price you pay for democracy," Goto scoffed.

"Let's focus on our friends for now," Sen said. "I'm going to go talk to Chieftain Atana."

"I'll put in a good word with Kesuk," Miyani said. They nodded to each other and set off for the Water Tribe leaders. Politics were not Miyani's strong suit, but she had history with Kesuk, and the chief owed her a few favors.

The chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe was surrounded by no small amount of security, including to Sen's surprise, Surma. The Shorewatcher tapped Atana on the shoulder to interrupt her conversation and pointed out Sen. Chieftain Atana took on a look of amusement as soon as she laid eyes on Sen. Ariak bowed to the Chieftain and then stepped aside to talk with Surma.

"Master Avatar. It is good to see you. Again."

There was just a hint of sarcastic bitterness in her voice. Sen could tell that the Chieftain held no anger towards him. The last time they had met, Sen had still been masquerading as a common citizen.

"Chieftain Atana," Sen said with a bow. "My apologies for the deception."

"No apologies necessary," Atana said warmly. "By all accounts your actions saved the North. Far be it from me to criticize any of your choices."

"Is everything going well at the North Pole? I've not yet had a chance to catch up with events."

"We're recovering," Atana said. "And we are rebuilding. The attack was brutal, but thanks to your actions, short. We will rebuild."

"It's good to hear that," Sen said. The fate of the North had been concerning him for a long while. The damage had seemed extensive at the time.

"I do wonder how the losses will affect our ability to contribute to the war effort," Atana sighed. "I find myself wondering if our participation in the Coalition would even be worthwhile."

"Of course it would," Sen assured her. "President Dahaka and Fire Lord Goto are already planning to contribute large forces, so you wouldn't be obligated to give more than a token force. Your joining would also send an important message: even the Energybender's most daring, most devastating efforts haven't broken the North."

Chieftain Atana rubbed long, gaunt fingers against her chin. Her wry smile became almost conspiratorial as she began to nod.

"You have a point. Show the world that we remain strong," Atana said. "Very well, Avatar Sen, you have persuaded me."

As Sen was talking to Atana, Ariak was catching up on loose ends of his own. He and Surma were talking in detail about the fate of the North, and the Shorewatchers.

"We've gained some and lost some," Surma stated. "We've started recruiting a lot of young men and women, but at the same time, myself and most of the other members have stepped down."

"Stepped down? Why?"

"Sarin's treachery was at least partially successful," Surma said sadly. "People no longer trust the Shorewatchers as they used to. We're hoping that by restructuring, giving the Shorewatchers a new face, we can regain that trust."

"A sound strategy, I suppose," Ariak admitted.

"Besides, abdicating our responsibilities to the North means we can completely devote ourselves to fighting Sarin," Surma said. Those that remained of the Shorewatchers were eager to get vengeance for Kyros and their other fallen comrades. They were small in number, but they were well-trained and organized. Any army would be glad to have them.

"Your brother has also expressed an interest in joining the Coalition."

"Not-"

"As a medic, Ariak," Surma assured him. Ariak stopped talking. A medic was alright. He didn't want Tlun putting himself in danger.

Kesuk was being slightly less cooperative. Miyani had pressed him a few times for information already, but he seemed reluctant to talk about anything. It might have had something to do with the fact that he was being flanked by several representatives of the Council of Elders. They didn't seem happy to see Miyani. Kesuk had been keeping her a secret from the Council for a long time; they did not approve.

A dull bell chimed, signaling that the session was about to begin. The various representatives of factions across the world stepped towards the main chamber. As the Council of Elders finally turned their backs, Kesuk took a quick step back and pulled Miyani's arm, leaning her over far enough to whisper in her ear.

"My hands are tied," He whispered quickly. "No chance now. Re-election comes in a few months. I'm going to renegotiate with the new council."

Miyani nodded, and the two of them parted ways to head into the central rotunda. It was a massive room, designed to fit hundreds, although all the action happened in a rather small central ring. Seven large booths had been arranged; one for each of the world's great nations, and one for the Avatar and his entourage. Sen took the seat of honor closest to the central ring while his allies filed in behind them. He took a quick look around the ring.

Most of the people seated here he recognized; Dahaka, Goto, Atana, and some of their assistants. Even the Airbenders, Jinora and her kin, were vaguely familiar. The only he did not recognize were the representatives of the United Earth Kingdom.

King Wu the Second was starkly different from the memories of Wu the First that Korra had shared; it seemed he'd inherited his looks from his mother. His square face was pressed into a tight look of concern, and he occasionally glanced nervously at his companions: Ministers Raisu and Hua Long.

Minister Raisu was old and wrinkled, but he had aged with dignity. He had a severe look on his face, and occasionally cast glances towards the Avatar, but Sen could sense little overt hostility. Hua Long was a far cry from his companion. It was possible to be fat and still look pleasant; Hua Long had long passed that point. His skin hung off of him in loose folds, having given up on appearing even vaguely human long ago. He was a corpulent blob of greed and anger, his rotund face glaring with suspicion at every other living thing. Sen sneered slightly at the disgusting example of humanity and turned his attention to people more pleasing to the eye.

"Kesuk says no chance," Miyani whispered. The spectators were still getting seated, giving them some time to talk. "He'll lobby for membership again when the Council elections have changed membership a bit."

Sen grunted in frustration. The South not militarizing came with serious risks; if Sarin had access to the Southern Spirit Portal, it could be a serious problem for them. Sarin needed to get to the Spirit World if he wanted to wield the full power of his spirit allies.

"That still gives us half the world to work with," Hanjo said confidently. "Sarin can't have more than a few thousand men. We'll have a few hundred thousand."

"Numbers aren't everything," Sen said. "We've fought dozens with just four or five before."

"Yeah, dozens of them against five of us," Hanjo said. "They're mooks, Sen, and we're the best. Who needs an army when we have the seven of us?"

Sen had something to say about that, but it would have to wait. The conclave was about to begin in earnest. As a consistently neutral party, the Airbenders proctored the debates. Master Jung stepped into the central ring, as other Airbender elders kept an eye on the proceedings from their central table.

"We are here gathered to assemble the third United Coalition," Master Jung declared. "To unite into a force that transcends the concerns of any one nation, to fight the enemies that threaten us all. Rise, and state your intentions."

As the hosts of the Coalition, the Airbenders spoke first, giving their usual response: neutrality. The Air Nation would not officially align itself with any side of the conflict, although they would continue to aid the nations of the world in their usual fashion. Sen had no doubt that the Air Nation would help in other ways, but they would not be seen on the battlefield. The Republic was next to speak.

"The United Republic was founded on compromise and change," Dahaka began. "These ideals started our great nation, and we respect them, but we must know when not to comprise, not to change. Sarin would have us bow down and accept his destruction of the world as we know it. We must take a stand. The United Republic promises a full commitment to the United Coalition."

The rotunda chamber was filled with muted applause at Dahaka's speech. He'd managed to get a reaction, at least, if not an overwhelming once. It had been a decent speech.

"I hereby submit that General Kim be given command of the United Coalition," Dahaka said. General Kim stood and gave a quick bow. Sen quickly turned to his friends.

"What do we think?'

"General Kim commanded the Republic's army during the Seventh Kingdom war," Ada said. She was the only one who knew much about the global military situation. "But he was heavily criticized for being too defensive."

"We can't afford to play defense," Suda advised. "Sarin fights dirty. Bunkering down will just give him more room to maneuver."

Sen nodded. Dahaka was mostly interested in ensuring the safety of innocent people, which was commendable, but it was the wrong approach in this case. Sen could not back General Kim.

Goto had been delivering a very long monologue on destroying Sarin, but he finally wrapped it up, to no applause whatsoever. The Fire Lord sneered at the crowd and gestured to his nominee. General Cujo stood up and bowed. Sen looked over his shoulder again.

"No," said absolutely everyone. Sen shrugged. The last candidate Goto had nominated had been General Rahm. No one was going to be comfortable having one of Goto's candidates leading the Coalition. It was a shame, since Cujo might give the coalition the aggressive approach it needed to beat Sarin.

The next country to speak up was the Earth Kingdom. Sen had the feeling he would not like this. That feeling got even worse as Minister Raisu, not King Wu, rose to speak.

"The provinces of the United Earth Kingdom cannot in good faith endorse any effort to defend the Avatar," Raisu said. He spoke loudly, but calmly. Sen was surprised at his composure. "Not when the Avatar has historically shown no interest in ensuring the safety or well-being of the Earth Kingdom as a whole."

Sen leaned forward in his seat. He'd like to hear how Raisu tried to justify that.

"When our queen was assassinated and the entire Earth Kingdom was in the grip of chaos, Avatar Korra chose instead to pursue a handful of airbenders," Raisu said dramatically. "And afterwards, while Kuvira ran roughshod over the innocent people of the Earth Kingdom, Korra was again absent, returning only when her precious Zaofu was threatened."

Sen did not believe that Korra had made the wrong choice in pursuing the airbenders, but he acknowledged that Raisu had a reason to be angry. Raisu's anger intensified, and he pointed an accusing finger at Sen himself.

"Even now the eastern provinces suffer a campaign of neglect and even outright sabotage at the hands of Zaofu and western world," Raisu said accusingly. What was startling was that he actually believed it. Sen could sense no lies in Raisu's heart. He earnestly believed that Sen was responsible for his peoples suffering.

"Minister Raisu, that is enough," Master Jung said, ending the tirade. Minister Raisu fell silent, and looked at Sen. The Minister's expression of anger softened slightly when he saw the confusion written on Sen's face, but the anger returned quickly when he saw Ada, the agent of Zaofu, sitting at the Avatar's side. Ada was not looking anyone in the eyes.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Minister Raisu returned to his seat. King Wu the Second looked especially exasperated. Master Jung nodded at Chieftain Kesuk to continue the proceedings.

"In the interests of peace for our people, and the preservation of the South, we must make a stated commitment to remain uninvolved in the Coalition's efforts," Kesuk said. The Council of Elders behind him nodded sternly. The general reaction of the room was not one of surprise. There was a quick change of speakers to Atana.

"It has been only weeks since the North suffered our most devastating attack since the Hundred year War," Atana said. "But we have not been broken. We will stand strong and avenge the treachery that claimed the lives of honest men and women."

Atana gestured to her right, and, to Sen's surprise, Surma stood up.

"I nominate Surma, former commander of the Shorewatchers, as the leader of the Coalition."

Sen's allies nodded approvingly. They knew Surma and trusted her, which made her seem like a favorable candidate. Sen was thinking about the situation more deeply. The reaction throughout the room as a whole was not quite as good. Most people still didn't trust the Shorewatchers, and, moreover, President Dahaka and Fire Lord Goto both wanted their own candidate to lead the Coalition. Gradually, the realization sunk in through the rest of his allies.

"It's a three way tie," Ariak said hesitantly.

"No matter who you endorse, you're disappointing two-thirds of our allies," Hanjo said quietly.

It seemed for a moment like there was no right decision. Sen knew Surma and trusted her, but he didn't know if she was equipped to handle leading an army. She was accustomed to operating in small squads, hunting single individuals, not battling entire legions.

A contemplative silence fell over the rotunda as Sen thought. All eyes turned to him as he began to deliberate. He rested his chin in his right hand and thought to himself.

Over time he had been privileged to know many brilliant people. He could think of numerous potential candidates, but none of them struck him as exactly right. He needed somebody who could be aggressive, someone who was intelligent, someone who knew Sarin's underhanded tactics, someone that people would rally behind.

Sen glanced left and right at his friends. They were waiting on his decision. He wasn't sure he was ready to make a decision. He briefly contemplated asking for a recess to consider his options. He took a quick look around the room first, and saw how many eyes were resting on him. He could feel the expectations of every single soul in the room bearing down on him. He could feel the pressure like a heavy weight on his shoulders.

All eyes were on Sen. Everyone here, the leaders of every nation, were looking to him for guidance. Suddenly the complexities of the situation unwound, and the answer was obvious.

Startling everyone around him, and perhaps even himself, Sen stood up, rising from his seat as quick as lightning. He slammed his hands down firmly on the table and finally addressed the conclave.

"I nominate myself."

There were many audible gasps in unison. Some of them came from the Avatar's own table. A storm of murmuring filled the chamber as leaders turned to their advisors and spectators turned to their friends. Sen silenced it quickly by straightening his back and folding his arms behind him. Silence fell and they waited with bated breath to hear him justify his shocking decision.

"I know that I'm young, and I lack practical experience in warfare," Sen said. He stepped away from his table and closer to the center of the rotunda.

"But this is not a practical war," He said. "Sarin is an underhanded terrorist. He seeks no territory or resources, has no proper army. He operates with a methodology that few have ever fought against."

Fire Lord Goto leaned back and stroked his angular beard. Hanjo bit his lip as Sen continued to deliver his speech.

"I know how to face Sarin and his forces," Sen said. "I have faced them for many years in many different ways. When my enemies were greater, I evaded them. When they were equal, I outmaneuvered them. When they were weaker-"

Sen suddenly held up a clenched fist in defiance.

"I crushed them."

The Avatar proceeded to the exact center of the room, pleading his case before the world leaders, and the world itself. He held his arms wide.

"This is my battle," Sen said. "Let me lead us to its end. Let me lead us to victory."

The Fire Lord stood from his seat with surprising quickness for such an old man, holding one gnarled hand out to gesture to the Avatar.

"I rescind my nomination," He declared loudly. "And vote in support of the Avatar!"

Dahaka stood in turn. He could see the way the tide was turning now.

"The Avatar has the full confidence of the United Republic," He said. "I cast my vote in support."

Now Atana stood as well, holding her hands out, palms open.

"The Avatar saved my city," She declared. "I have full faith that he can save the world. Avatar Sen has my vote."

"Then it is unanimous," Master Jung said, burying his surprise at the situation under his ceremonial tone. "The General of the United Coalition will be Avatar Sen."

The rotunda detonated into thunderous cheers. Sen nodded at the overwhelmingly positive response. All but a small handful of those in attendance supported the movement. Of those opposed, it was exactly as one might expect; Ministers Raisu and Hua Long, and a few dissidents in the crowd, nothing more. Even the Council of Elders seemed to approve of the Avatar's new status.

Sen continued to stand firm as a purely ceremonial badge was pinned to his chest, and a handful of other ceremonies were carried out to finish his swearing in. The ceremonial proceedings were a bit confused: an Avatar had never before carried out this role. Although Korra had begun the tradition of the United Coalition, she had never taken leadership into her own hands. They had to make up much of the ceremony as they went along, but when all was said and done, Sen had officially taken charge of the United Coalition.

***

"Avatar Sen, now that you've officially been sworn in, do we refer to you as 'General' or 'Avatar'?"

The image on the screen was in full color, so the smile on Sen's face was still clearly visible. The burden of his new role did not weigh on him at all. He stood confidently, flanked by all his friends and allies, old and new.

"Either will be fine," He said, waving his hand dismissively. His voice crackled slightly through the televarrick speakers. "Though I do actually think hyphenating could work. 'Avatar-General' doesn't have a bad ring to it."

A new storm of activity crackled through the crowd of reports as everyone clamored to have their questions answered. Dei Sensheng looked at the screen, despair evident in his features.

"We're doomed," he said despondently.

"We have not lost yet," Sarin said confidently.

"We're as good as dead, Sarin," Dei Sensheng protested. "We couldn't manage to capture the Avatar when he commanded a handful of teenagers, now he's at the helm of an army!"

"We have an army of our own," Sarin said.

"We've been taking heavy losses for years straight," Sensheng continued. "The Combustion Bender alone has cost us hundreds of men over the past few years. We will not survive a direct conflict, Sarin!"

The Avatar's interview blurred out to white noise as Sarin thought over Sensheng's words. Sensheng gave his commander a moment to think before he continued.

"We needed the element of surprise, we needed to stay in the shadows, like Kalden intended," Sensheng said. Sarin's fist clenched slightly. "We had to catch the Avatar unaware and untrained, and we failed."

"And what do you propose we do, Commander," Sarin said. "Do we surrender? Abandon our ideals and allow chaos and order to continue devouring lives? Is your resolve that weak?"

"I believe in our cause, Sarin, but it is clearly unfeasible," Sensheng protested. "If we ever want to make progress we have to delay. Go underground, propagate a cult, create new Energybenders. One day the Avatar will forget the threat we pose, and we can strike again."

"And how many generations will that take, Sensheng, how many centuries?"

"It's a sacrifice we have to make."

Sarin crossed his arms across the grey robes that draped his figure. The sounds of the Avatar's interview came back into focus with oddly precise timing.

"Do you really think you can defeat the Energybender's army?" The crackling voice of the reporter asked.

"I think I've already won," The Avatar said confidently. He tapped the podium he was standing behind thoughtfully.

"No more questions. I have one final thing to say. A message, to someone specific," He said playfully. Sen straightened his back and looked directly into the camera.

"Sarin."

The Energybender's skin crawled. Sensheng watched as Sarin stood rigid and placed his arms by his side, fists clenched.

"I know you're listening," Sen continued, his voice slow, quiet, and taunting. Sen leaned forward slightly on his podium, closer to the camera. His eyes stared forward, piercing across miles and through the glass screen, to stare directly at Sarin.

"You've already lost," he declared confidently. "You've made it a struggle, sometimes, every now and then you even brought me to a halt. But this journey is over."

Sarin turned around to face the screen, to see the Avatar's eyes staring him down, hidden behind the barrier of glass, untouchable.

"This isn't the story of my rise anymore, Sarin," Sen taunted. "It's the story of your fall."

Sen waved a dismissive goodbye and turned his back on the camera, vanishing from sight. Sarin stood as stiff as a corpse before the darkened screen. The broadcast was over, and Sen was out of sight as well as out of reach.

Sensheng closed his eyes and shook his head. The Avatar was right, this was the end. He'd cut to the quick. The only question was how long it would take Sarin to bleed out.

The blackness on the screen grew darker and darker. Sensheng recoiled in surprise. That was obviously unnatural.

Sarin remained still. He still believed that victory was possible –he only needed his followers to believe it as well. Sensheng was the voice of their doubts: if he was persuaded, the rest of the forces would be persuaded as well. He had to make Sensheng believe, and seeing was believing.

The blackness on the screen poured forth like liquid, pooling onto the floor and seeping across the surface. Sensheng took a few steps back as the snakelike mass of darkness crept its way towards Sarin, eventually clinging to his leg and clinging to his spine. The formless black mass solidified into the massive, serpentine form of the Hssk, its four-jawed face contorted in anger at having to reveal itself to Sensheng.

"You underestimate me," Sarin growled lowly. His hands flickered with grey light, filling the air with a low, discordant howl.


	75. Book 5 Ch3: The First Offensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen leads the Coalition on a vicious first strike against the forces of the Energybender.

Colonel Kim used a long stick to point out certain key locations. The massive map was pinned up to the wall for all to see. Sen and the rest of his war council were examining the topography carefully.

While Sen had overruled Generals like Kim and Cujo for leadership of the Coalition, he had made sure to keep them all close at hand while he managed the council. He would be a fool to discard wisdom and experience while he had little of his own. Kim and Cujo, now given the rank of Colonel in the new United Coalition, acted as his direct military advisors. Detective Zas represented the White Lotus as the Coalition's intelligence network. Given their past experience, Ada and Ariak had been given the rank of Major, while the rest of his friends were technically mere footsoldiers. They were still sitting in on the meeting, however.

"A watchpost sits on the cliff overlooking the central structure," Kim elaborated, pointing to a very specific point on the map. "It's unfeasible to move a large force across that kind of terrain."

"I can lead a small strike team through tunnels," Sen said. "No chance of detection from either end. We'll need a handful of elite earthbenders."

"Earthbenders exclusively?"

"Gun doesn't like any other kind of people," Sen said. Gun was a bit feisty, and he was not to be trifled with. He had, after all, managed to track Sen down after vanishing into the wilds of the Earth Kingdom. Even Sen wasn't sure how that one had happened. One day he had simply stepped out into the Republic City streets and found Gun sitting outside his hotel, expecting a scratch on the head.

Colonel Kim paused for a minute before nodding stiffly. Sen could tell that his councilors weren't very enthusiastic about taking orders from someone who was barely twenty years old, and the outlandish circumstances of the Avatar's history only made it worse. Whistler, as defiant of authority as always, wouldn't even talk to anyone wearing a badge or a medal. Other than Sen, of course.

Despite the unorthodox nature of their General and his allies, the Coalition had mustered a formidable force. Kim was reporting that they had more than a hundred and twenty men ready to storm the base. Which sounded like a good thing, but was a bit uncertain for some.

"I used to go through outposts like this on my own," Miyani said. "Usually didn't take more than an hour. Now we need me, the Avatar, and more than a hundred other people just to take one?"

"With all due respect," Kim began, demonstrating a reasonable fear of offending Miyani. "The Energybender has escalated his activity in recent weeks. These aren't just hideaways for scouts and supplies. They are more heavily manned, fortified, and prepared for attacks."

"I could still take 'em," Miyani said. She crossed her arms confidently.

"I don't doubt that," Sen said, taking charge of the conversation. "But we're not here to prove your strength. We need to show that the Coalition is capable of coming down hard on our enemies."

"Indeed," Cujo said. "A strong first battle will set the pace for the rest of the war."

The initial offensive was one of the most important parts of a war, especially from a psychological standpoint. A crushing victory right out of the gates would crush the opposition's morale and improve public support for the Coalition. Restraint was an admirable quality, but every now and then it was necessary to drop the hammer, and drop it hard.

"So then why not have a thousand guys," Hanjo said.

"Well that's just impractical," Cujo said. "The base isn't that big."

"And a waste of resources," Kim declared. "The Coalition has numerous other projects to concern its troops with, not just ensuring that one base is taken care of."

"On that note, Sen, there is another matter that apparently requires your attention," Zas said. "Your quartermaster has arrived."

"Oh, excellent," Sen said. He needed to get his troops properly equipped. An army needed a uniform, after all. There was also the matter of some special equipment he had requisitioned. Sen left the two Colonels to their work while his team followed Zas to their temporary army.

The temporary Coalition base in the eastern reaches of the United Republic was a hectic affair. Carts of supplies raced across the dry grass as soldiers struggled to set up tents and shacks. No viable city had yet volunteered to act as a permanent headquarters for the bulk of Coalition forces, so their army was nomadic for the time being. If Sen wished, he could stake a claim to any location he wanted, but that would give a bad impression. He wanted the Coalition to be a welcome sight, not an intrusive force.

As they walked, Zas was approached by a young man holding a small sheaf of documents. The detective briefly looked over the papers before gesturing towards Sen.

"Avatar, this is Lanh," Zas said, introducing the boy. Lanh waved sheepishly at the Avatar. Hanjo tilted his head curiously. "He'll be the adjunct for our command team."

"I'm going to be working with the Avatar? Wow."

"No offense to Lanh, but why exactly do we need him?"

"To keep from repeating yourself," Zas said. "Any time you make proclamations, give orders, issue statements, Lanh will run around to fifty different radios and couriers to spread the word so you don't have to. He'll also come to us with any news or issues."

"Sounds good," Sen said. "Good to meet you, Lanh."

"Same to you, Avatar-General sir," Lanh said with a sharp salute. Then he turned away, left the Avatar's company, and began to mutter under his breath. "Wait 'til my friends hear about this."

"He's cute," Hanjo observed.

"Don't," Sen said with surprising sternness. Hanjo looked at him, feigning slight confusion. Sen rolled his eyes.

"Don't flirt with your subordinates," Sen said. "This is a military, not a dating service. You need to take this seriously."

"It was an innocent joke, Sen," Hanjo said defensively. Sen shrugged.

"Wait, is this a complete ban on romance? Because I got an issue with that," Suda said.

"If this is going to turn into you bragging about that girl of yours again, then the first casualty of this war will be you," Whistler grunted. Suda had been quite talkative when it came to Yoki. It had been heartwarming for the first day, and then slightly grating every day thereafter.

"I'm not going to ask you to break up with anyone, if only because I'm pretty sure Ada would stab me if I tried to take away Canto," Sen said. Ada nodded quite firmly. "But I would prefer it if you kept your focus on the matter at hand. We can all get married and have a lot of beautiful babies after we save the world."

Miyani stifled a laugh at the notion. Suda took it a little more seriously. That actually was the plan in his case.

The staging area for the distribution of supplies was one of the better organized areas of the camp. It had taken a long time to create the uniforms for the new Coalition, but the troops were finally getting their appearances in order. Sen nodded approvingly as he saw the first soldiers dressed in their new colors. The double-breasted military tunics came in a variety of colors with numerous decorations, to indicate bending type and rank, but one common design element united them all: a double-lined chevron, one stripe black and the other white, mimicking the fur pattern of a badgermole. The Badgermole Chevron had quickly become the accepted logo of the Coalition under Sen: the same logo was emblazoned on both shoulders of the Avatar's coat. It was a shame that Gun, still utterly blind to color, could not appreciate the gesture.

As the footsoldiers received their uniform, Sen led his team into a more private staging area to retrieve less standard gear. The quartermaster had laid out the supplies on a large table, and she spared no time in getting the Avatar to his gear. She had a lot to do today, and she didn't want to spend too much time giving the Avatar his fancy gear.

"Alright, starting off with, we've got the two of you wielding blades," The quartermaster said. He beckoned over Ariak and Ada. "Need to be light, fast, flexible. For the two of you I've got plated leather, meets all those criteria."

Ariak looked over the armor laid out before him. Small pieces of thin leather bound together into a rather small cuirass, gauntlets, and spaulders, cut to just his size, with a matching set for Ada. They were very small, meant to be worn under other clothing, and they would provide little practical protection, but they allowed for mobility and flexibility, which mattered much more to anyone fighting at close quarters with a spear or sword.

"Now, you, Avatar's sidekick," The quartermaster beckoned. Hanjo stepped forward. "It's a bit similar for you. Mostly leather, but you get a few metal plates thrown in there too. Earthbenders ain't known for being acrobatic. You need to be able to take a hit more than dodge one."

Hanjo nodded. His suit of armor was quite similar to the ones being given to Ariak and Ada, though his had metal reinforcements all over.

"Now, you, airbender," the quartermaster said, moving on quickly. "Since you refused to get me any measurements, I've got no armor for you. I do, however, have this."

The quartermaster tossed over a small metal rod, which Whistler quickly caught. She recognized the mechanism quickly and with a slight flick of her wrist, the metal rod telescoped into a full staff. She swung it a few times, and then flicked another hidden switch to expand the glider. It was an improved version of her old staff in every way, as it was made by an actual expert and not scrounged together from stolen bicycle parts and scrap metal.

"I don't know," Whistler said. "I got a lot of history with my old staff. Don't know how I feel about just replacing it."

"Just take 'em both," The quartermaster said. She wasn't willing to argue practicality versus sentimentality. "Then you can hit people with two sticks instead of just one."

That idea earned an approving nod from Whistler. She tucked the new staff into the holster at her hip where her old one had once rested, but the old one got tucked into a different space at her belt.

"Now, you, big guy, you're a special case," The quartermaster said. Suda stepped forward. She leaned under the table and lifted up a very large box, clearly straining under the weight. Slamming down the gargantuan container on the table, she pried the lid off and lifted out the contents, handing them to Suda.

Had they never met Rahm, the metal gauntlets in Suda's hands might have been the largest piece of armor anyone there had ever seen. The gargantuan metal fist was a solid shell of various plated metals, almost like the hand of a mecha-tank. The only interruption to the solid metal construction was a small hole just above the wrist. A very wide plate on the forearm clearly concealed some kind of mechanism.

"These gauntlets were meant to replace the hip-mounted line launchers the Republic PD uses," The quartermaster elaborated. "But they were too heavy to be used by the average guy. You, on the other hand…"

Suda fit his hand into the metal glove and clenched his fist with a loud metallic snap. The gloves fit perfectly, and though they were quite heavy, it was not a weight Suda couldn't handle. He had to use those muscles somehow. He flexed his fingers slightly to make sure he had full maneuverability, and then he aimed his fist at the ground. With a flick of his fingers, a long metal reel shot out from the slot above his wrist and sailed across the tent, embedding itself in the dirt.

As impressive as the machines were, Sen did have one concern.

"I didn't ask for those," Sen said.

"I know. They were a private contract from a certain wealthy benefactor."

Suda slipped on the other metal gauntlet, completing the set, and looked at the underarm, just below the wrist. Engraved on the right hand were two letters: "YU"

"I know I've been out for a while," Hanjo said. "But I'm pretty sure we don't know anyone named Yu."

"Not Yu," Suda corrected. "Y-U. Yoki Uehara."

Everyone rolled their eyes simultaneously. Of course it was Yoki.

"Moving on," The quartermaster demanded. There was only one person left, and equipping her was a task in and of itself. Miyani stepped forward.

"Stories I hear say you dodge like trash," The quartermaster said, leaning up to look at the towering Miyani.

"It's not that I can't," Miyani said defensively. "I just don't need to."

"Yeah, well times change," The quartermaster snorted. She reached beneath her table and pulled up another heavy package. She pulled out a pair of armguards, each one covered in thin metal plates like a dragon scales.

"You're tough, so I ain't going to weigh you down, but you need to be able to take a hit from a sword," The quartermaster said. She pulled out more scaled armor for Miyani's chest, shoulders. "This ought to do you. It's heavier than I'd like, but I doubt that's going to be a problem for you."

It was not. Miyani strapped on the armor as if it were no heavier than paper. While she was accustomed to bracers, she didn't like the look of the scaled chest piece. She would wear that under her shirt.

"And are you sure I can't convince you to wear shoulder guards?"

"No," Miyani said. She liked to show off her biceps.

"Fine then. Now that that's taken care of, please excuse me," The quartermaster said dismissively. "We have a lot of work to do."

"Carry on," Sen said.

"Are you not getting any armor, Sen?" Hanjo tried to talk and strap his armor on at the same time, and he just ended up stumbling and nearly falling. Suda caught him by one of his armor straps and pulled him back upright.

"No, I'm not," Sen said. "Not today, at least. It'd just weigh me down."

Hanjo hummed in agreement. It was easy to guess that Sen had some kind of elaborate plan of attack that didn't require any armor.

"It'll be good to get out there," Ada said. She bent her arms as if she were swinging a sword, testing out her new armor. "We've never had a fight with all seven of us before."

"We'll be a little split up," Sen admitted. "But I agree, it'll be fun. And very, very short. I don't expect it to take us very long."

***

The planning process undoubtedly took up more time than the battle itself. As their armed convoy proceeded to the site of the Energybender base, Sen spent hours talking with Kim and Cujo, going over the fine details of their assault. Even as the convoys came to a halt, they were still discussing the minutiae of the fight.

"Looks like we're out of time," Kim sighed.

"Doesn't matter much," Sen said. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy. We'd end up improvising sooner or later."

"For now we should remain on track," Cujo suggested. Sen nodded and hopped out of his truck. They were still a few miles away from the enemy base. If they were detected too soon, the enemy soldiers would simply retreat. Sen wanted a crushing victory: enemies escaping was not an option.

With a heavy stomp of his foot, Sen summoned Gun from the depths. He was an odd sight amidst the troops. Some of the quartermasters had briefly entertained getting battle armor for Gun, but Sen had advised against that, lest someone get eaten. Gun didn't even like the fact that Sen had so many people around him nowadays. Despite that, Gun opened up a wide tunnel for Sen and his chosen allies. To take out the watch post on the hill, Sen was travelling with Hanjo and five elite earthbenders from the Coalition, along with Gun.

Gun was in a significantly more cooperative mood now that Hanjo had returned. Hanjo had been present at Gun's odd "adoption", and so the Badgermole thought of him as a member of the pack. Though Sen was undoubtedly his master, Gun was quite fond of Hanjo as well, and would obey his commands, even if Hanjo couldn't quite speak to the badgermole the same way Sen did.

It was hard for anyone to gauge how much time or distance they'd covered while underground, but eventually Gun's tunnel started to take a shallow incline, signaling that they had come to the cliffside. Gun's tunneling slowed slightly as they entered the dense rock of the cliff. A small tongue of fire created by Sen's firebending was the only light they had in the tunnels. There wasn't much to see inside the rock, unless one was particularly excited about geology.

Eventually Sen pressed his hand against Gun's shoulder to bring him to a halt. Sen tunneled forward a bit on his own, opening up a small chamber, barely tall enough for the soldiers to fit in, but very wide across.

"We're right underneath them," Sen said quietly. He could feel the footsteps and heartbeats of the guardsmen above them. The Colonels were right; Sarin had stepped up his military presence significantly. There were twenty men at this guard post alone: according to Miyani, entire bases had once had less than twenty men in them altogether.

Sen quietly order his soldiers into position, placing them at scattered points across the chamber. As a visual guide, he placed small pillars across the floor of the chamber, showing where the Energybender troopers were standing. They had to strike like lightning to silence any warnings that might come from this watch post. If the outpost below was warned, this entire attack could be a bust.

With all his soldiers in place, Sen called for their attention and started counting down. He held up five fingers, then four, three, two, one…

The ground above them broke open in spectacular fashion, and the seven earthbenders catapulted upwards. Sen didn't even wait until he had solid earth beneath his feet to strike. He pulled his hands close to his chest, and a sudden vacuum of air pulled in every nearby enemy, catching a handful of soldiers and knocking them to the ground. Sen threw his spare hand down and rained rocks on them, keeping them on the ground.

Around the post Sen's earthbenders allies were unleashing similar rapid attacks on the enemy. Hanjo was keeping a special eye on the central structure. Two soldiers made a run for the radio inside the watchpost, and Hanjo cut them off. He threw his fist forward, launching a boulder, and then used the inertia to continue into a spinning kick, throwing a second boulder overhead in a wide arc. The first stone struck one soldier in the back, knocking him to the ground, and the second struck his partner from above, knocking him out cold.

A single soldier made a run for the cliff, hoping to signal the base below with a desperate shout, but Sen made sure he never made it that far. The Avatar tapped his heel against the ground once, and Gun leapt forth from the ground below, cutting off the soldier and pinning him to the ground with a massive paw. Gun gave out a lot, vicious growl before Sen ordered him to stand down. Gun returned to the soil while Sen pinned the soldier down on his own.

"Everyone accounted for?"

"All enemies are disabled," Hanjo said with a lazy salute.

"Anyone injured?"

"That guy took a hit to the head," Hanjo said, pointing out a Coalition trooper who was being helped by two of his fellows. "He looks like he'll be fine. We did good."

"We did," Sen said. "That was a nice move, by the way, with the spinning kick. Where'd you learn that?"

"I've been practicing," Hanjo said proudly.

"It shows," Sen said. He gave Hanjo a pat on the back before returning to business. He removed a radio from his belt and activated it.

"We've got the watch post down. You're clear to advance."

"Acknowledged."

It took a few minutes before the convoy came into view. Sen was glad they'd disabled this watch post. They could see almost everything from up here, and the Coalition still had a long approach to make.

Miyani was leading the charge, riding in the back of a jeep, standing tall at the front of the convoy. There had been a long debate between Kim and Cujo over what entry point they should use to storm the base, an argument Sen had settled quickly by reminding them about Miyani. They had a combustion bender on their side; they went in wherever they wanted.

The broad wall of the enemy base came into view, and Miyani wasted no time. Her driver slowed a bit to steady their approach. It was a cold day, but Miyani focused on what heat was available. The light of the sun, the roar of the engine, the intensity of the soldiers around her fueled her. She took a deep breath and focused on one thing: annihilation.

The first strike shredded the sky with crackling energy until it impacted the stone wall and reduced it to dust. Alarms and screams sounded from what was left of the base as the enemy troops realized they were under attack. The Coalition convoy increased their speed to meet the enemy in battle. Miyani loosed a few rapid, imprecise bolts to cover their approach.

Sen watched the chaos begin to unfold from above as the Coalition came in range and was met with a retaliatory barrage from their enemies. Hanjo leaned over the cliff and watched the fire, earth, and water begin to clash.

"We want to get down there?"

"You're welcome to take Gun back down if you want," Sen said. "I need to keep watch up here."

Hanjo nodded and stomped his foot. Gun appeared, and Hanjo helped escort the lone wounded soldier to ground level. Sen stayed above, looking over the battlefield. He scanned left to right, his eyes hidden behind glasses, searching for something in particular.

While Miyani stayed with the troops outside to control the battlefield, Ariak and Ada led the charge into the building. The two of them had quite complementary fighting styles. They both appreciated close combat, but Ariak preferred to face his opponents head on and overpower them, while Ada focused on outmaneuvering her foes. This made them an effective pair as Ariak's brute strength demanded their attention while Ada flanked them and took them apart from unseen angles.

The two lunged into a narrow corridor, packed with enemies. They never paused for a second. Ariak hooked a large container off his belt with his spear and slammed it down on the ground, breaking it open. The water inside rushed across the floor on his command, coating the hallway's floor in a thin layer of ice, just enough to unsteady the enemies footing. Ariak, used to icy conditions, skated across the slick floor with ease, slamming into the packed enemy soldiers and cutting them down before him.

Ada, slightly less at ease with ice skating, chose to go at it from above. With a quick, acrobatic leap, she bounced onto a wall, and then to another, crossing half the hallway by jumping between walls. She couldn't keep that up forever, though. Unwilling to land on the icy ground but unable to stay aloft, Ada chose to put something between her and the ground. She dove off the wall, knocking an enemy to the ground with her shoulder. She used the fallen trooper as a platform to steady her next leap, vaulting over the rest of her foes.

With Ariak in front and Ada behind, and the walls of the narrow hallway closing them in, the Energybender troopers were left with few options. They struggled in futility as twin blades of sword and spear cut through them like scissors slicing through paper. Ada and Ariak met in the middle of their helpless foes, sharing nothing more than a nod of acknowledgment before moving on to other battles.

Significantly less cooperative, but no less destructive, was Whistler. She favored maneuverability, and thus chose to remain outside, catching those that tried to escape. She had decided to give her new staff a whirl, in a literal sense. She spun it rapidly, striking nearby soldiers with the metal shaft while unleashing a wide wave of air on those soldiers far away.

One enemy tried to come at Whistler swinging some kind of metal rod. Miyani's attacks had reduced large chunks of the building to rubble, and now the Energybender soldiers were using bits of rebar and concrete as impromptu weapons. Whistler caught the rebar club with her staff, and continued to deflect the heavy metal blows. A second soldier came running at her from the opposite side, and Whistler decided it was time for the classics. She removed her old staff from her bet, pointed it at the charging enemy, and flipped the trigger. The spring-loaded staff telescoped outwards quickly, striking the charging soldier in the face as it expanded. Whistler smiled, satisfied, and swung both her staffs at the soldier wielding the rebar club, beating him about the temples with both staves.

For a brief moment, Whistler had nobody to hurt, and so she finally paid attention to the world around her. She heard an all-too familiar whirring noise, and her fingers started to twitch. She unfolded her shiny new glider and soared over the battlefield towards the source of all the explosions.

Miyani's jeep had taken a hit at some point in the fighting, rendering it immobile, but that had not stopped her. She was standing atop the burning wreckage, still loosing devastating explosions to control the battlefield. As usual, she had fallen into a kind of combat trance, focusing purely on her destructive onslaught, but Whistler demanded her attention.

"Hey, Big Bang," She shouted over the harsh noise of the battlefield. "We got one of those spinning airship things."

Miyani nodded. She'd heard of The Machine, the strange airship that had nearly taken Hanjo away. It was no surprise that the Energybender was trying to put his technological superiority into action. She grabbed her radio.

"Sen, we've got a Machine," Miyani said.

"I can see," Sen said. He was standing atop the cliff for a reason. They had fully expected one of Sarin's flying machines to show up. He could already see the black vessel approaching: it must have been stationed in a hidden base nearby. Sen would have to remember that for the future. The flying machines weren't stored in the main base.

"Want me to take it down?"

"No. Take some potshots, keep it flying low," Sen said. "I'll handle it."

It would still be a minute before the Machine was in range, so Sen turned his eyes back down to the battlefield. His forces had the enemy base mostly surrounded, but there were some gaps in their blockade. Without Miyani controlling the battlefield, it was possible that some enemies would successfully retreat.

"Suda, Miyani's switching focus," Sen said into his radio. "This is where your team comes in."

"Got you, boss," Suda said. He tucked his radio away and stuck his fist in the air. He and the squadron he was working withal vanished into the tree-tops, pulled aloft by metal lines.

Though Suda had lost most of his bandit instincts, his metalbending skills remained completely intact. He was still quite talented at zip-lining through the trees, as his enemies discovered in due course. A group of Energybender troops tried to escape by vanishing into the cover of trees. They didn't make it very far. One by one they vanished, pulled into the treetops by forces they couldn't see. It was almost like something out of a horror mover; hordes of panicked people being picked off one by one in a predatory hunt.

The Machine finally got in range of Miyani's blasts, and she went to work straight away, driving the flying machine into place. It was surprisingly fast and agile for an airship. Airplanes were quick, but they relied on momentum to fly, so their flight paths were somewhat predictable. The Machine, with its strange spinning blades, was far more maneuverable. Miyani threw a blast in front of it, and the Machine braked in midair, coming to a dead halt. Miyani was certain that if she were really trying, she could take the airship down, but it was more challenging than she had initially thought.

After dancing around in midair for a while, the Machine finally began to rest in a place convenient for Sen. He radioed Miyani to stop firing and braced himself. He would not abide Sarin having any kind of advantage in this fight. Sen wanted a Machine for himself.

Making a quick dash for the cliff, Sen reached the edge and leapt over. For a brief second Sen's gut sank as he recalled his hatred of being airborne, but he quickly overcame it. He was the Avatar, he had nothing to fear of heights.

While Sen was not technically capable of flight, under the right conditions he could fool just about anyone. All it took was careful manipulation of air currents, a little fire for propulsion, and an elevated starting point, and he could glide well enough to feel right at home with a bird. Sen's sudden flight attracted attention from below as he cut across the sky with jets of flame.

"You know, I got two gliders now," Whistler said, observing Sen's soaring. "He could've just borrowed one."

"I think he's showing off," Miyani said. Whistler shrugged.

Realizing that he was being pursued, the pilot of the machine turned sharply, aiming the spinning razor blades of his vessel towards the Avatar. Sen halted the control of fire and air that was keeping him aloft, making a sharp drop towards the ground, below the spinning blades. As soon as he was clear, he rocketed upwards again towards the Machine.

It was difficult to find any purchase on the metal surface of the Machine's exterior, but Sen managed to get a grip. Once he had situated himself, Sen reached out and took hold of the airship door, forcibly pulling it open.

No sooner had Sen opened the door then he saw the pilots fist slam down on a large button. He could quickly sense a brief spike in heat and chemical activity coming from within the engine of the Machine. Sen rolled his eyes and released his grip on the vehicle, falling down to the ground below. He made sure to use careful gusts of wind to veer himself to the side, away from the flying machine. It was a bad idea to be beneath it right now.

In three simultaneous bursts of fire, the Machine detonated, exploding into a fiery conflagration. The flaming wreckage then plummeted from the sky, scattering the soldiers on the battlefield as they rushed to avoid the burning steel that descended from the sky. Sen carefully manipulated his fall until he was safely on the ground, and then observed the burning wreckage with a mix of disappointment and anger.

"That wasn't me," Miyani said into the radio. Sen chuckled slightly and grabbed his radio.

"I know it wasn't. Looks like Sarin has outfitted his Machines with self-destruct functions," Sen said. "He really doesn't want us getting our hands on one."

The explosions had occurred around all of the Machines most important mechanisms, as well, detonating at the engine and both rotors. It would be nigh-impossible to reverse engineer an airship from the wreckage. Sen could give up on his dreams of capturing one intact. He'd have to be much more careful if he wanted to claim that technology as his own.

"Now that's been dealt with, we would all appreciate you focusing on the task at hand," Kim suggested. Sen looked at the battlefield around him. He had yet to be attacked, despite the fact that he had landed behind enemy lines. It looked to him like the battle was already won, but there were still some finishing touches to be made.

Sen straightened out his coat and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were glowing.

***

"The defeat was absolute," Sensheng said quietly. "If anyone made a successful retreat, they have yet to contact us."

"If no one's come to us by now, they won't be coming," another of Sarin's men said. Gamon by name, he had once been relegated to organizing Sarin's forces from an isolated location. Now that there was a full war on, Sarin was consolidating his entire command structure. Gamon and many other important officers had been called out of dormancy.

"Unless they've deserted," Kida said. Though she held no official rank in the command structure, she often forced her way into the command meetings. Some might have objected to this, but the fact was Kida now commanded a significant portion of Sarin's waterbending troops, the ones she had trained to bloodbend. One in particular had become something like an apprentice to her, an intimidating former criminal who was referred to only as Shark. His brute strength, combined with Kida's own personal ferocity (and psychosis) meant that few tried to argue with her.

"Our men are more loyal than that," Lieutenant Ahn-Li said. "Anyone who escapes will report back to us eventually."

Though Sensheng was in charge of general troop movements, the official commander of the troops in the field was Ahn-Li. She was the only one among their number with official command experience; she had served the Republic with distinction during the Seventh Kingdom war. Like the late Tan Lung and many other veterans traumatized by the conflict, she had joined the Energybender's cause for the hope of a world that would never again see war. Ahn-Li was perhaps the most idealistic of them all, even to a fault; she consistently failed to recognize that many of the men under her command were common thugs lured by the promise of power, rather than the noble soldiers she had commanded during the War.

"No one escaped," Sarin said.

"No disrespect meant, Master, but it has only been a few days," Ahn-Li said. "It is too early for anyone to-"

"I have my ways of knowing, Lieutenant," Sarin said calmly. Sensheng nodded. The Hssk was an able scout, able to find out things that the Coalition did not wish for them to know, but only Sensheng yet knew of it. The rest of the command structure trusted Sensheng enough that they took him on his word.

"With any talk of escapees aside, we should discuss what this defeat means for us," Gamon interjected awkwardly. His prior service to the Energybender had been carried out in isolation, so he was unused to dealing with comrades.

"It was a minor loss at best," Ahn-Li said. "We were planning on evacuating that base and most of our forces into the eastern Earth Kingdom anyway."

The Coalition could operate with impunity in the Republic, but the Earth Kingdom was still closed to him. He could not risk crossing that border without causing a potential civil war. Their forces would be relatively safe there.

"Does the fat one have our new home ready yet?" Kida asked. Hua-Long's representative at the meeting bowed somewhat indignantly. Minister Hua-Long himself was far too corpulent to move in secrecy, so he attended the meetings via proxy.

"You will find safety in Hua-Long province," The Minister's adjunct assured them.

"We can't really be assured of anything until Minister Raisu is brought aboard officially," Gamon said firmly. "That man's word carries as much respect as Hua-Long's gold. We'll only get the eastern Earth Kingdom to march to war at his word. But if the Avatar should get to him first-"

"It won't happen," Sensheng said. "Raisu is far too paranoid of Zaofu's 'treachery' to trust a word the Avatar says."

Raisu was by all accounts an intelligent and honorable man, but he had gotten too caught up in a conspiracy theory. He was under the impression that agents of Zaofu had been systematically sabotaging the entire Earth Kingdom. It was a preposterous notion to any reckoning, but with a few subtle hints into Raisu's courts, Sarin's men had amplified that paranoia enough to make him side against the Avatar –although Raisu still refused to take up arms.

"We should still make an effort to coerce him," Ahn-Li suggested. "We have plants among his Weavers. We can manipulate his intelligence until he has no choice but to side with us."

"You forgot that Raisu is both brilliant and paranoid," Sensheng said. "He'll notice a sudden change in his reports and suspect treachery immediately. Our best bet to get Raisu on our side is to wait for the Avatar to get desperate enough to attack the east. Raisu will defend his home."

"And what do we do while we wait for that to happen," Ahn-Li said. "Retreat to the east and sit on our thumbs?"

"Kida and her bloodbenders will be leading sorties every full moon," Sarin said. "The Coalition has no power to oppose bloodbenders."

It was one of the few advantages they had left, alongside their flying machines. Still, an army that could only be used once a month was not too greatly intimidating. Sarin could see the stress of the war bearing down on them.

"I know we seem to be at a disadvantage," Sarin said. "Seem to be" was a massive understatement in most of their minds. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Their organization was being held together by idealism, personal agendas, and desperation.

"We must all act deliberately and carefully," Sarin said. "Victory is our inevitable destination."

Sarin claimed that, but in the back of their heads, they were all thinking the same thing –he wasn't telling them how they would get to that destination.


	76. Book 5 Ch4: The Flight of the Fang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fleet of powerful Fire Nation airships engages the Energybender's helicopters in a midair battle but find themselves outmatched, and the Avatar's allies must fight to prevent a disastrous defeat.

It was a very gray day. The sun was low, as it usually was on wintery days, and a heavy bank of clouds obscured what little sunlight there was. All in all, it was rather gloomy.

"A perfect day for the Avatar to die!"

He had shouted that twice now. His name was Gozon, or Zogon, or Nozog, or some combination of those letters, Sen wasn't sure what. He had only referred to himself by name once, and every time after that he had called himself the Avatar-Slayer.

Gozon/Zogon/Nozog the Avatar-Slayer was currently pursuing his intended quarry through the valleys of Wulong Forest, far on the western border of the Republic. The Avatar-Slayer and his men had been retreating from one of Sarin's coastal bases when they had been intercepted by the Avatar and a very small force of his troops. The ambush had quickly turned in Gozon's favor, and he and his forces were now pursuing the Avatar.

Sen seemed altogether unconcerned with the fact that he was being pursued, and led them deeper and deeper into a wide valley. The trees here had all fallen centuries ago, during Aang's battle with Ozai near these very stones, so the valley had an open view of the grey sky.

Zogon never hesitated for a minute, pursuing Sen with hundreds of his men in tow, intent on ending the war this very day. Nozog knew the territory particularly well, and the Avatar was leading himself directly into a dead end. Soon they reached the end of the valley, surrounded by sheer walls on every side, with nowhere left to run. Avatar Sen took a stand, folding his hands behind his back.

"You're boxed in, Avatar," Nogoz declared proudly. "History will speak of this day as the end of your era!"

"Yes, I think this will go down in history," Sen said, oddly calm. "History will say that you had me surrounded and cornered-"

The Avatar held up his hands and smiled broadly. He was clutching a radio.

"But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked."

A bolt of white fury descended from above the clouds, raining down fire on the valley behind Gozon and his forces. The explosive blast collapsed the rock walls and rained rubble down from either side, closing in the valley from the other end. Now Zogon was the one trapped.

The grey clouds parted as three great airship descended from the sky. Tremendous figures in red and black, the harsh frame of the aircraft would have been terrifying on its own, especially the massive one that lead the trinity. Only adding to the terror were portholes on the bottom of the zeppelin raining fire down on Nozog's forces in a furious inferno, with one in particular spewing explosive bolts.

The Fang, Wing, and Claw, the three greatest airships of the Fire Nation air force, had recently been granted to the Coalition. They had originally been intended for a straightforward attack, but once the weather turned, Sen had gotten the idea to lure their opponents into a rather dramatic ambush. It was theatric, perhaps, but it worked.

As the fire rained down around them, Sen stepped forwards towards the would-be Avatar-Slayer.

"Zonog," Sen began.

"My name is-"

"I don't care what your name is," Sen said curtly. "All that matters to me is that you are far too stupid and utterly harmless for me to feel any guilt for letting you go free."

Sen grabbed the fool by his collar and pulled him close.

"Go back to your master, and tell him that I am coming for him," Sen commanded. He saw immediate acceptance in Zonog's eyes. Sen released his collar and set him running from the site of the ambush, off to deliver his message to Sarin. Sen could taunt his foe as much as he wanted through radios and televarrick broadcasts, but it was always good to have a message hand-delivered now and then.

Sen sat back and watched as trinity of massive zeppelins went to work on the remnants of the "Avatar-Slayer's" forces. The massive warships were still spewing fire and explosions, to admirably destructive effect. Sen needed that kind of firepower to achieve victory.

While Sen and the Coalition were dominating the ground war, Sarin controlled the skies. His unique flying machines were the most powerful force in the air. While Sen and Miyani could take them down with some success, most other forces were helpless prey for the flying machines. Sens troops had begun to call them Choppers, in part because of their spinning blades, and because of the way they cut through the Coalition ranks.

With the valley sufficiently burned, The Fang began a slow descent to the ground while the smaller airships, Wing and Claw, remained aloft. Sen approached the descending airship and watched as it prepared to land. As The Fang came closer to the ground, Sen saw Miyani clinging to the exterior, waving at him from above. Sen was surprised to see her clinging to the outside of the airship. It was still a few hundred feet off the ground.

The Fang finally touched down on the ground, and Miyani dismounted in a short hop. A few more of Sen's friends were aboard, but Miyani had the quickest exit.

"I see you're not afraid of heights," Sen said.

"Well, one of us has to cover the high ground," Miyani said.

"I jumped off a cliff," Sen said defensively. He wasn't 'afraid' of heights, technically, he was just deeply uncomfortable with being away from the ground and avoided it whenever possible.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Miyani said. "If you were afraid of heights, you'd be afraid of me."

Sen chuckled. Miyani crossed her arms, satisfied that someone was finally laughing at her jokes, and watched the rest of The Fang's crew begin to disembark. There was a battlefield to survey and prisoners to capture. A large crowd of crewmen and soldiers began to pour forth from the zeppelin's underbelly.

A surprising figure at the head of this group of soldiers was Fire Lord Goto, looking supremely satisfied with himself and the violence around him. Sen stepped forward to greet the Fire Lord, and to ask what on earth he was doing here.

"Fire Lord," Sen said with a shallow bow. "What brings you here?"

"I just love the smell of fire," Goto said with a harsh cackle. "Smells like victory."

"Well yes, but, Goto, you have to understand," Sen elaborated. "The Coalition is meant to be an extra-national force. The Fire Lord accompanying us might seem-"

"It's my airship," Goto said. "I haven't had a chance to use it since we built it."

"What Sen means is that people might not like the Fire Lord riding an airship into Wulong Forest," Miyani said.

"What- Oh come on," Goto said indignantly. "That was nearly two centuries ago! Stop bringing it up!"

"Not the point," Sen said. "We're meant to be operating independently of any one nation's agenda. It's bad enough you wouldn't let us paint over the giant Fire Nation emblem on the sides of the ships, but if you pilot them personally-"

"I'm the only one who knows how to pilot the Fang," Goto boasted. "A machine this intricate requires a very complex piloting process. I'm the only one trained to do it."

"So train someone else," Miyani said. She had no love for the Fire Lord, given that he was one of many people to have degraded and abandoned her in her youth.

"No," Goto said stiffly. "Now are we leaving or what? There's nobody left to fight here."

"Give me some time to use the radio, then you can take off."

Goto nodded and beckoned Sen towards The Fang. The halls of the zeppelin were surprisingly spacious; many military vessels were cramped and claustrophobic. Goto had clearly spared no expense making sure his personal warship was as luxurious as it was powerful. The spacious halls did become slightly more crowded as Hanjo appeared and immediately popped to the side of the Avatar.

"This is a nice place," Hanjo said. "I would live on this thing."

"So would I, kid, so would I," Goto said wistfully. His ideal home was one that was battle-ready at all times.

The radio equipment was located in the cockpit, right alongside The Fang's controls. As Goto had said, the controls were numerous and intricate, with hundreds of levers and buttons arrayed on a large dashboard. Sen took one look at the complex control panel and then cast a suspicious eye towards Goto. The Fire Lord stared right back, daring Sen to say something. Sen shook his head and moved on to the radio.

"Lahn, are you there?"

"Reading you loud and clear, Avatar, sir," Lahn said. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you heard anything from Ada and Ariak?"

Sen had assigned the two to oversee different projects for the Coalition. Whistler was also out and about doing something, but she didn't have an official assignment. Sen usually left her to her own devices, as she chafed under any kind of authority.

"Ada hasn't made any contact," Lahn said. "I think she's still upset you assigned her to a construction project."

Sen rubbed his forehead. He'd assumed he was doing her a favor by assigning Ada to a project alongside Canto, but apparently she wanted to be on a battlefield. Construction of a tunnel through the Zu-Shin mountains was important to the movement of their armies, but it was apparently not particularly exciting.

"Alright, remind me to apologize for that," Sen sighed. "How about Ariak and Zas?"

"He radioed in to say he hadn't made any progress," Lahn said. "They've found a few empty bases, but no signs of any active ones."

They had been trying to trail the Energybender's rapid retreat from the United Republic and western Earth Kingdom, to find out where Sarin's forces were going to make their stand. Interrogation was utterly useless, as the Hssk would simply make every soldier forget their orders, but they had to leave physical trails behind them as well. He'd hoped that Ariak's hunting skills and Zas' detective skills could find them a lead, but Sarin's men were surprisingly good at covering their tracks.

"Got it, no progress at all," Sen sighed.

"Ariak did request that Miyani be transferred to his team," Lahn added. Miyani started paying more attention now. "She apparently had a much easier time tracking down enemy camps."

Sen looked over his shoulder at Miyani. She shrugged.

"How did you track down all those bases?" Sen had to wonder now. For two years she had been wandering between Energybender camps, destroying them. She had found more of them acting as a lone woman than the Coalition's entire intelligence network had ever been able to find.

"I asked the soldiers," Miyani said.

"Impossible, interrogation never works on those troopers," Goto said.

"Maybe I'm just scarier than you," Miyani said, brushing a strand of hair aside to show off her red tattoo.

"Tell Ariak I'll send her for a rendezvous as soon as we get Dragon Flotilla back to base," Sen said. Any possible lead was worth pursuing, even if it meant sending one of his most powerful soldiers on a scouting mission.

"Will do, general," Lahn said. "Any other orders for the men?"

"Not at the moment," Sen said. "I'll be heading for our outpost near the hot springs. We'll talk then."

"Yes sir," Lahn said sharply, before turning the radio off. Sen stood up, straightened his coat and glasses, and faced towards his allies.

"I don't think we can land these bad boys at the hot springs," Goto said. "Wing and Claw maybe, but Fang will never fit."

"I'll be travelling by land, actually," Sen said. Miyani gave him a look that he deliberately ignored. "Take the Flotilla back to the hangars in Republic City. Hopefully I'll have new orders for you soon."

"Will do, 'general'," Goto said. Sen walked away from the abrasive Fire Lord, bidding a calm goodbye to Miyani, and then to Hanjo.

"You want to talk to Suda before you go? He's hanging out on The Claw," Hanjo suggested.

"No thanks. Suda's a big guy, he can handle himself."

"You're going to hurt his feelings," Hanjo teased.

"Well I'm going to hurt yours too," Sen said. "I'm not saying goodbye now."

"You just said goodbye," Hanjo pointed out.

Sen walked off The Fang without another word. No sooner had Sen's feet hit the ground than Goto gave the order to ascend, manning the intricate controls that allowed The Fang to rise. Joining its brothers in the skies, The Fang took the lead as the Dragon Flotilla headed off towards the horizon.

Miyani was quick to head off to one of the observation bays. Technically they were meant for deploying weaponry, but they had large portholes through which one could see the sky, Miyani preferred to think of them as being for observation. Hanjo followed in kind, lacking much else to do with his time.

For a while the two of them watched the terrain go by, even picking out Sen's satomobile as it drove away below them. Then the airships finally hit the low, thick clouds. There were a few minutes where everything was grey and misty, and the clouds obscured everything. Miyani looked away from the window for most of this time, but her eyes quickly returned to the window when they finally broke through the cloud cover.

The view from above the clouds was breathtaking at first, but unsurprisingly, lost its novelty rather quickly. Outside of the other airships in the flotilla, there was nothing but white beneath them. Hanjo began to get unnerved by the silence as Miyani watched over the cloud tops.

"Nice view, yeah?"

"Eh, I'm kind of used to seeing things from up here," Miyani joked. Hanjo didn't laugh. She looked to the side and rolled her eyes slightly. There was another slight pause between them. While the two got along well as part of a larger group, they had yet to do much one-on-one conversation.

"So, Miyani, what do you do?"

"Cause explosions," Miyani said. "And make bad jokes, apparently."

"I meant for fun. Probably should've said that."

Miyani put a hand on her chin and hummed to herself as she thought. She had not exactly devoted a lot of time to relaxation in the past few years.

"I used to go fishing sometimes," She said. "But lately…I had a mahjongg board I was carrying around for a while, that I'd play with whenever I got too bored."

"Huh, Mahjongg, isn't that for like three or four people?"

"There are single player variants," Miyani said stiffly.

Hanjo grunted in acknowledgment. The clouds rolled by in silence for a moment.

"So, uh, what about you?" Miyani asked.

"Oh, well, not a lot, I mean I was in prison until just recently-"

"Oh, right, sorry," Miyani said awkwardly.

"No, I still did things to entertain myself, they were just kind of, well," Hanjo said, slowly drifting off. He doubted that Miyani wanted to hear about all the different ways he'd come up with to mess with ants.

Hanjo scratched his ear for a bit. He was trying to find the right angle to approach this conversation from, but found himself lacking. This was harder than it should have been. They both got along with Sen, why shouldn't they get along with each other?

After a few more moments of awkward silence it became apparent that standing around trying to force it wasn't going to make anything any better. Hanjo came up with an excuse to leave and turned his back on the giant glass windows. No sooner had he done so than Miyani grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him into place like a mother cat lifting her young.

Without a word, Miyani put Hanjo's face towards the glass and pointed at a particular spot amidst the endless expanse of clouds. The field of white had been broken by a few small specks of black. As Hanjo watched, a few more bits of black metal began to pierce the cloud cover, and those that were already present were growing larger.

"Go sound the alarm," Miyani said. Her voice sounded much different now, somehow. Her voice got a little deeper whenever she was about to fight. Miyani slammed her fist down on a large red button, and the room turned frigid cold as the window pulled away, opening the bay to the cold air outside.

While Hanjo rushed off to alert the rest of the crew, Miyani stayed behind in the bay to prepare. Firing from the bay of the airship came with certain risks, namely a nasty fall. She secured herself to the wall of the bay with a thick safety cord, and as an added precaution, strapped a parachute to her back. Once she was properly secured, she took her place at the open window, letting the cold air chill her skin.

The enemy choppers were still a distance away, but they were rapidly closing in. Sarin's choppers were much faster than the average airship, and more maneuverable. Miyani watched as the swarm of airships closed in on the Claw.

Alarm claxons began to blare, and pounding footsteps echoed across the Fang as everyone ran to their battle stations. Hanjo took over the radio as Goto frantically manipulated the controls of The Fang, trying to maneuver them into the right position. It was slow going; The Fang was exceptional among zeppelins, but even so it was a bit slow and unwieldy.

"How many have we got?" Goto demanded loudly.

"Captain of the Claw says-" Hanjo hesitated slightly as the captain shouted something through the radio. "Twenty. No, he says, more than that, at least thirty. Might be as many as fourty."

Goto swore under his breath. An entire fleet. Ko Rin's spies should have warned them about this.

"Where is Howler even getting this many of these blasted machines," Goto growled. He angrily jerked a lever, and The Fang began to veer to the side. The Claw was going to get surrounded at this rate. They needed to get the Flotilla together to cover each other's flanks.

The fast moving choppers had already swarmed into a tight formation around the Claw. The firebenders had taken up their positions in the combat bay, but their attacks had little effect. The choppers were faster and more maneuverable than any firebenders attacks, and even when a lucky firebender managed to land an attack, the durable metals made those attacks have very little effect.

Suda kept to the back of the bay, near the Claw's commander. He was beginning to get a bit frustrated watching the futile attacks of the firebenders.

"We need to hit them with something harder," Suda said.

"I know what you're implying," The commander said angrily. "The only metal we have up here is part of the airship, and I'm not letting you tear it apart for-"

The commander was interrupted as the choppers began to retaliate. Several dull metallic thuds ensued as the crew of the choppers began to launch large projectiles at the Claw. The strange metal shells struck the hull of the zeppelin and held fast, held in place by magnets. They seemed to have no other effect –for now.

"This isn't going to end well," The commander said under his breath.

With a muted click in warning, the first of the magnetic explosives detonated, rocking the Claw as burst after burst of fire rocked the airship. As a blast exploded near the hangar bay, chunks of the wall exploded outwards. Metal shards of shrapnel cut through safety lines as the bay began to shake, sending the firebenders off their feet and plummeting into the empty sky below.

With a quick thrust of his metal gauntlets, Suda launched out two ziplines to grab onto soldiers that were falling, barely snatching them from the jaws of the abyss and pulling them back towards safety. Those who remained began to evacuate the bay as further explosions rocked it.

"No, you idiots, stay, you need to intercept those-"

The commander was cut off once again as another explosion rocked the ceiling above them, knocking out a large chunk of the metal roof. Suda grabbed at the nearest chunk of metal. He figured the ship was getting torn up anyway.

With a careful toss, and just the right amount of spin, Suda sent the shard of metal on an arcing path towards the nearest chopper. The former chunk of the Claws hull got its revenge as it collided with the choppers rotors, disrupting the delicate mechanisms that kept the machine in the air. The upper rotor began a disastrous collapse and the machine fell out of the sky.

Suda grabbed another chunk of metal and sent it flying through the air, towards the closest chopper. He had lost sight of most of the swarm. They were trying to maneuver themselves into position for something.

A few more explosions rocked the Claw, and Suda found out what they were up to. The alarms that were already blaring were intensified as an even louder siren began to blare, and a red light began to flash throughout the bay.

"We just had a gas breach," The commander shouted. "We're losing altitude!"

That quickly became apparent as the Claw began to descend downwards, sinking towards the clouds below. Suda took a quick look at the rapidly approaching cloud cover and then turned back to the commander.

"Anything we can do?"

"If we do it right we can minimize the damage," The commander said. They were making a slow descent for now, it was possible that the Claw would land mostly intact. "But we're going down no matter what."

The choppers outside had already lost interest in the sinking Claw and where now swarming towards the Fang. The largest of the three airships was still veering towards the Claw, with the swarm of choppers stretched out between the two. Suda's eyes narrowed as the commander offered a parachute to him, just in case.

Suda took the parachute and strapped it on, making a quick check over his gauntlets immediately afterwards. He wanted to make sure they were perfectly in order before he did what he was about to do. The Wing and Fang were still airborne, but they were heavily outnumbered. They'd need everything they could get to stay aloft. That included Suda.

Eliciting a dropped jaw from the commander, Suda made a quick dash for the edge of the hangar and leapt over it. Aiming his armored fist at the nearest chopper, Suda launched a line at the landing gears beneath the chopper, wrapping a metal cord around them. Held securely for a moment, Suda continued forward, aiming a line at another nearby chopper and preparing for another swing.

Suda had a persistent sinking feeling in his gut that told him this may not have been his brightest idea, and he was glad he had put on the parachute first. Between every swing there was a moment of weightlessness that absolutely terrified him, and he was sure he was going to plummet into the abyss below. Despite those misgivings, he carried on, swinging through the air like some kind of monkey swinging across jungle vines.

Though at first they were dumbfounded by the audacity of the feat, the chopper pilots eventually caught on to the idea that they should, perhaps, try to stop him. While he swung, one of the choppers began to move out of formation to pursue him. Suda quickly retracted his ziplines, reeling upwards towards the chopper he was currently attached to. The pursuing chopper only made this entire endeavor more difficult.

It became easier once again as they got closer to the Fang, and the chopper that was pursuing Suda exploded violently. It seemed that they had entered Miyani's range.

The air was cut by blades of white light as Miyani began her assault on the approaching choppers. Some managed to veer out of the way, some did not, and the air was soon filled with fire and metal shrapnel.

Lost somewhere in her battle trance, Miyani took a moment to notice Suda swinging through the air towards her. She lost focus for a moment, dumbfounded by Suda's actions. As he finally landed in the hangar, she paused to give him a dumbfounded look.

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever done," Suda mumbled. He was glad to be standing on something solid again.

"It isn't stupid if it works," Miyani said. With that done, she focused back on her enemies. Suda saw her get that scary look on her face that she always had when she was fighting, and decided that the best place to be was far away from Miyani. She got really intense sometimes.

Suda headed for the hangar on the opposite side of the Fang's undercarriage. The swarm of choppers was already maneuvering themselves outside of Miyani's effective range. They'd need firepower on all sides to counter the swarm.

A panicking Coalition soldier entered the hangar, bearing a portable radio with him. He nervously handed the radio over to Miyani.

"Hey, Miyani, are you there?" Hanjo's voice asked. He was manning all the radios while Goto controlled the airship.

"I'm ready, what is it," She demanded. She loosed one last bolt at the retreating choppers and grunted in frustration as it missed. The strange airships were all out of her line of fire now. She'd need to find a new position.

"Goto says he wants you to watch the rear," Hanjo said. "We've got our rotors and helium tanks there. If they get taken out we'll be dead in the-"

The communication paused as explosions rocked the Fang. Even as the explosions faded, there was a moment of silence.

"Goto says never mind," Hanjo said awkwardly. They'd just lost the rotors and the tanks. With no engines The Fang wouldn't be able to move, and with no helium reserves they would inevitably lose pressure and begin to descend.

Hanjo was receiving dozens of radio calls at once, and was struggling to sort them all. Most of them were just from panicked soldiers begging for orders.

"Tell every one of them to enact protocol 'Shut Up'," Goto commanded. Hanjo reluctantly complied. The radios fell swiftly silent. Goto growled to himself and tried to manipulate the controls, to little effect.

"How many hundreds of levers do you have there?" Hanjo asked. "And none of them do anything?"

"Only five of these levers actually do anything," Goto roared back. "The rest are just to make it look complex! I don't want anybody but me piloting this thing!"

Hanjo sighed and dropped his shoulders. Of course that was what Goto would do. He doubted that leaving Goto in charge of the situation would improve anything. The Wing was already under assault, and would soon sink just as the Claw had, with the Fang no doubt quick to follow.

Several dull thuds echoed across The Fang. Suda was briefly terrified that more explosions would follow, just as they had on the Claw, but no such explosions occurred. He looked around curiously, eventually leaning out of the hangar to examine the situation.

Several choppers had maneuvered themselves into positions very close to the airships main balloon, and had affixed themselves with metal cords. Suda left the hangar to find a radio.

"Guys, they've attached themselves to us," Suda said. Hanjo scratched his head.

"What are they trying to do," Hanjo wondered aloud.

"They're trying to capture us," Goto said. "They want hostages so they have leverage on the Avatar."

Hanjo nodded. Some of Sen's best friends and a major world leader were on board this ship. If the Energybender's forces were to capture it they would have a significant hold on Sen.

"I've got no angle on those ships," Miyani said. The Fang's balloon was too wide and curved, and the choppers were hugging it closely. Any attack she made risked breaching the balloon. They had to do something, though. The choppers had attached metal cords and were now dragging them through the air. With no rotors of their own, they could not pull away from the choppers control.

"Maybe we should consider making a landing," Suda suggested. "We can put up a fight on the ground. If we stay up here they're just going to take us hostage."

"Not a bloody chance," Goto said. "My altimeter shows we're gaining height. Those choppers are enough to drag us through the air. We couldn't land if we wanted to."

Hanjo was digging through a pile of documents on the Fang, mostly operating manuals and schematics. On one blueprint of the Fang, Hanjo found what he was looking for.

"Miyani, there's maintenance hatches on the side of the balloon," Hanjo said. "You could get in range if-"

"Don't," Goto said. "Those hatches are meant to be used for repairs on land. When we're in the air they get loaded with helium. She'd suffocate."

"And my last words would be in a squeaky voice," Miyani said. She was answered by dead silence, as usual.

"Just radio the Avatar," Goto said harshly. "He's supposed to be the genius."

Hanjo was quick to comply. If anybody would have a clever idea, it would be Sen. Hanjo quickly reached the Avatar and explained the whole situation to him. Sen took approximately thirty seconds to think about it, and then started to work on his plan.

"Do you have any maintenance hatches on the side of the ship?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," Hanjo said indignantly.

"Yes, but they're still full of helium. There's no breathable-"

"That's why you vent the helium," Sen said abruptly.

"But we'll sink-"

"The Choppers will hold you up," Sen explained. "Once the helium's gone Suda and Miyani can use the maintenance hatches to take down Choppers one by one until you start to descend slowly."

"And what if they just decide to drop-"

"Then you use firebending to fill the Fang's gas chamber with hot air. You'll effectively be a hot air balloon. As long as you do it right you should be buoyant enough to make an emergency landing."

Goto turned to yell at the radio one more time.

"Do you plan on letting me finish a sen-"

"No," Sen said.

"Man, why didn't we call you sooner," Hanjo said.

"That's a good question," Sen said, with just a touch of sarcasm.

Suda went to work, breaking open the shattered helium reserve tanks and opening up the main gas balloon to the open air. Slowly, helium leaked into the sky around them. Once their gas pressure had reached zero, Goto cleared Miyani to enter the maintenance tunnels. Just as Sen had predicted, the pull of the surrounding Choppers was enough to keep them aloft.

"Alright, everything's in place," Goto said. "Good to go on my order?"

"Everyone's ready," Hanjo said. He had his finger on the radio's button. As soon as he gave the word, everything would happen at once.

"Well, let's not waste any time," Goto said. "Hit it!"

It was, summarily, hit.

In a swift burst of fire and steel, a pair of choppers, one on either side, detonated. The firebender crew began to flood the empty gas chamber with hot air. In an emergency, it hot air would not be enough to keep them aloft, but it would make them sink more slowly.

Miyani and Suda took down another pair of choppers, and the effect was absolute as they suddenly lost the lift force necessary to keep themselves afloat. The Fang's new hot air supply kept it stable for only a brief moment before it too began to sink. Miyani found it hard to keep her footing and she barely managed to keep herself from falling out of the Fang. Suda had secured himself to the floor with a bit of metal, so he had a bit easier of a time.

Latched onto the balloon as they were, the choppers made easy targets for Miyani's explosive fury. Though she did not intend to destroy all, or even most, of them, they still realized that they were vulnerable. Few pilots were willing to plummet into the abyss for the sake of a balloon. One by one the Choppers began to detach themselves and retreat from the Fang. With their captors, and their source of lift, gone, the Fang began to descend slowly.

With the choppers out of the picture, the crew focused all their efforts on stabilizing the Fangs descent. Miyani headed back down the ladder. It was impossible to see the ground from their position, so they had no idea what kind of landing they were in for. Best case scenario, they landed in a pleasant open field and were perfectly fine. Worst case scenario, there was a mountain beneath them and they were all going to die.

Miyani reached the bottom of the ladder, found a firm place to hold onto, and thought about pleasant open fields.

Hanjo and Goto kept a careful eye on their descent and only panicked slightly. They watched as the clouds grew closer and closer, until eventually they consumed everything. Grey mist enshrouded them for a moment. Whatever was beneath this grey mist would decide their fate.

The thing beneath the grey mist was green. A lot of green.

"Trees?"

"Are trees bad?" Hanjo asked.

"I have no idea," Goto said.

Tress turned out to not be that bad. The Fang was sturdily constructed, and as they hit the treetops, the metal hull held together as the trees warped and cracked beneath it. The foliage actually ended up providing an effective cushion as the flexible evergreen wood bent to absorb the pressure of their landing.

"Huh, we're alive," Hanjo said.

"That's always nice," Sen's voice said through the radio. "Next time you're in trouble, let me know right away, please?"

"Will do, commander," Hanjo said.

"I'll send some people your way to repair the Fang and salvage what they can from the Wing and Claw."

"So much for air superiority," Goto sighed. The most advanced airship in the world, armed with a combustion bender, and they had still barely survived against Sarin's choppers.

Miyani and Suda eventually wandered into the cockpit to relax on some of the comfortable chairs. Suda stared at the ceiling and flexed the fingers of his metal gauntlets.

"I swung through the sky," He mumbled to himself. He still couldn't quite believe that had actually worked. Yoki would kill him if she found out he'd done that. He was actually a little surprised that she was the first person he thought of. Usually he was concerned with what Ada or Sen would think. He smiled to himself a little.

"You know, I kind of get why Sen's afraid of heights now," Miyani said out loud. She wanted to take her mind off of everything.

"Tell me about it," Hanjo said. "Nearly plummeting out of the sky really makes you afraid of the ground."

"I've never fallen off of anything before," Miyani said. "I can't believe the way your stomach feels, like all your guts are going up into your head."

"Hah, you should have been there the time we tunneled out of a mountain," Hanjo said. He continued on to regale Miyani with the tale of the time Gun had tunneled their satomobile through a mountainside. There was nothing quite like brushes with death to give people something to talk about.


	77. Book 5 Ch5: The Betrayal at Zu-Shin Pass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When an act of sabotage cripples a Coalition project, Sen investigates a group of dangerous Energybender-aligned metalbenders to determine the cause.

The pile of rubble where a tunnel had once been was not a pleasant sight. A massive chunk of the mountain had collapsed around their excavation site, rendering any attempt to rebuild the tunnel dangerous and costly.

The tunnel through Zu-Shin mountain had been a joint project between the Coalition and the United Republic. The Republic had been longing for a way to trade with the northern Earth Kingdom without having to go around the mountain range that stood between them. It would also have been an efficient way for the Coalition to funnel troops out of the United Republic and into the Earth Kingdom.

Now the joint venture was a pile of rubble. Most people were dismissing it as an unfortunate circumstance of geology. Similar collapses had been happening throughout the Earth Kingdom, in mines and tunnels across the nation.

"This whole continent is like a minefield," Ada noted. She was sitting in a tent near the collapsed mountain. She had resented being assigned here from the very first day, and now all her time spent overseeing this project was wasted effort. Hopefully Sen would wrap up his investigations soon and she could get back to the front lines. "We should just chalk this up to another minor earthquake and move on."

"Where would you want to go, when you go back?" Canto asked. As always, he was supportive. He never bothered asking her to stay behind for a little while. If Ada wanted to fight, she would fight.

"The bloodbenders need investigation," Ada said. "I'd like to track them down. Not on the full moon, obviously."

"Naturally," Canto said. "Though I thought your friend Ariak was handling bloodbenders."

"There's a bit of a nemesis scenario involved there," Ada said. "It might be better if someone else handled it, honestly."

Canto nodded and folded his hands together.

"Did you get a nemesis while you were out travelling the world?"

"No, of course not," Ada said dismissively. "I don't have anything like that."

"I guess that's a good thing," Canto said. "Though knowing you, you'd have fun with it."

"There are better ways to have fun," Ada said flirtatiously. Canto's face turned red and he looked the other way, deciding to watch Sen carry out his investigation.

Sen was clambering across a pile of rocks to examine the rubble. Ada had been watching over the tunnel entrance herself, and had personally assured him that no one had entered or exited in the time around the explosion. The workers had been on a break, even, so the only damage done was to some equipment that had been left behind. Sen still insisted on seeing for himself.

With a slight wave of his hand, Sen cleared a large portion of the rubble. He twisted his heel along the ground slightly, and Gun rose up from below. Together, the two of them proceeded some distance into the collapsed tunnel, clearing rubble as they went. The tunnel shuddered slightly as they travelled. Sen was very careful and deliberate in his motions as he moved forward. It was obvious to everyone watching that he was looking for something.

After going a few hundred feet into the tunnel, Sen seemed to find what he was looking for. He removed a particular section of stone and took it in his hands, then turned his back on the tunnel. It was not long before the area he'd carved out collapsed again. The mountain had been rendered highly unstable by the tunnels collapse.

Sen carefully examined the stone in his hands as he walked out, adjusting his glasses slightly as he observed the stone. When he returned to his allies, he tossed the stone to Detective Zas.

"What do you see there?"

The Detective turned the blackened rock over in his hands. He came to quick conclusions.

"Scorch marks, asymmetrical striations, minimal fracturing in the stone," Zas observed. "Explosives. Low yield. Not powerful enough to cause a collapse on its own."

"Not without multiple sites of detonation," Sen said.

"Multiple strategically placed sites," Zas elaborated.

"Sabotage," Sen concluded. "By someone who knew our operation very well."

Ada perked up in her chair. Her assignment had just gotten a lot more interesting.

***

Sen kept the piece of scorched stone on his desk as the investigation proceeded.

It seemed the obvious conclusion that the Energybender's men had been behind the sabotage, but even that obvious conclusion was missing some details. He needed more information.

Ada had claimed repeatedly, and truthfully, that there had been no suspicious activity at all in the past few days. The only conclusion to be drawn from that was that the saboteur was one of the Coalition's own members. A distressing thought, but not entirely unexpected, nor one they could not readily deal with.

Much to her chagrin, Whistler had been given a task for once. She usually kept to herself, occasionally appearing at battlefields to crack some enemy heads, but even left to her own devices she was usually making an effort to help the Coalition. She had recently discovered she had a knack for weeding out spies and infiltrators, in the Coalition and in civilian society. Most of her time now was spent lurking around Coalition camps and city streets, on the watch for suspicious behavior. Sen intended to make use of that talent to weed out any potential infiltrators in the camp around Zu-Shin.

"The camps been disorganized ever since the collapse," Sen informed her. "It'll be difficult to impossible to interrogate anyone."

"So you'll have me skulking about to watch things," Whistler said. It was a decent plan. Coalition soldiers tended to recognize her as the Coalitions personal Inquisition; those that were disloyal tended to act strangely around her.

"Whoever placed these bombs is obviously a professional, so I'm going to get you a little something to help," Sen said. "President Dahaka has approved my recruitment request for the Metal Men Division."

Whistler folded her arms sternly. There was a general shaking of heads and muttering from all of Sen's friends.

"Didn't I explicitly tell you that almost every single one of those guys is a traitor?"

The Metal Men were an elite brigade of metalbenders in the employ of the Republic military. Under different circumstances they might have been a valuable asset, but every piece of intel pointed to them being traitors. They had served under the traitor Lieutenant Ahn-Li, and Whistler's own investigations had turned up a great deal of suspicious activity.

"We know that, but they don't know that we know that," Sen said. He was aware of the risks, but he also imagined several benefits. "The Metal Men are traitors, yes, but so is whoever was responsible for this sabotage. I imagine that if the Metal Men have access to the site, they may help our saboteur cover their tracks and escape."

"Oh, alright, I see how it is," Whistler said.

"The Metal Men should not think they're under suspicion," Colonel Kim suggested. "Whistler has acquired a reputation."

"I could deal with the Metal Men," Suda said. "I'll chat them up about metalbending, try to get friendly. They'll just think I'm out to learn some new tricks."

Sen nodded. He next turned his attention to Ada.

"We need an expert on explosives," Sen said. "Can you get in touch with one?"

"I don't imagine I could," Ada said. "Why would you ask me?"

"Well, you were carrying around that explosive from Zaofu for months," Sen said. Ada shuddered slightly at the thought of that strange device. She was glad she'd gotten rid of it by throwing it at the Fogbender.

"I assumed that someone from Zaofu would know more about explosives," Sen said.

"I can try to get in touch with Ko Rin," Ada said. "He might know more."

"Please do," Sen asked politely. "And tell him to come to camp. I still haven't met Ko Rin in person."

Sen's voice was cut with the slightest blade of suspicion. He did not fully trust anyone he had never seen face-to-face. Ko Rin had his hands in the Coalition, the White Lotus, and Zaofu's security network, and yet he had never bothered to meet the Avatar, the one figure that all three organizations revolved around.

Ada nodded and excused herself, heading for the nearest radio. Sen dismissed the rest of his associates to their assigned tasks. Though this act of sabotage was his first concern, there were other battlefronts that required his attention. War was war, and it required a General to have his attention split between multiple fronts at once. The full moon was approaching, and Sarin would soon launch an attack with his bloodbenders. Sen had to make sure they were adequately prepared to defend themselves.

While Sen focused his attention on other tasks, Whistler focused in on hers. There was a large camp to deal with, and the sooner she got started, the sooner she would be done.

The general mood of the camp was leaning towards frustration and anger. With the sabotage being unresolved, the Zu-Shin camp had been completely closed off: no one was allowed to leave. Most of these people were just ordinary workers and engineers with no particular loyalty to the Coalition. They wanted to go home to their families, not sit in a mountain pass waiting for investigation.

Contrary to what one might think, the anger made Whistler's job somewhat easier. People who were frustrated were fairly quick to be cleared of suspicion. This was an unexpected and unpleasant delay for them, not any attitude a saboteur might have towards his handiwork. Whistler kept an eye open for people who were nervous, frightened, or guilty looking.

Even after tracking down suspicious targets, she had little luck in observing any dubious activity. Most of the people she followed seemed to go about their activities as normal, never showing any signs of any deviant or traitorous activity. Whistler settled in and decided to be more relaxed in her observation. Once the Metal Men arrived, there might be some more obvious movements.

It took a few hours for them to complete their transit, but the Metal Men were there the same day that Sen had requested them. They arrived in a series of heavily armored vehicles, as heavy and ironclad as the Metal Men themselves were.

The soldiers of the metalbender legion were unanimously massive men and women, made to appear all the larger by the fact that they wore massive suits of armor. The ability to metalbend gave them the ability to wear armor that was heavy and durable while still retaining flexibility. A technique Sen had seen demonstrated very well once before.

Their techniques and abilities were vaguely reminiscent of the long-defeated Rahm, and nowhere was this more evident than in their leader. The commander of the Metal Men approached Sen and bowed, far too shallowly to be properly respectful. Suda took a slight step back when he saw the commander's armor.

The armor he wore was dark grey, and plated in the style of ancient warriors. Broad spikes and metal plates stood in a layered shell over his entire body. The influence was obvious. The commander had modeled his armor after the Spirit Metal worn by the late General Rahm.

"Your armor's the wrong shade of black," Sen observed.

"Greetings to you as well, General," The armored man said bitterly. "I am Commander Temujin of the metal men, here at your request."

"Excellent," Sen said. "I'm concerned about our security. You and your men should set up a perimeter."

Sen looked briefly to Suda. He was clearly distressed by Temujin's superficial resemblance to Rahm. Suda experienced a few moments of doubt, but he quickly nodded to Sen, signaling that he would be fine.

"Suda will show you to your posts," Sen said. Temujin nodded and reached to his back. He had a large weapon strapped there which he removed and planted in the ground. Sen had not been phased by Temujin's armor, but the weapon he wielded was more of a concern.

Atop a large metal rod, resting like the head of a hammer, was a black gauntlet, cracked heavily but still intact, clenched permanently into a fist. This was no pale imitation of Rahm's armor. Sen recognized the same clawed fingers that had once reached for his throat, the knuckles that had threatened him with herculean punches. Temujin had somehow claimed Rahm's broken gauntlet.

Temujin nodded slightly when he saw Sen's angered reaction. The Avatar had been under the impression that all the pieces of Rahm's armor had been locked away in a secure vault. It was highly unlikely that anyone would ever be able to wield the SpiritMetal as Rahm had, but it was not a risk Sen wanted to take. The fact that Temujin had turned Rahm's gauntlet into a hammer did not sit well with Sen.

The Metal Men were dismissed to guard posts around the camp. Sen nodded at Suda, and then at the black gauntlet, a subtle signal to investigate Temujin's hammer.

It took some time to get all of the Metal Men into position. Sen had devised their postings, not to provide maximum security, but to put the Metal men in easily observed positions. He wanted to see the moment any of them tried to make any suspicious moves. Temujin never questioned the odd distribution of his troops. He simply ordered them all into place and then took his own post near the center of the camp. Suda stayed by his side.

"So, what's the story with that hammer?"

"Impressive, isn't it," Temujin said. His voice was deep and rough, but not unpleasantly so. Temujin lowered his hammer and rested the spiked knuckles of the gauntlet in his palm.

"The Spirit Metal wouldn't be shaped no matter what I did," Temujin said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I filled it in with a titanium alloy and made a hammer of it. I call it the Fist of Rahm."

"A bit on the nose," Suda said nervously.

"I was never one for subtlety," Temujin said with a low chuckle. "I always admired that about Rahm. Never bothered dancing around his enemies. Not like our esteemed Avatar-General."

Suda bit his tongue. Temujin wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was evil. As uncomfortable as this conversation was no doubt going to be, Suda intended to keep Temujin talking. It was almost certain that the two of them were going to be fighting sooner or later, so he wanted to get to know his enemy while he could.

"You admired Rahm?"

"I can't say I agreed with his causes," Temujin began. "But I admired the way he went about them. The man was single-minded. He had a goal, and the power to accomplish it. He was the greatest bender of our time."

"He still lost to Sen."

That seemed to upset Temujin. He clenched the rod of his hammer tightly and spoke slowly.

"Rahm was outnumbered and caught off guard," Temujin said defensively. "Under different circumstances, he would have won that battle."

While even Miyani admitted that she might have lost to Rahm on her own, it was near-universally agreed that Sen could have handled the rogue General with ease. Miyani's involvement in the battle had only sped up Rahm's inevitable defeat at the hands of the Avatar.

Temujin shouldered the Fist of Rahm and looked over the camp for a moment. He disapproved of this delay, of the time being wasted on this investigation. He had served in the Seventh Kingdom war, and he had seen how a military campaign should be led. Rahm had led them on a relentless charge against the Seventh Kingdom, crushing their outposts, and then crushing the retreating soldiers as well. While the Avatar hesitated to press forward, his enemies were gathering strength.

Which suited Temujin just fine, considering he was one of those enemies. His mission was to gather as much intelligence as possible while he was here, and then do as much damage as possible on his way out.

***

The food at the camp was just the way Whistler liked it. Just barely nutritious enough to keep you from starving, then doused in salt and cheap sauce until you could barely taste what exactly it was you were eating. Judging from the grumbling she heard around her, Whistler was one of the only people who appreciated their cooks work.

She was making an active attempt to associate with the Coalition soldiers as equals, even eating in the same mess hall, but they did not seem willing to comply. Whistler sat alone, and the only interaction she had with the soldiers were the awkward glances they gave her from across the room.

They saw her as an authority figure, and that put a sickening feeling in the pit of Whistler's stomach. The last thing she wanted to be was in charge of anyone. She was barely tolerant of Sen being in charge of her. She adamantly refused to give anyone orders, and she shot down anyone who attempted to call her "ma'am", but most of the Coalitions rank and file still thought of her as a commander.

Whistler finished her unidentified meal, but remained at her table for a moment. She looked over the mess hall and tried to pick out anything out of the ordinary. She failed. It seemed like the camp was business as usual.

One of the Metal Men soldiers was watching over the dinner, and Whistler was making sure to keep a subtle eye on them. For a moment Whistler thought she might have a lead when one soldier slowly approached the Metal Men trooper, but it soon became apparent they were just trying to make an awkward conversation. Apparently the trooper under all that armor was female. Whistler found no leads on her investigation, but it was at least amusing watching the Coalition soldiers feeble attempts to flirt with the armored woman.

By the end of it, Whistler and the Coalition soldier were both empty-handed. Whistler still had no idea who might have sabotaged the tunnel or how they might have done it. She left the mess hall behind and went on to new territory.

***

The radio was crackling loudly into the quiet night. Ko Rin was notoriously difficult to contact. When he needed to talk to someone he would have them in minutes, but when it was the other way around he was nearly impossible to reach. It made sense that a man responsible for organizing so many different covert operations would be hard to reach, but Ada still resented it.

She tapped her fingers impatiently while she waited. The thought of talking to Ko Rin again was making her tense. Their contact had been very sparse lately. Ada didn't need to talk to him, nor did she want to. Her eyes still burned whenever she thought of the Spymaster.

Canto was sitting over Ada's shoulder, watching her carefully. She had yet to share her suspicions about their master, but Canto could easily tell that something was wrong with her. In all the years they'd been apart, her nervous habits had not changed a bit. She still toyed with the pommel of her sword whenever she was upset.

After a needlessly long wait, the radio finally hummed to life. Ada sat up straight in her chair and readied herself.

"Ada," Ko Rin said tersely.

"The Avatar has a request," Ada said, skipping any kind of formalities.

"Which I will do my best to fulfill," Ko Rin replied. "What can I do to serve our Avatar-General?"

"The Avatar would like us to do some research into explosives," Ada said.

"Might I ask why," Ko Rin questioned. "I would think that Combustion Bender would give him all the ordnance he needs."

"It's about our enemies, not us," Ada said. "The Avatar discovered that explosives were used to sabotage the Zu-Shin tunnel."

There was an inordinately long pause from the other end of the radio.

"I'll assist however I can," Ko Rin said. "The Energybender being able to sabotage our operations so easily is a serious concern."

"Just try to find out where his explosives might be coming from," Ada instructed. "We're looking for small, shaped charges, probably remotely detonated. You'd need an expert in demolitions."

"We have no such person in Zaofu," Ko Rin said. "I might find a lead, but it could take some time."

"We don't have any explosive engineers on hand? What about the person who created that handheld explosive?"

"That was a one of a kind prototype, Ada, which I might remind you I do not appreciate you taking."

Canto shook his head sarcastically. Ada did not respond. She had done the right thing taking that small explosive from Zaofu. It had been very useful in defeating the Fogbender.

"Zaofu has no explosives nor experts on the sort," Ko Rin stated firmly. "But I will see what I can find."

Ada quickly switched the radio off and rested her head in her hands. She felt almost like she had a fever all of a sudden. Canto put a comforting hand on her shoulder while she waited out the sudden rush of heat.

After a few deep breaths, Ada had regained her composure. She stood up, still toying with her swords pommel, and walked out of the radio tent. Canto followed closely behind.

"You think he'll find out what happened?"

"If he wants to find answers, Ko Rin will find them," Ada said. Canto nodded and kicked his feet through the dirt for a moment.

"I think I might go back to Zaofu," Canto said. "There isn't much use for logistics here anymore. Espionage isn't really my skillset."

"That doesn't mean you have to go," Ada said, stepping slightly closer to her boyfriend.

"Believe me, I don't want to," Canto said with a sheepish smile. "But it's about where I need to be, not where I want to be. Our Spymaster needs me."

Ada froze for a moment, looking Canto in the eyes. They were glazed over, unfocused. After just a moment of looking at Ada, he seemed to snap back to attention.

"Go on," Ada said, backing away slowly. Canto seemed confused for a moment, but quickly moved on, heading for Zaofu.

Ada bit her lip and tightly grasped the handle of her sword. She looked towards the Avatar's tent, and then looked away. She headed back to her tent on her own.

***

Sen was not an easy man to frustrate. In all the years they had known each other, Ada had only seen him truly angry a handful of times. This was not one such time, but it was dangerously close. The Avatar had his fist clenched tight, an obvious sign of stress.

It had been a week since their investigation had begun, and they had nothing to show for it. Every investigation had been inconclusive. The only thing they had managed to learn was a little more about Temujin; according to Suda, he possessed an obsession with Rahm, and mimicking the black knight's metalbending skills. No connection between the Metal Men and the bombing had become apparent, though.

Sen bit his lip and looked over those gathered before him. Whistler, Ada, Suda, and Detective Zas were all slightly ashamed that they had disappointed him. Sen clenched his fist one more time and then relaxed slightly. Stress melted off his face.

"We may have been operating under an incorrect assumption," Sen said. "I have one more thing I want to try, and then we're going to shift our attention elsewhere."

"Alright, what's the plan?"

"We're going to go interrogate the Metal Men," Sen said.

"Well that's just the most brilliant thing I've ever heard," Whistler droned sarcastically. "Let's just go ask the bad guys what they did! No wonder it took you a whole week to think of!"

"There were a lot of potential benefits to an investigation that I'm not going to explain to you right now," Sen said indignantly. "Let's just go find Temujin and get this over with."

"Are we going to fight 'em afterwards?" Whistler grabbed her staff and followed as Sen led the way to the Metal Men leader.

"I don't imagine they'll give up without a fight," Sen said. Suda tightened the straps on his metal gauntlets. There were only a few dozen Metal Men in a camp with hundreds of Coalition troopers, but that didn't mean it was going to be an easy fight. The Metal Men were heavily armored and highly coordinated.

Sen's walk through camp attracted no small amount of attention, as usual. Sen briefly contemplated warning his troops about what was about to happen, but decided against it. If any word reached the Metal Men before Sen found Temujin, the commander of the rogue force might retreat, and take any answers about this sabotage with him.

The camp was abuzz as Sen and his friends finally reached Temujin's post. The ironclad solider was holding his hammer before his face, carefully examining the metal curves of the Fist of Rahm.

"Temujin," Sen said. He barely got a response. Temujin glanced over his shoulder and then returned his attention to his hammer.

"We need to talk about your treason," Sen continued. That got more of Temujin's attention. He turned around to face Sen and planted the long handle of his hammer in the dirt firmly.

"That's a bold accusation," Temujin said. Some of his Metal Men comrades began to gather around their commander. Others remained in their posts, spread out across the camp, but they all took on very tense poses.

"Don't play games with me, Temujin," Sen said angrily.

Temujin tilted his head, shifting the pale imitation of Rahm's helmet that he wore. Slowly and deliberately, he reached to the chest piece of his armor and clawed at the black and white chevron that rested there. He carefully removed the Badgermole Chevron, the symbol of Sen's Coalition, from his chest –and then he crushed it in his fist.

The act of defiance was quick to turn the stare down into a full standoff. Word of the showdown spread throughout the camp, and Coalition soldiers gathered around the Metal Men traitors in cautious defensive circles. Violence had yet to break out, and Sen hoped to keep it that way.

"You're outnumbered and surrounded," Sen said. "I can be forgiving, Temujin. Give me the answers I want and we can make a deal."

"You want to know about the mountain, I take it?"

Temujin swung his arm and raised the Fist of Rahm. Whistler unfolded her staff in a quick motion, but froze again as Temujin shouldered his hammer. Sen's fingers tensed as Temujin shifted slightly to accommodate the hammers weight. The imitation of Rahm turned his eyes towards Sen.

"We had nothing to do with this collapse," Temujin said. "Truth be told, we're as curious about it as you are."

Sen flinched slightly as the words reached his ears. He could sense that Temujin was telling the truth. The Energybender had not been responsible for the sabotage of the Zu-Shin tunnel. If not Sarin, then who?

It was a question to be answered another time. Temujin had both his hands on the haft of his hammer now.

"It's not what I was expecting," Sen said hesitantly. "But you gave me the answers I wanted. We can talk about surrender."

Just like the General he was a poor reflection of, Temujin seemed angered by the idea of surrender. He removed the Fist of Rahm from his shoulder and held the hammer tight in his hands, ready to swing at a moment's notice. A low growl of hostility emanating from Temujin's grey armor was a clear signal of his intent.

"I defeated Rahm, Temujin," Sen threatened. He clenched his fists and prepared himself to strike. "And you're nothing but a poor imitation."

With a metallic howl of anger, Temujin decided to strike. His hammer swung heavily towards the ground, striking it with meteoric force. Sen felt the earth pound and pulse beneath his feet. The attack did not take the form he was expecting. The heavy pulse travelled through the ground below, never rising to strike anyone directly. The Metal Men surrounding Temujin and spread throughout the camp likewise struck the ground with heavy blows, enhancing and multiplying the heavy shift in the earth as it travelled towards its destination –the unstable Mount Zu-Shin.

Sen heard the first crack of faraway stone. He whipped around, his eyes alight with the power of the Avatar State, and held out his hands towards the mountain slopes. Even as he pressed his power against it, the mountain shifted and crumbled under seismic force, threatening to collapse entirely.

With the Avatar's back turned, Temujin raised his hammer again, ready for another blow. His hammer swung and missed its mark, deflected mid-swing by a cord of metal pulling it out of place. Suda lunged forward and slammed his armored fist into Temujin's helmet, filling the air with a metallic ring as the two heavy metals collided.

"I have to focus on the mountain," Sen stated. His voice was filled with thunder whenever he was in the Avatar State, but Suda got the message. It helped that Sen was quick to leave, as Gun emerged from the earth below and then surged towards the collapsing mountain with Sen on his back. Suda would be fighting the Metal Men without an Avatar at his back. At least he still had Ada and Whistler.

The two women were far less effective than they liked when fighting the Metal Men. Swords and air were of little use against the heavy metal shells of Temujin and his comrades. They were little more than a distraction against the metallic onslaught.

As chaos engulfed the camp and Metal Men turned against their former Coalition comrades, Suda found himself isolated from the general anarchy and drawn into a duel against Temujin. The Fist of Rahm swung past his face as Suda stepped back to avoid the blow. Temujin seemed to have a grudge. Suda let him have his anger. Every blow he aimed at Suda was a blow he wasn't aiming at someone else.

Gun reached the bottom of Mount Zu-Shin's slope, and Sen jumped off his broad back. He held his hands out to grip at the core of the mountain, preventing it from destabilizing any further. Gun barked in confusion for a while: the shaking ground was obscuring his seismic sense and preventing him from seeing straight. As time went on Gun caught onto the idea of stabilizing the ground, and he joined his master in holding back the mountain. The power of a badgermole was a token effort compared to the force of nature that was the Avatar, but in holding back an entire mountain, every little bit helped.

The ground quaked under the mountains power and the pounding blows of the Metal Men throughout the camp. As Zu-Shin trembled, the two sides of the battle realized that they were fighting nature as well as each other. The chaos was further compounded as both Coalition and Metal Men began to try to retreat and fight at the same time.

Temujin never took a step back, but as Suda began to retreat, Temujin pursued. The Fist of Rahm swung and crashed, with Suda always barely a step ahead.

"Coward!"

Temujin's cry did not phase Suda. He had no desire to be buried under a mountain just to seem brave. The earth rose up into a circular arena as Temujin attempted to trap Suda, but Suda swiftly collapsed the wall ahead of him and retreated further. The mountain's quaking was intensifying. Sen was holding Zu-Shin up for now, but his attempts were only building the seismic tension. As soon as he released his hold, the mountain would collapse hard and fast. The only thing he could do now was give his men time to evacuate.

"They say you're the greatest metalbender of our time," Temujin shouted mockingly. He still pursued Suda, despite all attempts on Suda's part to shake him off.

"My reputation may be slightly exaggerated," Suda shouted back. He was good, but he had never claimed to be the best. He'd say he was the worst metalbender ever if it would get Temujin off his back.

Temujin grew frustrated with Suda's attempts to avoid conflict. He had expected him to put forth at least a token effort. He had heard a great deal about Suda's power, but he was not using it. Temujin sought to give him the proper motivation.

The armor of the Metal Men was a versatile suit, rigged with many useful tools, and one such tool was a line launcher similar to the ones Suda wielded. Unspooling a length of black wire, Temujin cast out his hands towards the battle around him. Suda would evade for hours if it was only him at risk, but he cared far too deeply about his friends.

Ada was in the middle of a rather enjoyable clash with one of the more lightly armored members of the Metal Men when the line caught her by the waist. Temujin glared hatefully at Suda as he reeled in his catch. Suda, on the other hand, seemed mildly amused.

No sooner was Ada in Temujin's hands than she was fighting to free herself. She took the dull side of her blade, pressed it against a crease in the arm of Temujin's armor, and flipped the switch. Blue lightning shot through the metal shell and crackled across Temujin's arm. Temujin let out a low bellow of pain and dropped his hammer to the ground.

Ada went in for the kill, diving towards Temujin;s chest, but he was quick to swat her aside, preventing her second strike. His right arm hung numb by his side, but with his right hand alone he grabbed the handle of the Fist of Rahm and hefted it into the air. Ada quickly put some distance between herself and Temujin as he struck with a sluggish blow.

The air was again filled with metallic ringing as Suda's gauntlets clashed with Temujin's armor. Suda struck out at Temujin's one good arm, hoping to disable him further, and hopefully take him out of the fight completely. The armored renegade was quick to retaliate in kind, sweeping the Fist of Rahm in a wide arc, pushing Suda back.

Knowing she was unlikely to succeed at a frontal assault, Ada struck from the back, trying to position her blades electric strike against a weakness in Temujin's armor. He was quick to shake her off, swinging his numb arm lazily, as if swatting an insect. With his right hand he swung to keep Suda at bay as well.

With a moment of reprieve, as the two were knocked back, Temujin managed to raise his numb arm and once again take hold of his mighty hammer. Ada stepped back and Suda stepped forward, confident that he could dodge the blow.

Temujin surprised them both by not striking directly, but spinning, swinging his hammer in a broad circular motion all around him. Suda, unprepared for such an unconventional attack, stopped and held his armored hands in front of him. Suda's gauntlets met Rahm's broken fist, and he was knocked backwards by the force of the impact, landing on the ground. Temujin seized on the brief moment of vulnerability, charging forward with his hammer raised above his head.

Ada lunged forward and pressed her blade against the vulnerable underarm of his armor. Temujin briefly roared and trembled as the electrical current surged through him. Ada felt a brief moment of hope as the Fist of Rahm began to drift backwards. Temujin's arms faltered under the electrical shock -but only briefly.

Temujin roared and Ada screamed as the black hammer slammed down onto Suda's chest.

He was nearly a mile away, focusing all his effort on the mountain, but Sen could still feel the moment of shock, pain, and then the biting cold. The mountain began to crumble as Sen's eyes ceased to glow and began to water. He abandoned any attempts to control the collapse. He frantically climbed onto Gun's back and commanded him to charge. The badgermole did not hesitate. Gun could feel what his master felt.

Their thundering charge was only hastened by the rockslide beating at Gun's heels. The mountain was collapsing in earnest now. A cataclysmic landslide chased after them as a mountain was reduced to so much rubble. Sen paid no heed to what was behind him. The empty vehicles and hollow tents being consumed by the rockslide meant nothing to him. The only thing that mattered now was ahead of him.

Gun reached his destination, scooping up the motionless Suda and the despondent Ada before continuing their forward charge. Zu-Shin camp and everything in it was buried under a mountain of rubble.

***

"He's been lucky, but all the luck in the world won't make this an easy recovery," Tlun said. He had begun to oversee Suda's care almost instantly, aided by some of the best doctors in the world.

"He's going to be alright?"

"Maybe," Tlun said firmly. He was not one to mince words. "None of his broken ribs punctured anything, but there's so many fractures-"

"Tlun," Ariak said stiffly. Tlun shook his head and forced a smile.

"He'll be fine," Tlun said awkwardly. His bedside manner was still a work in progress. "Though he might be facing an early retirement from the Coalition. And fighting in general. And walking up stairs without losing his breath."

"Ah, the big guy's tougher than that," Whistler said. Though she was hanging out at the back end of the group, trying to seem disinterested, she had rushed to the hospital alongside the rest of them.

The only one lurking further back than Whistler was Sen. He sat in a chair along the far wall of the room, resting his head in his hands. All the blame for this incident, for the loss of the camp, for the Metal Men's escape, and for Suda's brush with death, rested on Sen's shoulders. He knew that very well. He was exhausted, mentally and physically, by everything that had happened.

Time went on, and Tlun grew tired of trying to placate Suda's crowd of friends. He refused dozens of requests to see Suda, mostly from Ada, and then banished all of them from the hospital halls. It took quite a bit of doing, especially in Miyani's case, but he managed to move all of them away eventually. Tlun took one look at Sen, however, and decided to leave him be.

He sat there for a while in silence, with nothing but his own thoughts for company, and they were not exactly pleasant company at the moment. He was slightly relieved to notice someone coming to join him, but was a bit surprised to see it was not anyone he had met before. There was one important figure in Suda's life he had yet to meet, and it was easy to guess who she was.

"Hello, Yoki," Sen mumbled.

"Hi, Avatar, General, Sir," Yoki stammered. She quite hesitantly sat down next to him.

"Just Sen is fine," He assured her.

She kicked her feet awkwardly for a moment. She was biting her lip.

"Is Suda going to be alright?"

"He should be," Sen said. He was reasonably confident that Suda would recover, but nothing was certain.

"That's good," Yoki said, relieved. "I know that, really, I haven't known him very long, but I, uh…"

"You love him," Sen said. Yoki turned red and nodded slightly. Sen smiled slightly and sat up straight, turning towards Yoki. "He loves you too. It's easy to see, when he talks about you –the way he lights up inside and out."

Sen did not have much experience with love, but emotions that strong were self-evident. When people were in love, they had a peculiar kind of fire in their hearts that was never found anywhere else. He could feel it burning in Yoki's heart just now, even as her cheeks burned red.

"That's, well," She began, and then paused. She was not particularly eloquent, and she didn't know how to say what she was going to say next. She crossed her arms and stewed for a bit in her own confusion before deciding on the right words.

"He tells me about you, you know, and I'm not as, uh, all-seeing as you," Yoki said. "But I can tell he loves you too."

Sen paused slightly before looking away from Yoki. She worried for a moment if she had embarrassed herself, but pressed on all the same.

"You're his hero," She continued. "He met Bolin, and Ada, and, well, me, and that was all because of you. And he's done a lot of amazing things because he was with you, and, just, you're really important to him."

Sen looked at the floor.

"I think he'd be okay with getting hurt once, after all the good things you've done for him."

Yoki hesitated for a moment as she realized Sen had yet to respond. She nervously tapped her fingers against her leg as she waited. Eventually, one more thought occurred to her.

"And, you know, he told me the story about how he and Ada met. So who knows? Maybe Suda and this Temujin guy will be best friends someday."

Yoki's nervous hesitation was finally brought to an end as Sen sat up and straight and chuckled slightly. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as Sen put a hand on her shoulder for a moment and then stood up.

"Take care of Suda for me, would you?"

Sen put his hands in the pockets of his coat and walked out of the hospital. There was still a lot of good to be done.


	78. Book 5 Ch6: City of Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar's allies journey to a city of orphans, members of the same abandoned generation as Hanjo and Sen, and deal with their dangerous and conflicted queen, Takuga the Bear.

Hanjo sometimes found it difficult to navigate the maze of crowded streets that seemed endemic to the cities of the Republic. The town they were in wasn't even that big, but it still suffered from narrow, winding streets. The cramped roads were only made worse by the fact that they were crowded with Coalition soldiers.

The United Coalition had finally found itself a host city. Nestled in the foothills of the southeastern Republic, the town of Xian made a good base of operations for their current operations throughout the United Republic. With its proximity to mountain passes, and to the all-important train route of the Zaofu Mainline, it might one day make a good starting point for their movement into the Earth Kingdom. The Zu-Shin tunnel might have circumvented the need to travel through Zaofu, but that dream had collapsed along with the mountain.

The crowded city streets eventually lead Hanjo to the town hall where Sen was waiting. The home of Xian's government had been temporarily repurposed into the seat of Sen's leadership.

The Avatar-General himself was overseeing the complex task of setting up the Coalitions infrastructure in their new base. Having a solid location for his troops to rally at was important to the war effort, but he also meant to make this easy on the town of Xian. He had to set up his troops without causing too much trouble for the residents of Xian.

The residents and the local government were being very accommodating. They had volunteered their town for a reason, after all. Xian had been struggling economically for a long time, and the Coalitions presence would create jobs and drive business into their stores. Sen hoped that the military and civilian populations could live together without incident.

The setup in Xian did not bring the war to a complete halt, however. Sen was glad to put his paperwork down when Hanjo showed up. There were still concerns that needed to be addressed. Hanjo looked to his left and noticed Ada's black hair and short stature. Apparently they'd be getting partnered up for a mission.

"Good to see you, Hanjo," he said. "What do you think of Xian?"

"I think I'll like it better in a week when everything makes sense again," Hanjo said. He did not like the disorganization and chaos. "What've you got for me, buddy?"

"Something important, but I'd rather save time and wait for- Oh, Ada, you're here, good."

Hanjo looked over his shoulder and saw Ada enter the room. Confused, Hanjo quickly turned to the figure he had assumed was Ada. The stranger turned their head to examine Ada as well, and as their face came into view it was startlingly similar to Ada's- barring a large scar crossing her eye, the eye itself covered by a black eye patch. Hanjo jumped slightly.

"Well hello," Ada said awkwardly, looking at her scarred doppelganger.

"Huh, you were right, Avatar," The Ada Look-Alike said. Her voice was significantly deeper and harsher than Ada's light tone. "She does look a lot like me."

The doppelganger held her hand out.

"Names Tomoe," She said. "Good to meet you."

"Same," Ada mumbled. She was still a bit hung up on the odd resemblance. If not for the scar and eye patch the two might be mirror images.

"You two should get along fine," Sen said. "Tomoe has an interest in swordplay too."

"Favor two handed blades myself," Tomoe said. "But I can respect the Dao. Lot of history with those swords."

"Oh, of course," Ada said. She was significantly more at ease now that they were talking about swords. "I'm more concerned with modern applications, of course. The dull reverse is a good place for an electrical addition, gives a good non-lethal option."

"Yeah, I've heard about your shock-swords," Tomoe said. "Couldn't get away with that kind of stuff on a narrow blade like a katana or-"

"If you don't mind, Tomoe," Sen interrupted. "You did come here for a reason."

"Oh, right, yes," Tomoe said, catching herself. "You want to explain it or should I?"

"If you don't mind," Sen said, rubbing his chin. "I have a lot of paperwork to do. If you could get them caught up, and then I'll explain what I need them to do."

Tomoe nodded, and Sen returned to his desk to try and carve out a little bit more of the paperwork. Tomoe stuck her hands on her belts and began to pace in front of Hanjo and Ada.

"I'm here on behalf of Takuga, better known as The Bear," Tomoe said.

Ada and Hanjo waited with rapt attention while Tomoe paused slightly.

"No, you're not supposed to know who I'm talking about," Tomoe said. They both sighed and relaxed slightly.

"Okay, who is Takuga?"

"Well, to get to that question I got to explain some stuff to you," Tomoe said. "Hanjo, you remember growing up in an orphanage and all that? Because your parents abandoned you?"

"I'm a real orphan actually," Hanjo said. "No abandonment."

"Ah, well, that's, ehh- Well, you remember that kind of thing happened, yeah?"

"Of course."

"Well it didn't just happen in the Earth Kingdom is where I'm going with this," Tomoe continued. "There were plenty of kids getting abandoned in the United Republic too, especially in the poorer cities."

Hanjo nodded. Ada didn't react quite so much. Orphans had never been much of a problem in Zaofu. She had very little experience with this particular problem.

"I'm one of them kids, for full disclosure," Tomoe said bitterly. "And when this was happening we were all three, maybe four years old. We couldn't take care of ourselves. We were all doomed."

"I take it this is where Takuga comes into the story," Ada said.

"I was getting to that," Tomoe said. "But yeah, this is where The Bear comes in. She was a street kid, abandoned like us, but years earlier. She'd been on the streets a few years, she knew how to survive. She started taking care of some of the abandoned kids, making sure they got food, fighting anybody who tried to hurt 'em, that kind of thing. Word started to spread, soon kids from all over were coming to beg her for help."

"How'd she handle that many kids?"

"We started growing up, and she started organizing us," Tomoe explained. "Older we got, better we got at taking care of ourselves, and each other. Better we got at taking care of ourselves, more kids came to join The Bear's little group."

Tomoe stopped pacing and leaned on the wall.

"I don't do the mathematics much, but if I had to guess, I'd say The Bear's in charge of three thousand orphans, all about our age."

"Three thousand?"

"The Bear is very good at what she does," Tomoe said. "She looks after her own. You join her, you don't go hungry often. You can see how that appeals to a lot of people."

Hanjo crossed his arms.

"Okay, so now that we've had our history lesson," He said. "What does 'The Bear' want?"

Tomoe stopped leaning against the wall and crossed her arms behind her back tensely.

"A thing you must know –it's been bad for a lot of these people. They've been hungry, people hurt them, never give them a chance-"

"I know that," Hanjo said. Though he was not quite in the same boat as most of his generation, he had still suffered through the same abuses in Beaker Hall. There was never enough food, and if some wandering bandit decided to hit them with a club for kicks –well, no one was going to stop them.

"These guys are angry," Tomoe said, and there was almost fear in her voice. "Thousands of kids, all with violent pasts and a lot of anger, all of it aimed at just about anyone older than them."

Ada bit her lip. There was no way that was going to end well. The Bear's gang was an explosion of violence just waiting to happen.

"With the war on, violence is on everyone's minds," Tomoe said. "It's only a matter of time before something sets these guys off, and there's going to be chaos when that happens."

"Alright. What can we do about it?"

"Violence is inevitable, but The Bear thinks we can focus it," Tomoe explained. "We need to teach these guys that the Energybender is the real problem, and get them fighting him. We need to get 'em to join the Coalition."

Hanjo looked up at Sen. He nodded briefly and set his paperwork aside. This was the part where he got involved.

"So far I agree with Takuga, ah, 'The Bear'," He said. "Left unchecked, a lot of these young men and women are going to direct their anger indiscriminately."

"And do you really think they're going to integrate easily?" Ada asked. "A lot of the Coalition is made up of the very same people they're so angry at."

A massive rift had formed between generations. The children that had been abandoned were now in their early twenties, and with some rare exceptions, they had formed insular communities, wary of and angry at any outsiders –especially the "adults" who had been abusing and neglecting them all their lives.

"We haven't reached a boiling point just yet," Sen said. "We can still make this work, especially if we can convince them to redirect their anger at the Energybender."

"The Bear commands a lot of respect, and a lot of people," Tomoe said. "If our gang joins up, it should sway most of the rest of our generation."

"Okay, Sen, we get the picture," Hanjo said. "Now what are we going to do?"

Sen sighed and shook his head.

"Not only am I swamped trying to set up in Xian, I've gotten word that the South re-elected their Council and might be interested in joining us," Sen said. "I'm barely balancing the two of those. I have a plan, but I need a few days to get everything done. In the meantime, I'd like the two of you to go meet with Takuga and her gang. Let her know that I'll be coming, and start to smooth things over with the members of her group."

"Makes sense," Ada said. "We're part of the same generation, both from the Earth Kingdom. They'll sympathize with us."

"Hah, don't flatter yourself, lady," Tomoe mocked. "Hanjo they might like, but you? You got your parents, you got a house, you never went to bed wondering if you'd make it through tomorrow. They'd hate you just a little less than they hate any adult."

Ada crossed her arms stubbornly. Tomoe didn't back down. It was a bit tacky, but some of their generation called Ada's kind a "keeper" – a member of their generation who had never been abandoned or abused. They found no welcome among the children who'd been left to rot on the city streets.

"Hopefully Ada can be a bit of middle ground," Sen said. "They'll have to deal with those adults they hate so much eventually. They might as well get used to it."

"Hey, I feel the same way," Tomoe said. "I just don't want Ada getting the wrong idea. You have to approach this carefully."

"Understood," Ada said stubbornly.

Sen nodded and dismissed them all. Tomoe led them out of the city hall, stopping by the door guard on her way out. Her weapons had been confiscated earlier: they couldn't let just any armed stranger talk to the Avatar, after all. She retrieved two blades and began to strap them to her belt.

"Nice katana," Hanjo said. Ada and Tomoe both gave him a dirty look.

"This a tachi," Tomoe said indignantly.

"The blade's more curved, and is generally lighter than a katana," Ada explained. She turned to Tomoe. "I'm sorry, he doesn't know these things."

Tomoe held up a small, straight-bladed knife and waved it in front of Hanjo's face.

"Maybe next you want to call this a butter knife, eh?"

She sheathed the short blade and began to lead them again. While they walked, Ada leaned close to Hanjo.

"That was a tanto," She whispered. Hanjo grunted in response. He'd just keep his mouth shut about blades from now on.

The packed streets of Xian eventually gave way to more spacious avenues as they reached the edge of the city. Tomoe had apparently come here under her own power, and she had not exactly arrived in style. Hanjo at first assumed the rusted wreck to be an abandoned ruin at the edge of town, but Tomoe managed to crack open the warped metal door and hopped onto the moldy driver's seat. She waved impatiently at the other two to get in.

After a great deal of struggling, Ada managed to pry open the rusted door. Her lips curled slightly in disgust at the sight of the cars interior.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Hanjo said drearily. "How often do you get to drive a satomobile that was built by Hiroshi Sato himself?"

"What, we all grew up on the streets of a bad town, were you expecting a limousine? We're lucky I had a satomobile at all."

Quite reluctantly, the two of them climbed into the junker. They sat down, and for a moment the satomobile began to shake violently. They were briefly worried that the ancient satomobile was collapsing, but then they realized that the shaking was due to the sudden entrance of a third rider.

"Whistler?"

The renegade airbender had rather gracefully leaped into the passenger seat, with her staff in one hand and a sandwich in the other.

"Yeah, hey," she said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well gee, why might Whistler be useful in dealing with a street gang from the United Republic?"

She had, for a while, been rather offended that she hadn't been invited in the first place, but then she'd remembered that Sen had a very hard time finding her. She had then decided to invite herself. Tomoe seemed curious about the new arrival.

"You the same Whistler who caused trouble in the Copper Slums?"

Many of the members of The Bears gang had come from far and wide, even as far as Republic City, and they brought stories of the local color with them. Whistler was a particularly popular subject with the Republic City crowd.

"The very same," Whistler said proudly. She took a bite of her sandwich.

"Thought you were a man," Tomoe said, confused.

"Cross-dressing," Whistler said. "Really easy to lose the cops when you can change from a dude to chick real fast."

"Huh," Tomoe said. "You're going to be real popular back home."

"I'm counting on it," Whistler said. With a smile and a chuckle, and a great deal of effort to get the ancient satomobile moving, Tomoe set them on course for the home of The Bear.

***

The rusted city of Bac Ria came into view as they rounded a curved mountain path. It looked in some ways like a small version of Republic City; it possessed the same varied architecture, and a few skyscrapers dotted its streets, but few would compare the two cities. Whereas Republic City was a shining beacon of industry and culture, Bac Ria was the rotting corpse of civilization.

A long time ago, when the Republic had been young and trade with the Earth Kingdom had been done through the northern seaways, Bac Ria had been one of the young Republic's most important port cities. For years it had prospered and flourished, coming close to rivaling the world's finest cities. Over time, though, as the Republic secured trade routes with the Fire Nation and Water Tribes, and as the Earth Kingdom's economic power shifted south towards Zaofu, Bac Ria had found itself less and less profitable. Its golden age was now decades past, and Bac Ria was little more than a citywide slum, its factories, warehouses, and skyscrapers used as homes for vagrants.

The rusted satomobile they drove pulled into the city streets, and Ada realized that what they were driving in was likely the fanciest ride in town. There were many satomobiles on the streets, but none of them were in driving condition. Most had been stripped to their metallic bones, with anything useful or valuable having been torn away long ago. The sight of a moving satomobile, in fact, was enough to draw dozens of people to line the sidewalks, just to watch it pass. Hanjo took a quick look around at the vagrants watching them. Most of them seemed like exactly the kind of people you didn't want to meet in a dark alley –and there were a lot of dark alleys around.

"Don't worry so much," Tomoe said. "They know I'm with the Bear. They won't try anything."

"Does Takuga really have that much influence?"

Most of these people did not seem as if they were a members of Takuga's crew. Most were far too old to be part of a group of mainly orphans.

"She does," Tomoe said. "Whether they like her or not, that varies. But they all know she can kick their butts."

Tomoe tapped her fingers against the steering wheel of the satomobile for a while as they made their crawl towards Takuga's home. She remembered a warning as they got closer.

"Oh yeah, and don't call her Takuga when you're talking to her," Tomoe advised. "That's for friends and close advisors. You guys call her the Bear, or just Bear when you're talking to her."

Ada nodded, but she had a follow-up question.

"You mentioned close advisors?"

"Yeah, Bear keeps a few of the smarter guys around to help her manage things. Hard to manage three thousand kids otherwise," Tomoe said. "Most of them just feed her information and keep things in line, but there's a few she takes very seriously. Jeong, The Dune, Lumpus-"

"Lumpus?"

"A lot of us didn't know our own names when our parents abandoned us," Tomoe said. "We had to give each other names, or choose our own. Some of us got good names. Lumpus got Lumpus."

Whistler nodded. She knew what it was like getting saddled with a lousy name. Luckily she'd picked up Whistler along the way.

"Back on topic, most of these advisor guys aren't worth the rags they're wearing for your guys' purpose. If you want to get to The Bear by her advisors, there's only one person you need to talk to: Cia."

"Alright, why is Cia so useful?" Ada asked. She wanted to have every advantage going in.

"The Bear takes her very seriously, and she's smarter than most of us. Kind of the brains of the operation," Tomoe admitted. "You'll know Cia when you see her. Got real big burn scars all up her arms, some on her face."

Hanjo winced. Scars like that always came with a lot of pain.

"Her hair's really nice too," Tomoe said, as an afterthought. Always better to end on a pleasant note.

The advice Tomoe was giving came to a sudden halt as they reached home. Takuga ran a large operation, and that required a large headquarters. A long-abandoned skyscraper had been repurposed as her base of operations. Torn banners and flags hung from broken windows and rusted beams, bearing the marks of a few dozen other gangs that had claimed this skyscraper as their base. All those banners were now long faded, and the crudely-designed bear paw emblem of Takuga hung dominant across the skyscraper.

A working Satomobile was too valuable to be parked in the streets, so Tomoe veered sharply to the side, driving the satomobile over the sidewalk with a heavy bump. The skyscrapers wall had collapsed in some small places, and one such hole made an impromptu garage. The wall was closed up behind them as the satomobile came to a halt.

Somehow this skyscraper possessed working electricity, so Ada had a good view of its residents. The orphans of Takuga's gang were a curiously mixed group, of many origins and body types. There were very few common threads among them, but Ada picked up on two things; a subtle look of anger, and the scars.

The scars themselves were varied, but they were always there. Some of them were on faces, some were on hands and arms, always plainly visible to the casual observer. Though some of them had the jagged, uneven look of a scar that had been earned by violence, many of the scars had odd patterns or symmetry to them, as if the wounds were self-inflicted. Ada saw one orphan at the back of the room with a pattern of scars that was too perfect to possibly be an accident, and she knew then that these people had been scarring themselves on purpose.

There was a noticeable drop in tension in the room as Tomoe stepped out of the satomobile. The scarred crowd knew her, and they trusted her. Their tension turned to confusion as they looked over their new guests.

"None of them are the Avatar," one voice said.

Hanjo frowned. There had been a time he and Sen had looked enough alike to confuse even Sarin. It seemed that resemblance was a thing of the past. They couldn't even fool a bunch of orphans anymore.

"That's The Bear's concern, not yours," Tomoe said, and no further objections were raised. The crowd parted ways as Tomoe led her three guests towards the center of the room.

This chamber had once been a rather opulent lobby for some profitable business, but it had been gutted by the skyscrapers new occupants. Decorations had been stripped bare and walls had been torn down to completely alter the nature of the room. Lobbies, as a rule, were designed to be open, welcoming spaces, and this was anything but. The entire area had been fortified, filled with walls, barricades, and guards. The Bears gang took their safety very seriously.

Ironically, it was the least guarded point in the room that concerned Ada the most. Tomoe was leading them towards an elevator.

"There is no way that this is up to code," She said, quietly.

"You're welcome to take all ninety-eight flights of stairs," Tomoe said. "Most of which are collapsed or crumbling."

Tomoe pressed the elevator button and shook her head.

"Easier to keep one elevator fixed up than one-hundred stair cases," Tomoe said.

The doors slid open, and Tomoe stepped inside, followed quite reluctantly by the rest of her troupe. As the elevator began to ascend, Ada heard a quiet creaking noise and decided to drown it out with conversation.

"Why does everyone here have a scar?"

"Hanjo, you remember those thugs used to run around whacking anyone around our age, right?"

"Of course," Hanjo said. This entire journey had been started by one such gang. "They were checking whether or not we'd go into the Avatar State when we got hurt."

"That's why," Tomoe said, turning back towards Ada. "You got a scar, proved you'd already been hurt, didn't need to get hit again. People stop beating on you so much. Once people caught on to that, they started, well -some kids would do anything for a little peace and quiet."

Ad nodded uncomfortably. She had not been expecting any pleasant answer, but that was particularly unpleasant.

"Me and Cia were the ones what came up with it," Tomoe continued. "On account of my eye and her burns."

"How'd you lose your eye anyway?" Whistler asked. Context was important on these kinds of things.

"Long story, not really important," Tomoe said dismissively. It sounded like it wasn't a particularly interesting story anyway. "We've got enough to deal with right now without wasting time blabbing about my eye."

To emphasize her point, the elevator began to grind, quite literally, to a halt. Ada was more than ready to leave the rickety elevator, but Tomoe held her hand out to hold them back. They would be facing Takuga directly when they exited. Tomoe wanted to make sure they made a good impression. Tomoe led the way, and the others followed behind her in a procession.

What the saw next was not exactly a scene befitting a roughshod gang of orphans squatting in a skyscraper. The scene to be found here would not be out of place in a throne room or a temple.

Hordes of soldiers lined one long procession hall along the center of the room. Though they wore no uniform, all of them had the bear-claw emblem of Takuga emblazoned on their clothing. The line of guards led across the room and towards a pedestal, only slightly raised above the ground, on which sat an imposing throne, and on that throne sat an even more imposing figure.

Takuga had the appearance of a warrior more than a queen: she was tall, solidly built, and muscular. Ada noted a distinct resemblance to Korra, even. The Bear's likeness to the former Avatar was somewhat limited by four large, jagged scars along the left side of her face, marking her cheek and shredding a portion of her ear, though the cuts did not reach her face. The clothing she wore was the deep blue that often found its way into waterbender wardrobes, though her garb was accentuated by scavenged armor plates and lined with coarse brown fur.

The infamous Bear relaxed slightly upon seeing Tomoe arrive, though her position became somewhat more critical as her guests approached. Her blue eyes narrowed as she looked over the three new arrivals.

"I recall requesting the Avatar," Takuga said. Her voice was strong but heavy. Whistler recognized that tone very easily. Takuga labored under a burden she did not want to bear. That kind of endeavor created a noticeable burden on the soul. Whistler crossed her arms and evaluated The Bear further.

"The Avatar has an army to run," Tomoe said. "He promised to come meet you as soon as he can, and he sent some of his best friends in the meantime."

Unsure of what to do, Ada stayed standing still. She wasn't sure if this was a formal event, and she should bow, or if the orphans might be offended by that. Hanjo likewise stood frozen in uncertainty. Whistler waved casually at Takuga and then scratched an itch behind her ear as she looked around the room.

Takuga's lips pursed into a thin and harsh frown. For a moment it seemed like she was about to say something critical.

"Leadership is a burden," a gentle voice from the sidelines said. "You should understand that, Bear."

The crowd of guards lining the main procession parted for a moment, and a woman who could be none other than Cia stepped forward. As Tomoe had said, her arms and face were heavily scarred. The long robe she wore was sleeveless and had a low collar, to expose as much of her scarred skin as possible, but though the robe flaunted her red burns, her posture attempted to hide them. She kept her arms crossed and her chin low. Her long black hair, as Tomoe had boasted of, was well-taken care of and neatly groomed, a surprising quality amidst her somewhat unkempt fellows.

Cia stepped towards the throne where Takuga sat, though not too close, and Ada saw a subtle glimmer in her eyes. The Bear took a brief look at her scarred advisor, and her critical gaze softened visibly. Takuga let out a subtle sigh and turned back towards Ada.

"I'd rather the Avatar had simply sent word that he'd come later," Takuga said. Some of her harshness had quickly returned. "I have nothing to discuss with the three of you."

"We are ranking officers in the Coalition," Ada said. "I can fill you in on the details, lay out some preliminary-"

"You can discuss it with Tomoe," Takuga declared firmly. "I will negotiate with the Avatar and no one else."

She rose quickly, leaving her throne behind. She didn't like to sit in a throne anyway, but it was occasionally necessary to make the right impression. She had no business here, though, so it was no longer necessary.

"These three are my guests," she said, gesturing to Ada and the others. "Take care of them as if they were one of us."

With that final command, Takuga left the room. The strict order of the room began to decay as she left. Ordered rows of guards dispersed into a jumbled crowd as people resumed their business. Ada was a bit disappointed that they hadn't accomplished anything with Takuga, but Tomoe knew it was too easy to write it off yet. She led the three visitors forward through the crowd.

As Tomoe had expected, Cia was waiting. She seemed the most excited of any of Takuga's gang to see their new guests. She stepped forward and greeted them warmly. Ada noticed that she wore makeshift jewelry: though it was not actual gold or jewels, the polished metal and glass was the closest thing to valuables one might find in a slum.

"It's wonderful to see you all," Cia said happily. "I've heard so many stories."

Most of the members of Bear's gang were insular and narrow-minded, concerned with little to nothing beyond their own well-being, but Cia was much more open minded. She made an effort to hear about everything that was happening in the world, the Avatar especially.

"All the good stories, I hope," Hanjo said. "Some of them are a bit of a mess."

While they'd had a good run, some of their escapades had been messier than others. Hanjo would never be particularly proud of their encounter with the sleep spirit Natae.

"I'm very impressed with them all, actually," Cia said. "Though, it's very hard to get details about what happened when you were in the Spirit World. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to, sometime-"

"Hanjo can fill you in on that," Whistler said. She didn't particularly want to talk about some of the things she'd done in the Spirit World.

"I'd be happy to," Hanjo said. "Though I'm not a good storyteller."

"That's quite alright," Cia said. She looked around for a bit, heard a click, and tensed up slightly. "You can take some time to think it through, find the right words. I have something I must attend to at the moment."

Cia excused herself with a shallow bow and departed quickly. Tomoe turned to Hanjo and nodded.

"Story time's good. Gives you some time to talk to Cia, then Cia talks to the Bear. Works in our favor."

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with using her like that," Ada said. The rest gave her a curious look. Convincing Takuga was the entire reason they were here.

"You get cold feet all of a sudden?"

"I just feel like I'd be exploiting their relationship," Ada said quietly.

"Relationship? They're queen and advisor, lady, this is what they do," Tomoe said firmly.

"I mean their relationship relationship, Tomoe," Ada said. "They're in love."

Tomoe seemed initially confused, and then she scoffed at the idea.

"You been here for fifteen minutes, buddy, I think you need to cool down," Tomoe said. "I've been working with those two for near fifteen years now. If they were doing anything behind the scenes I'd know about it."

"I know love, and I know what I saw," Ada said indignantly.

"I think maybe you're making some bold assumptions," Hanjo said. Ada crossed her arms.

"When you're in love you learn to notice these things," She said stubbornly. Of course nobody else saw it. None of them loved someone else the way she loved Canto.

"Yeah, you think what you want to think," Tomoe said with a chuckle. "I think I would know if those two were an item."

***

Cia rested her head on Takuga's chest while Takuga ran her fingers through Cia's shimmering hair, curling the ends around her fingers in small circles.

"Don't pull so much," Cia objected, shifting her head slightly. "You're going to give me split ends."

Takuga immediately stopped and wrapped her arms around Cia, leaning down to press her scarred cheek against Cia's hair.

It was difficult for the two of them to be alone together, but they found a way. The skyscraper they called home was in a state of disrepair. A few loose wall panels, a bit of rubble to disguises the entrance, a little bit of purposeful disorganization to make sure the area seemed uninhabited, and they managed to construct a private sanctum for themselves. It certainly helped that Takuga could order everyone to avoid this part of the building.

She had never for a minute intended to build a following like this, but it had happened regardless. She had never been able to rein in her conscience. Orphan after orphan was abandoned on the streets of Bac Ria, and one by one Takuga had found them and made them into a twisted kind of family. She did not regret her path, not once, but sometimes she wished it was not so much of a burden. It was hard for her to find time for the things she actually wanted to do –and the people she wanted to be with. She held Cia just a little tighter.

Cia seemed further away today than usual. She was usually the one who wanted to make the most of their brief time together. She was an exceptionally private individual. Though she was not afraid of people by any means, there was a core to her character that almost no one ever saw. Besides Takuga, of course. It was at Cia's insistence that their relationship was entirely private.

"Why wouldn't you talk to them?"

Takuga nodded her head. She did not like to discuss business in private, but she had promised to always be open and honest with Cia.

"It wouldn't have accomplished anything," She said. "All they can offer is probably's and maybe's. Only the Avatar can actually make a deal."

"There's something else," Cia said. She could read Takuga like a book. Takuga bit her lip slightly.

"I wanted to ask the Avatar about something," She said. "I wanted to ask him about a favor I might want, depending on if it is possible."

"What kind of favor?"

Takuga locked her fingers together nervously, gripping Cia tightly. She was worried about how Cia might react. She had been hoping to avoid this topic in conversation until she had spoken with the Avatar.

"He can heal. He has access to so much, even Spirit Water. I wanted to ask him, to find out, if it is possible or not…to heal burn scars."

Takuga could feel Cia shrink in her grasp, retreating in on herself. Takuga gripped her ever tighter.

Though she tried to hide it, and made a good show of it, Cia's scars weighed heavily on her. Even as she wore sleeveless robes as if to flaunt them, she wore jewelry to distract from the burns, and she focused obsessively on her hair, the one part of her that the fire had not damaged. Her self-esteem was a delicate thing, and Takuga had to tread carefully around it.

"You know it's not like that," Takuga said quietly. "You are beautiful, Cia. I just want you to look at yourself and not have to remember what he did to you."

Unlike many of her fellows, Cia had not been abandoned by her parents. Her firebender father and earthbender mother had been more than willing to keep her home – after severely burning her to see whether or not she was the Avatar. Cia had run from home on her own accord, and had eventually come to Takuga's doorstep. The Bear was the only one who knew the story behind her scars.

Her self-pity came to an end as Cia felt Takuga's hands slowly release their tight grip and wander along her arms, eventually taking hold of her hands. Cia looked up to see Takuga's face. What she saw, as she always did, was nothing but love. Cia lifted her head to kiss her lover. For a moment Takuga felt like everything was perfect, but even as they kissed, Cia pulled her scarred hand away from Takuga's grasp. She had never liked to have her scars touched.

***

Tomoe and Ada quickly found themselves a distraction. Tomoe had been boasting about her armory, and Ada had demanded to see it at once. Apparently Tomoe was quite the avid collector of swords.

Ada had been expecting a meager collection: impressive, perhaps, to someone as down on their luck as Tomoe, but nothing special overall. She got significantly more than she was expecting.

The skyscraper that Takuga had claimed had plenty of room to spare, and so Tomoe had claimed an entire floor as her personal armory and training ground. She made use of every inch of that space. The walls were so thick with blades that you might think it was simply patterned wallpaper. After Ada had collected her jaw from the floor, she began to examine the swords more carefully.

"They're probably mostly junk," Tomoe said, dripping with humility. "But I figure there's got to be one or two decent ones hiding in here."

There were a handful of swords she knew to be of high quality, and these were the ones she wore on her belt. As Ada examined the bulk of her collection, Tomoe placed her curved tachi on a table along with a few other blades.

"Where did you get all these swords?"

Ada poked through the blades one by one. As Tomoe had said, they were mostly junk blades, made of cheap iron. There were a few examples of moderate quality, but not anything Ada would want to take into a fight.

"Steal them from people, mostly," Tomoe said. "I mean, is steal the right word? I beat them in a fight and then I take their sword."

Ada put one of the blades back on the wall and continued her examination.

"You know, lady, speaking of which…"

Ada looked away from the blades with one eyebrow raised. Tomoe was standing within arm's length, holding a blade ready in her hands.

"Is this a challenge?"

"Obviously I'm not going to try and take your sword from you, but I think it could be fun," Tomoe said. "You and I are both swordswomen, why not have a sparring match?"

"No offense, Tomoe, but you're not on my level," Ada boasted. "I've been trained by some of the best artists in the world –and the Spirit World."

"Hey, I've got a lot of experience, I could put up a-"

Tomoe paused suddenly when she felt the flat edge of a blade press against her neck. Her sword was still resting casually in place.

"I didn't even see you do that," Tomoe said, shocked by Ada's speed.

"Like I said," Ada bragged. "Not the same class."

She sheathed her sword. Tomoe hesitantly grabbed at the air where it had once been. She put her sword and down and held a hand out.

"Could I try that out?"

Ada drew her blade once again and handed it over. Tomoe held the blade gingerly at first, and then more firmly. She turned it in her hands. She'd never owned a sword that she could see her reflection in. Even her best sword might as well have been scrap metal compared to Ada's.

Tomoe spread her feet into a fighting stance and tried out the swords reach. Ada and Tomoe were nearly identical in height and weight, so the sword was perfectly balanced for her. She tried thrusts, slashed, and parries, and Ada saw a subtle smile flash on Tomoe's face. After her mock combat had ended, Tomoe looked the sword over once again, gently running her fingers against the shining flat of the blade.

Snapping quickly out of reverent state, Tomoe handed the sword back and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Still like two-handed blades better," She said firmly. Ada chuckled to herself. From the look in Tomoe's eyes, she'd been just a few seconds short of refusing to give the sword back. Clearly she wanted one of her own.

"Just a second," Ada said. She had spotted something curious earlier, but had been waiting to examine it more closely. She proceeded towards the far wall of the chamber, to another sword. She grabbed one resting in a black leather scabbard and thoroughly examined it. She found exactly what she had expected to find.

"Just what I thought," She said confidently. She walked back to Tomoe and held out the sword and its sheath. "You had one of Sokka's blades sitting under your nose."

Before he had retrieved his famous Space Sword, Sokka had tried his hand at forging a few replacement blades. Though he had eventually outmatched Master Piandao in swordplay, he had never been quite as good at sword-smithing, and so his blades were slightly less prized, explaining how one had fallen into Tomoe's possession.

"How can you tell Sokka made it?"

"It's got his face on it."

Ada flipped the metal blade over and revealed a crude doodle of a human head.

"I thought that was a Hog-Monkey," Tomoe said.

"Not the point," Ada said, sheathing the blade and hiding the crude carving. "The blade's not in the best condition. Person who owned it before you probably didn't know how to take care of a sword…"

"Okay, so that clearly isn't going to be my cool sword," Tomoe said. "Where are you going with this?"

"My old master, Yakkul, is a big fan of Sokka," Ada said. "He's also the smith that made this sword to replace my old ones."

Ada handed over Sokka's old blade to Tomoe. She eyed it jealously.

"If I give him this, he'd probably be grateful enough to make me a sword like that."

"Exactly," Ada said. "Might give you some lessons, too."

Tomoe turned Sokka's blade over in her hands. She'd been living her whole life on scavenged blades, training herself by fighting thugs and bandits. It would be a dream come true to actually have a decent blade, to train with a real master. Tomoe was not in the habit of expressing gratitude, though. Thank you's were always awkward. She decided to change the subject instead.

"Why'd Yakkul have to replace your swords? Things made like that shouldn't ever break down," Tomoe said.

"Oh, there was-" Ada hesitated almost immediately. Very few people knew about the impurity in her old blades. She had been trying to keep it a secret as much as possible. She didn't want to risk Ko Rin getting word of her suspicions. But Tomoe was a non-factor in that, and she could use to talk about it.

"In my old swords, the ones my master got for me, there was a…flaw. One he put there on purpose," Ada explained. "The blades had a raw iron core."

"Blades made of mixed materials don't hold together very well," Tomoe said.

"Exactly," Ada said. "I can't help but wonder why? What could he possibly have to gain by giving me defective swords?"

"I can't say why exactly, but I know that this guy is bad news," Tomoe said without hesitation. "When you're in a knock-down drag out brawl, your sword can be the difference between living and dying. This guy gives you a lousy sword, he's saying he doesn't care about your life."

Ada wrung her hands together nervously. She'd been following Ko Rin's orders her whole life. He had been training her and teaching her since she was a little girl. The swords had seemed like a thoughtful gift at the time –but now all those years of cooperation had been poisoned by suspicion and deceit. Ada toyed with the pommel of her sword. Something had to be done.

***

Hanjo had taken the most proactive approach in getting to know the people they might soon be working with. Though he wasn't quite in the same situation, Hanjo's life had been quite similar to most of these orphans. They could sympathize with him, and he could sympathize with them.

Hanjo had begun this conversation by talking about orphanages and the experiences they'd shared, but the conversation had drifted away from that and towards the Avatar's journey. A crowd had gathered around him expecting stories of their adventures. The crowd seemed overwhelmingly interested in Miyani and Sen. They were the flashiest, after all. The only person who ever asked more in-depth questions was Cia.

"Why didn't Miyani break you out of prison instead of wandering around randomly?"

"Couldn't find me," Hanjo said. That was the first question about himself he had answered so far. Hanjo was bombarded with questions about Sen and Miyani, Suda, Ada, Whistler, Ariak, even Gun, but he noticed very few questions about his own adventures. He hadn't had many, maybe, but there were still some good stories to be told.

"Could Miyani beat the Avatar in a fight?"

"I don't think so? I don't imagine they'd ever get in a fight anyway," Hanjo said.

"Why don't all seven of you travel together?" Cia asked. She had been hoping to see all seven of the great heroes together.

"It's just more efficient to spread us out."

"I have a question," Another voice cried out. This voice seemed more hostile than curious. The crowd parted slightly to let someone pass. Jeong, one of The Bear's men, stepped forward, with a sidekick in tow. Hanjo recognized the sidekick, somehow. Cia saw Jeong's face and immediately retreated a few steps. She wanted to avoid conflict.

"How dare you show your face here, act like you're one of us?" Jeong said. He was a large man, muscular, but with a large round belly. His jaw was square and scowling.

"It might be because I am," Hanjo said. "I grew up in an orphanage and got clubbed by wandering thugs like the rest of you."

"And for the past months you've been living in luxury hotels, having your every need catered to," Jeong. He was speaking loudly, trying to put on a show. He had an agenda with this speech. "All because what? You were in the right place at the right time?"

"That's not-"

Jeong was quick to interrupt him. He pushed his sidekick forward, and Hanjo finally recognized him.

"You all recognize Suluk," Jeong said loudly. Suluk was glaring angrily at Hanjo. "He grew up in the very same orphanage as Hanjo!"

Hanjo looked over his former companion with curiosity and concern. He had never associated with the other orphans at Beaker Hall much, but he recognized Suluk's face. They had definitely grown up together, though they had not been friends or even acquaintances.

"How did you get all the way to the Republic?"

"After you and Sen got us all kicked out on the streets again," Suluk began. "We had to wander. I was lucky to make it this far."

"We were lucky to find Suluk, he was starving and exhausted when he came to us," Jeong shouted. "He came from the same place as you, Hanjo, why was he starving while you were getting famous and fat?"

Hanjo had had quite enough of this. He stood up and, in an odd, twist, removed his shirt. He turned his back to Jeong and Suluk, and they winced visibly.

"This look fat to you?"

Up and down Hanjo's back ran deep red scars, massive gouges in skin. An impressive collection of scars earned from his duel at Tunuk Bay, the day he'd nearly died fighting the Energybender. Hanjo turned again, displaying the red slashes to all. Cia twitched nervously as she saw the deep red scars.

"If you want to try and make me look like the bad guy here, Jeong, you're going to have to try a lot harder," Hanjo said. "I've suffered and struggled as much as any of you."

Hanjo turned towards Suluk. He had shrunk visibly since first confronting Hanjo.

"And as for you, Suluk," Hanjo said aggressively. "You want to know why I got to be the 'lucky' one? Why I'm with the Avatar?"

Hanjo stepped forward and pointed at Suluk calling him out in front of the entire crowd of orphans.

"When me and Sen were fighting those bandits, when we made a stand, where were you? What were you doing?"

Suluk took a step back, and Hanjo took a step forward in turn.

"What were you doing?" He repeated.

Suluk looked at the floor in shame. Hanjo decided to answer for him.

"Nothing," he spat. "I earned everything I have, because I fought for it. And you did nothing."

Suluk turned his back and vanished into the crowd of scarred orphans. Hanjo stared down Jeong for a second. In return he received hateful glare. This wasn't a personal vendetta on Jeong's part. He had a larger goal in mind, and a possibly dangerous one at that. Hanjo sighed and retrieved his shirt. That might be trouble.

Hanjo put his shirt back on and sat down. When he did so, the conversation resumed as it had before, but this time, people were asking many more questions about Hanjo.

***

Takuga's chamber echoed with sounds of mock violence. The world was a harsh place, and she made sure she could be just as harsh.

She slammed against her training target with quick jabs of water, then followed up with her own bare fists. Water could be hard to find in an urban setting, so she knew not to rely on her bending too heavily.

"You want a sparring partner?"

Takuga spun sharply, launching a bolt of water in a reflexive defense. She was not used to being snuck up on. Whistler tried to sidestep the attack, but found it flying too fast for even her reflexes. The bolt of water struck her shoulder and knocked her to the ground. She was slightly hurt, but mostly impressed. Few people were strong enough to hit her that easily.

"That was a reflex," Takuga said. "I am sorry."

Whistler shrugged off the blow easily enough, although her shoulder would likely be sore for hours. She stood up. Takuga stepped away from the training area while Whistler stepped into the center.

"A fight could do you good," Whistler said. "Probably haven't fought an airbender before. You could use the experience."

"I have fought an airbender before," Takuga said. Whistler found that hard to believe, but then she remembered that Takuga was, technically, a criminal. She stole to feed herself and her people, but it was stealing all the same. The Air Nation had close ties to the Republic, and had stepped in to try and lower the crime rates in Bac Ria.

"I take it you won?"

"Enough that they stopped sending airbenders against me," Takuga said. She had never been excited about fighting the airbenders; she respected their ideals, to an extent. The fact that they had tried to capture Takuga instead of help her showed that they were out of touch with the real problems that plagued Bac Ria.

Whistler kicked her foot awkwardly. She had been counting on that to lead her conversation.

"I take it you want something," Takuga said. She highly doubted that Whistler would seek her out simply for a sparring match.

"Wanted to let you know something," Whistler said. "Take it you're not the kind of person who likes people scheming behind her back."

"Are your friends planning something?"

"Not in so many words," Whistler said awkwardly. "Hanjo thinks Jeong might be trying to sabotage your talk with the Avatar."

Takuga placed a hand on her chin. Jeong had been disappearing for several days at a time recently, and he had taken a critical stance Takuga's proposed alliance with the Coalition. It was not an entirely unfounded theory.

"They were going to tell you soon, but they wanted to talk it over and plan for it on their own first," Whistler said. "I figured it's your men, it's your problem."

"If Jeong has taken any action that puts my plans at risk, he will be severely punished," Takuga said harshly. "And if he intends to put my people at risk, I will throw him out of my tower personally."

"You exile people often?"

"Occasionally. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Whistler," Takuga said. "I will deal with Jeong."

"We could deal with him too," Whistler said. "Ada and Hanjo are probably making a plan. If you want to let us handle it, we will."

"This is my concern, I will deal with it," Takuga said. She waved her hand sharply, trying to close the conversation. Whistler relented, waiting in silence for a moment. Takuga had her back turned, and she seemed to be expecting Whistler to leave.

"I know you didn't want to talk business with anyone but Sen, but can I ask a question?"

"You may," She said curtly.

"Why'd you decide to join up with the Coalition?"

"People are angry, and they need a focus for that anger," Takuga said dismissively.

"But why come to us? There are a lot of ways you could have handled-"

"I have seen the consequences from both sides, Whistler," Takuga said. "The children are not the only ones who were wounded by the abandonment."

Takuga clenched her first and looked out blankly for a moment, seeming contemplative.

"Years ago a grown man came through this city, looking for his son. Takaya, the boys name was. Never learned the father's name. He was so focused on finding his son…All he did was beg me for help, asking if I'd ever met anyone named Takaya."

"Had you?"

"No," Takuga said with a hint of guilt. "I pointed him to an old legend from the North, something about witches, and that was all I could do."

She paused for a moment and thought about the incident. She was not a storyteller, and she had failed to properly convey how desperate and miserable the man had seemed.

"This conflict hurts both sides, Whistler. I want it to end."

Whistler nodded. Takuga had seemed conflicted in a way, enough that Whistler was worried about her, but she seemed to be sincere in her desire to help end the tension between the generations. There was still something troubling about Takuga personally, but Whistler had already overstayed her welcome. It wouldn't do to pry.

Though Whistler had managed to sneak up on Takuga, her two companions were not so stealthy.

"Bear, there's something we need to-"

Ada paused when she saw Whistler.

"You already told her, didn't you?"

Whistler shrugged nonchalantly.

"Whistler, can you not play the renegade role just once?" Ada asked. "You need to work with us."

"Wild card, baby!" Whistler shouted, throwing her hands in the air recklessly. She exited the room immediately. Takuga shook her head and dismissed Ada and Hanjo.

***

Takuga had decided to take the matter of the investigation into her own hands. Whistler, Ada, and Hanjo were left sitting on the sidelines quite uselessly while The Bear scoured her tower for any signs of Jeong's iniquities. Several days had passed since then, and they were getting quite tired of waiting.

Sen had recently radioed to let them know he was on his way, and his arrival would hopefully simplify the process. He had both the intelligence and the power to make sure that even the most complex scenarios came out for the best.

They had been granted a room of their own for privacies sake, but the privacy was a bit lacking. Their door did not have a lock, and Tomoe exploited that fact to walk right in.

"Hey, The Bear tracked Jeong's buddies down," Tomoe said. The three visitors immediately sprang into action, for reasons Tomoe vastly misinterpreted. Being in the Avatar's company had gotten Ada and the others used to being the only people around who were capable of doing anything useful. Tomoe knew very well that when Takuga was on the warpath, the only thing anyone else had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

They tracked The Bear to the site of her rampage, and paused slightly when they saw the full extent of it. Several dozen of Jeong's co-conspirators were scattered around the room, in various states of injury. One of them had been forcibly pushed through a wall, leaving his legs dangling helplessly. The Bear herself did not have so much as a scrape or a bruise, in stark contrast to Jeong, whose skin now seemed to be entirely composed of pain.

"I meant only the best for us," He begged desperately. Takuga did not seem to hear him. She stepped forward swiftly as Jeong backed away, pressing himself against a large glass window while he pleaded.

"You can't really think the Avatar will-"

"Shut up," Takuga said. There was enough fire in her voice to make the largest inferno seem like a wet match. She stepped forward and grabbed Jeong forcibly by the shirt, dragging him upwards.

"You put my people in danger," Takuga roared. "For that, you are exiled from this tower."

There was a moment of brief relief on Takuga's bruised face, but it came to a swift and merciless end when he saw the hatred on Takuga's face, and felt the pressure of the cold glass against his back.

"Effective immediately."

Takuga lifted Jeong off the ground and forced him backwards, pushing him through the window violently. The sound of shattered glass falling to the floor almost muffled Jeong's scream as he made a rapid downward descent.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," Takuga said grimly. "Jeong was working with the Energybender. He was going to supply them with information on our tower while they-"

There was a loud sound of breaking glass from below, followed shortly thereafter by screaming.

"Attacked my people," Takuga roared. The Energybender meant to prevent The Bear and the Avatar from joining forces, at any cost. Sarin's actions had already ruined the lives of almost everyone in this tower, and he was willing to do even worse if necessary.

"Ada, take your people and go to the ground floor," Takuga shouted. "Tomoe, with me."

"Shouldn't we all be going to the ground?" Tomoe asked. "That's where they'll be coming-"

Tomoe was interrupted by another crash of breaking glass, this time much closer. The nearest window exploded in a shower of razor shards as a masked airbender dove through. Before the gray-masked soldier had even hit the ground, Takuga struck him out of the air with a swift strike of water, knocking him backwards and right back out the window.

"They'll be coming from every angle," Takuga said. She had interrogated Jeong about this attack before 'exiling' him. The enemy had numerous airbenders ready to break in from above while the rest made a charge from below.

"You people take charge of the entrance," Takuga said, pointing at Ada, Whistler, and Hanjo. "Tomoe and I will start at the top and sweep downwards."

Takuga did not waste time further elaborating on any plan. Some leaders, like Sen, overcame problems with careful thought and deliberation, but Takuga was the kind of leader who solved her problems by annihilating them entirely.

As she made a single-minded charge upwards to the top floor, Takuga rarely paused for more than a second to deal with intruders to her home. Airbenders were crashing through windows and broken holes in the wall in droves. Takuga forced them back out, often violently, but she could not spare more than a moment for each. Tomoe gradually fell behind as Takuga made her way to the top floor. More and more enemy soldiers were pouring in every second. The airbenders gliding into the tower were starting to bring friends; soldiers wielding earth, fire, and water were also starting to arrive.

Exactly as Takuga had feared, the top floor was already overrun by the time she arrived. Most of the soldiers jumping over from neighboring skyscrapers had been looking for her. They meant to take Takuga out, thinking with her gone the Avatar could never unite the orphans of Bac Ria. As soon as they laid eyes on her, the horde in the penthouse converged.

The first to approach her learned the hard way that she would not be taken out easily. The chaotic penthouse was filled with the sound of cracking bone and cartilage as Takuga's fist slammed into his face. While he still reeled from the blow, Takuga grabbed him, hefted him off the ground, and threw the soldier bodily into the nearest opponent.

Water was a scarce resource here at the top of the tower, but Takuga scavenged what she could to create blades and prisons of ice. Where she could not use water she used her own fists, proving her fearsome reputation was well-deserved. The Bear was outnumbered, facing dozens as just one, but she never faltered for a second. Whenever she took a hit, she powered through the blow, and retaliated a hundred-fold what she had received.

"That's quite enough, 'Bear'," A mocking voice cried.

The futile onslaught stopped, and Takuga had a moment to breathe. She watched cautiously as the enemy backed away. The circle of soldiers that had surrounded her eventually broke open. Apparently they had something they wanted to show her.

One of the soldiers in red robes, a firebender, had shed his mask, all the better to mock Takuga with. He was standing in front of a regiment of captured orphans- hostages. Takuga scowled as she looked over the captives. Not all of the orphans in the tower knew how to fight. The Energybender had gone after noncombatants, an underhanded tactic that only served to anger Takuga further.

"Let them go now and no one gets thrown out a window," Takuga said matter-of-factly.

"You aren't in control here," The firebender shouted back. He was clearly frustrated that Takuga was no intimidated by his hostages. He looked at the circle of hostages he had rounded up and reached to grab a particular target.

Cia was dragged out of the crowd, letting out a slight shriek of fear as she was pulled forcibly to the front. Takuga grit her teeth. Of course it would be Cia. She was the smallest and most easily frightened, a perfect target for any bully looking to intimidate someone.

The maskless firebender pulled Cia close and ignited a small spark in his hands, holding the red flames close to Cia's face. She tried to pull away from the burning fire, fear apparent on her features, but the firebender forced her to stay close. He only had a grip on one of her arms, but Cia was not strong enough to escape all the same.

"Oh look, she's afraid of fire," the firebender said sadistically. He forced his flame ever closer to Cia's already burnt face, eliciting a fearful cry from the young woman. Takuga clenched her fists. She was going to make him pay for this.

"We never wanted to do anything like this," the firebender said, lying through his teeth. "But you forced our hand when you started dealing with the Avatar."

"I'm going to break every part of you that can be broken," Takuga said firmly. She would not be intimidated by anyone, much less this nameless firebending mook.

"You're going to surrender," The firebender shouted. "So this girl doesn't get burned even worse!"

He turned towards his captive and forced the flames ever closer. Cia wasn't looking at him. She was staring unflinchingly at Takuga, and the way she was standing firm in the face of any threat.

"Look at me," The firebender commanded. Cia complied. Her lip was still trembling in fear, but she was making a concerted effort to stop herself. "Wouldn't you like to get away from the fire?"

The red sparks danced in front of her eyes. Cia could feel the heat lick her skin, a burning reminder of her past. She bit her quivering lip to steady herself.

"Don't be afraid, Cia," Takuga said. She briefly dropped her threatening tone to reassure Cia. "I'll get you out of this. I promise."

Cia's eyes darted between the fire and the Bear. Fear was still evident on her features, but something in her panicked mind had steadied itself. Her darting eyes settled on the fire that burned just in front of her.

"You can't," Cia said mournfully. Those words hit Takuga harder than any of the blows that had ever struck her. Cia had always trusted her and relied on her. "You can't get me away from the fire."

The firebender chuckled viciously, his sadism finally satisfied. His fun came to an end as Cia turned sharply and held up her free hand to his face. She could not escape the fire, as she could not escape herself.

There was a brief crackling sound as a crude gout of flame burst forth from Cia's palm, scorching the face of her captor. He let out a brief howl of pain and released Cia as he clawed at his burnt eyes in pain. Cia herself stepped backwards, overcome with shock at what she had just done.

Without the firebender holding her lover captive, Takuga had no more reason to restrain herself. She made good on her promises; in the few short minutes of rampaging that ensued, there were many broken windows and even more broken bones. The former hostages cowered on the sidelines as The Bear clawed her way through the scattered ranks of the enemy.

As her rampage neared an end, Takuga zeroed in on a target of particular importance. The unmasked firebender who had dared to threaten Cia laid sprawled out on the floor, still clutching at his burnt face. Takuga grabbed him by the collar and dragged him towards a window.

"I told you," She growled. "I gave you every warning."

"You think this is over?"

He started to laugh. As the sounds of conflict had died down, Takuga now recognized the metallic grinding of gears that signaled the rise of the elevator. She paused to look towards the metal doors.

"We're just the vanguard," The firebender boasted. "You may have beaten us, but you'll never beat the Crusher."

The firebender continued laughing his raucous laughter. All eyes turned towards the gradually rising elevator. It was gradually getting closer. The Energybender troops that remained conscious began to chant his title. "Crusher" they repeated, over and over. Takuga released her grip on the firbender's collar and stepped towards the elevator.

The metal door slipped open, and the Crusher was revealed. He was a massive man, nearly six feet tall and covered in muscle, and his bare skin was coated in thick scars that showed off a lifetime of war.

The Crusher promptly fell forward onto his face, and Sen stepped over his unconscious body.

"Well," he said, surveying the room, and Takuga. "I see your reputation wasn't exaggerated."

The Avatar seemed impressed by the carnage that Takuga had wrought. The Bear herself was frozen slightly. She was used to being the strongest person in the room, but Sen carried an aura of power that hit her like a hammer and suddenly made her feel very small.

"Hey Bear," Tomoe said, stepping out behind Sen. "The Avatar showed up."

"I see that," Takuga said flatly.

"We dealt with everything else," Sen said. "Your tower is completely safe now."

Takuga nodded thankfully and finally relaxed. It was hard to come down from an adrenaline high so suddenly. Sen stepped forward, adjusting his gait slightly to step over someone that Takuga had knocked unconscious.

"I know you probably have a lot to deal with right now, but I did bring the Coalition along," Sen said. "Whenever you're ready to talk business-"

"I have something I need to do first," Takuga said absentmindedly. She looked over her shoulder. Cia was out of sight already. She excused herself quickly and went after Cia. Takuga knew very well where she would be.

They reunited the same place they always did, out of sight from anyone else, hidden between broken walls. Cia was on her knees, staring at her hand. The same scarred hand that had once been so viciously burned by fire years ago, and had just moments ago burned another. Takuga approached her cautiously and knelt by her side. She allowed Cia a moment of silence before she asked the question.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Cia did not respond immediately. Takuga gave her time to think.

"I wished I wasn't," Cia said mournfully. "Every day I hated myself for what I was. I wanted it to go away."

Bending was an aspect of the self that could not be forgotten. Even if bending was ignored, never expressed or refined, it shaped the way a person felt, the way they connected to the world around them. No matter how hard Cia tried to repress herself, she felt the connection to the very same fire she feared so much.

"I understand," Takuga said.

"No you don't," Cia said stubbornly. Takuga bit her tongue. She knew what it was like to be something you didn't want to be, but it might be hard for Cia to see that.

"Come with me," She said, grabbing Cia gingerly by the wrist. "And I'll show you."

Cia did not like being pulled around, but she relented. Takuga was wordless as they descended the tower and headed for the streets of Bac Ria. The rugged road was covered in vehicles and people as the Coalition forces and The Bear's orphans mingled for the first time.

"So, I see Suda didn't come with," Hanjo observed.

"Still recovering," Sen assured her. Suda was making nearly miraculous progress considering his injuries, but he was still out of the fight for now. Everyone else in Sen's inner circle was present, though. It was a bit intimidating to approach the crowd of heroes, but Takuga managed. Cia followed close behind, hiding behind Takuga like a shy child behind her parent.

"Bear, good to see you," Sen said.

"You can call me Takuga," She said, trying to sound casual. She scratched her arm nervously and continued. "You brought a lot of soldiers with you."

"They're not all soldiers," Sen said. "I brought medics, engineers, radio operators, even a few tailors and cooks. All the things you need to keep an army running."

Sen stepped to Takuga's side and observed the mass of troops and young adults. There was tension between them to be sure, but gradually, they were beginning to meet in the middle.

"I want to put as few of them as possible on the front lines," Sen said. "We'll take whoever's willing to learn and teach them how to heal, how to build machines, how to create something. That way when the war is over they'll have something they can make a career out of, something that will help them stay away from the streets."

The process was already beginning. Fighting was a way of life in Bac Ria, but they had picked up other talents as well. Somebody had to supply the food and clothing, keep the elevators running. The orphans who knew about machines were already acquainting themselves with the engineers, and many more were curious about the intricate machines of war.

"Of course, some of them will still want to fight," Sen said. He glanced at Tomoe. She was still talking about swords with Ada. That one would never be satisfied doing anything but fighting.

"I could use someone to lead them," Sen said. "And you're the obvious choice."

Takuga stepped forward. A look of despair crossed Cia's face as Takuga stepped away.

"Find someone else," She said.

That was a surprise to everyone, even Sen, who could usually see things coming. Tomoe broke off her conversation to gawk at her leader. Or rather, her former leader.

"I never wanted to lead anyone," Takuga said. "But someone had to take care of them. Up until now, it's been me. But with you here…"

She trailed off slightly, retreating to her own thoughts. She had been happy to watch over the orphans of Bac Ria for many years, but it had been a burden even so.

"I can trust you to take care of them," Takuga said. "I'm done. I'm going to do the things I want to do. Be with the people I want to be with."

Sen could feel a pounding heartbeat from behind Takuga. He glanced at Cia and then back to the famous Bear. He raised a single eyebrow. It was an interesting situation, to say the least.

"Well then," Sen said. "Good luck to both of you."

Ill-befitting her fearsome reputation, Takuga blushed slightly as she thanked Sen and returned to Cia. She kept a few steps away as they walked down the street together, but to Takuga's surprise, Cia was the one to close the gap and wrap her scarred fingers around Takuga's wrist, walking alongside her down the street of Bac Ria, away from the gathering army and towards their own future.

"Huh," Tomoe said, deliberately ignoring Ada's smug smile. "Guess that means I'm in charge now."

"Seems so," Sen said. He needed someone to look after the Bac Ria orphans, and Tomoe was as good a candidate as any. "What's your first order of business?"

"I'm going to need a truck to gather up all my swords," Tomoe said thoughtfully. "And then I'm going to use every single one of them to stab the bad guys."

"We're going to get along just fine," Sen said. He shook Tomoe's hand, sealing the deal.


	79. Book 5 Ch7: The Crux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An abominable beast of the Spirit World forces Sen to confront monsters inside and out.

"We haven't heard anything from those soldiers in several weeks," Gamon said. All their operatives in the Spirit World had stopped reporting in, just after the South had joined the Coalition. They had been counting on the South's neutrality to leave them a safe route into the Spirit World, but that had just been taken from them.

"It can be difficult to communicate from the depths of the Spirit World," Ahn-Li suggested. "Perhaps we can give them more time."

"There is no need," Sarin said calmly. He had confirmed their losses himself by meditating into the Spirit World. "They are already lost. The Avatars friends have been journeying through the Spirit World."

"Not the Avatar himself, by any chance?"

The success of their mission still hinged on getting the Avatar to the Undying Bloom. Sarin could not match the Avatar's spiritual power without the aid of the undying spirit Ta Jide Shui.

"No, only a few of his less important allies," Sarin said. "The airbender, and the Shorewatcher."

Kida's tense stance shifted visibly at the slightest mention of Ariak. Sarin waved her down.

"Patience, Kida, he is beyond even your reach," Sarin warned her. "The Spirits are against us."

It was only a half-true statement. The vast majority of spirits were entirely disinterested in the war between Sarin and Sen. There was, however, a sizable host of spirits who were siding against Sarin. Some were opposed to the idea of destroying Raava and Vaatu, some simply wanted to remove Sarin's Energybending, feeling it presented a threat to their immortality. Whatever their reasons, they made dangerous enemies, especially in their native Spirit World.

"What do we intend to do then?" Gamon asked. "We can't simply allow them complete control of the Spirit World. We need to-"

"I would not bring you all here if I did not have a plan," Sarin said. "We are going to abandon the Spirit World for the time being."

Gamon thought about questioning that plan, but bit his tongue just in time. Sarin seemed like he had more to say.

"If we cannot control it, no one can," Sarin said. "For now, we will leave the Spirit World in the hands of the Abomination."

***

Ariak did one last tally of their prisoners. He had been one of few volunteers for this mission, but He was still eager to leave the Spirit World. One of their spirit "allies" had seven green eyes, and not one of them ever blinked.

"Hey, bad guys, quick poll," Whistler shouted. "Raise your hands if you got your butt kicked by the dude with the spear."

Ariak looked up from his own assignment to glare indignantly at Whistler. She had been the only other volunteer for this mission. Ada was on a mission, Suda was not fond of spirits, and spirits were not fond of Miyani, so Ariak and Whistler had been the only ones available to enter the Spirit World. Having Ariak and Whistler stuck together for weeks on end was not a recipe for success.

The gathered prisoners were initially reluctant to answer Whistler's question, but she insisted. She insisted loudly, and with multiple curse words, to be precise. After sufficient goading, several of the prisoners raised their hands. Whistler counted them out quietly.

"Alright, now raise your hand if I'm the one who kicked your butt," Whistler commanded. She then counted out the responses, and smiled broadly.

"Ha! Hey stickler," She called out to Ariak. "I got you beat by twelve."

"It's not a competition," Ariak said gruffly.

"That sounds like something a loser would say," Whistler said.

"It does not sound like something-"

"It absolutely does, you know why?" Whistler said. "Everything you say sounds like something a loser would say, because you say it and you are a loser."

"I don't even know why I open my mouth around you," Ariak said.

After an unfortunately short interlude of silence between the two, Hanjo arrived to hear a report. Sen could not be present personally due to the responsibilities of running the Coalition, but he made sure to keep track of the mission via Hanjo. Hanjo was just glad his ill-acquired ability to meditate between planes was coming in handy again. He liked to feel useful.

"Report, officers," Hanjo said, feigning military professionalism. Whistler jumped to face him and saluted sharply.

"Enemies thoroughly thrashed, Sergeant Stupid," Whistler said.

"Good work, Lieutenant Loser," Hanjo said. He turned to Ariak as Whistler tried in vain to smack him upside the head. "But seriously, what's going on?"

"All our intelligence suggests we've got all their agents," Ariak said. He pointed over his shoulder at their prisoners, and at the spirits who had helped track them down. "If there's any left, they're too few and too scattered to pose a significant threat."

Even as she spoke, the seven-eyed spirit turned its head to the horizon.

"There is something," The strange spirit claimed. Its unblinking eyes gazed vacantly towards the horizon. One of their larger spirits, an odd beast with four massive arms, stepped forward and postured threateningly at the distance.

"Did we miss one of the agents?"

The seeing-eye spirit turned its head and shifted its eyes oddly for a few moments. The spirits nearby became increasingly agitated. Some of the weaker-willed ones even began to shift towards Dark, before being calmed by their comrades.

"It is not like them," The seven-eyed spirit declared. Its seven eyes refocused. "It is not like us."

Ariak grabbed on to his spear and abandoned his post. Whistler's hands were starting to shake. This was not going to end well.

Whatever was coming at them was now close enough that it could be heard. Swift, arrhythmic footsteps were pounding the dirt rapidly, growing closer every second. Ariak tried to look around for a pair of binoculars, but settled on asking Hanjo to check it out.

"I really think the best option would be to leave," Hanjo suggested.

"It's probably just some angry spirit thing, like that worm we tackled the first time we came through here," Whistler added. "If it's not with the Energybender it's not our problem."

"We're close to the Portals, Whistler," Ariak countered. "We can't let something dangerous get near civilization."

The brutish four-armed spirit planted its limbs on the ground, preparing for a charge.

"Resolve your differences quickly," the seven-eyed spirit suggested. "It is coming."

"Whatever it is, we can handle it," Ariak suggested. "We might as well take care of it now."

Ariak readied his spear. Whistler reluctantly drew her staff and joined them in preparing for the arrival of the strange beast.

"When this goes south, I get to say 'I told you so'," Whistler grumbled.

A cloud of dust heralded the oncoming charge of the unknown creature. Whatever it was, it was moving unnaturally quickly. The dry soil of the Spirit World was kicked up into a storm of flying dust as it travelled. The few Coalition soldiers who had accompanied the Avatar's friends on this mission began to form ranks.

As the charging cloud of dust came ever closer, another sound beyond the pounding footsteps became audible. A loud, resounding cry that only got louder and louder as it approached. Whatever the beast was, it was screaming.

The furious howl of the beast reached a fever pitch as it finally drew near them. Whistler caught only the barest glimpse of the creature as it raced past. It struck Ariak bodily, knocking him aside, never coming to a halt even as it impacted him. The racing beast dove past all those who would fight it and then started to circle, running around in panicked circles, screaming all the while. It was moving so quickly that it was nearly impossible to see, but some people caught brief glimpses.

Something about it seemed vaguely human, but the creature was mostly animal. Ariak recognized narrow, catlike limbs and short brown feathers, vaguely reminiscent of a cheetah-hawk. That explained the extreme speed, at least, but the animals from the mortal world were knee high, not the size of a bear.

As he pondered the creatures strange appearance, it finally came to a halt, and Ariak felt sick to see the creature in its fullness. It was neither humanoid nor bestial, but a horrific combination of both. Human muscles were twisted and constrained under the fur and feathers of a beast. Strange thumbed paws bore its weight, contorted under a warped skeleton that tried to be both human and feline at once. Patches of fur, feathers, and human skin covered the hide of the unnatural beast, and it stared blankly at the world with mismatched eyes, one feline and the other human.

As the strange Abomination finally paused and took in the world around it, the prisoners and soldiers began to tremble at the gruesome sight. Some of the captured Grey-Faces began to shout loudly that they should be allowed to run. In frantic, twitching movements, the unnatural beast surveyed the area, and then zeroed in on the frightened prisoners still waiting to be transported. In a lightning-fast dive, the beast dove through the middle of the waiting crowd, turning its misshapen claws upon them in frantic blows.

Though they were the enemy, no one was going to stand by and let the prisoners be mauled by a vicious Abomination. Ariak was the first to step in, striking the attacking beast with a sweeping blow of water. The wave managed to push the Abomination away from its victims, giving them some room to fight it.

Once it had gotten far enough away, the Abomination turned sharply and dove back towards the frightened prisoners. One of their spirit allies, the four-armed brute, stepped forward. Spirits were immune to the mundane attacks of claw and fangs. This one thought it would be no different. It was wrong.

The Abomination struck, and its claws gouged the spirit as powerful limbs pulled both ways, tearing the spirit in half. Shimmering light scattered in all directions as the spirits essence dispersed. The remainder of their spirit allies fled along with the scattering light.

"That's not supposed to happen," Whistler said, stating the obvious. Spirits were supposed to be untouchable by normal means. This creature was clearly not normal.

"It keeps coming after the prisoners," Ariak said. Ariak repelled yet another attack from the Abomination, proving his statement.

"We can use that," Whistler said.

"We are not using people as bait," Ariak protested.

"The people are already bait, we're just taking advantage of it," Whistler countered.

In a spastic motion, the Abomination turned its sights on them and made a vicious lunge. Whistler barely moved to the side as the massive claws of the beast raked the ground where she had once stood.

"Okay, now it's not after them," Whistler said, jumping high into the air to avoid another blow. She unfolded her glider and tried to stay above ground, out of reach of the Abomination.

"It's a monster, it's not after anything," Ariak said. The Abominations attacks were almost aimless now, as it dashed haphazardly between various targets. He followed the motions of the beast, watching it dive from target to target. It jerked and twitched rapidly, frequently changing course and targets. It's most common target was the group of screaming prisoners.

"It follows noise," Ariak shouted. The mismatched eyes of the beast had an aimless gaze reminiscent of Gun's blank, sightless stare. It had to be using some other means to detect its foes.

At hiss shout, all sound in the Spirit World stopped for a moment. Everyone shut their mouths, halted their movements, and held their breaths. For a moment, you could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the heavy, strained breathing of the Abomination as it twitched and turned, looking around the area.

Even in the silence, Whistler and Ariak found a way to express their dislike for one another. Both stared at each other, daring the other to make a noise first. Ariak knew Whistler would only be able to control herself for so long. Whistler knew Ariak would eventually try something noble, by which she meant stupid, and start the cycle all over again. Their mutual distrust of each other was made apparent by a long glare.

The silence was broken by the sound of claws against dirt. The Abomination lunged between Whistler and Ariak, forcing them aside. The spell of silence was immediately broken, and chaos reigned once again.

"Alright, that theory just blew up," Whistler said. "Time for violence!"

Whistler struck out at the Abomination, forcing it backwards and giving her room to maneuver. As soon as she had some space, Whistler began to swing her staff in heavy, arcing blows, sending out sharp blades of air to cut through the sky. The Abomination moved skittishly, jumping from side to side in swift leaps, always a step ahead of Whistler's strikes. The more Whistler attacked it, the more and more the Abomination focused on her, until its attacks revolved completely around the airbender.

While Whistler occupied the full attention of the beast, Ariak worked on his angle. The Abomination was fast, but if he could just find the right moment to strike, he could catch it. Ariak crept up behind the battle slowly, spear at the ready, bracing himself to jump at a moments notice. Whistler noticed his stealthy movements and tried to funnel the Abomination towards Ariak, giving him a chance to strike.

The Abomination was fast, but swift movement made it difficult to brake. A lunging dive came to an abrupt halt, and the Abominations misshapen paws skidded in the dirt as it made a sudden stop. In the brief moment where it lost control, Ariak leapt at his prey, spear ready to strike. He landed on the Abominations warped back and dug his blade into its shoulder, dropping it to the ground as its twisted limbs collapsed underneath it.

The beast struggled and screamed in a disturbingly human voice, but with one of its limbs so severely wounded, it could go nowhere. Ariak struck at it with his spear again and again, aiming his blows at its limbs and neck. Eventually the gruesome scene slowed and then halted as the screaming stopped suddenly. The misshapen creatures flailing stopped, and silence resumed.

Ariak stood, took a deep breath, and tried to clean his spear. That had been thoroughly unpleasant, physically and morally.

"That was unpleasant," Ariak said quietly.

"We do what we have to do," Whistler said uneasily.

"I'm aware. It was a monster," Ariak said. "And now it's not a threat anymore."

Hanjo rematerialized and examined what was left of the Abomination. Ariak put away his spear and crossed his arms.

"Perhaps we should have tried to learn more about it," Ariak said. "I don't think it's a coincidence this showed up right after we struck at the Energybender."

Hanjo took a closer look at the Abominations back. Most of the fur on it was golden colored, but it had a patch that was brown for some reason. Now that he thought about it, Hanjo would have sworn that patch had been golden just a moment ago.

"He's right," Hanjo said. "This could be some new kind of creature he's created with Energybending."

"This doesn't seem like an Energybending kind of thing," Whistler said. "That's supposed to be a whole spiritual kind of technique, not a physical one."

Hanjo took a look at the Abominations paws. He didn't remember whether or not it had had thumbs before. Its hands seemed less like paws up close. Too much less.

"Do you have any other theories on where this thing we've never seen before came from?"

"I'm just saying maybe you're not right," Whistler said.

"Of course you are," Ariak grunted. "Why would I ever be right?"

"Oh, bite me, stickler, I was trying to play devil's advocate," Whistler snapped back.

"Guys," Hanjo said. He was looking at the shoulder Ariak had first struck. There should have been a gaping sword wound there. There wasn't.

"Does everything have to be an argument with you? It's a perfectly valid theory, you don't have to question it for the sake of questioning it."

"I'm questioning it because maybe-"

"Guys!"

There was a low moaning sound at first. Then came the sickening sound of cracking bone and shifting muscle, the sound of moving ichor and bile as organs rearranged. The moaning intensified as the Abomination moved slightly from side to side. Bulbous muscles moved underneath ragged skin as the insides of the beast rearranged. The mismatched patches of fur, feathers and skin likewise changed shape and tone, as feathers dropped away to be replaced by clumps of thick brown fur.

The moaning grew louder and louder, into a horrific scream, as the Abomination stood once again. Where once it had been a lithe and swift predator, it was now a thick-muscled brute, with heavy arms. It stood on two legs, supporting itself on its heavy arms, like some kind of simian. Even its face had changed, shifting from a feline's narrow head to a broad, horned head, like that of a bull.

"That ain't natural," Whistler said quietly.

What was left of their group scattered as the reborn Abomination charged at them. It was slower in this incarnation, but the way the ground shook as it stampeded told them it would be much stronger.

"Hanjo," Ariak shouted. "Tell Sen about this! And then try to get us some information."

"Got it," Hanjo said, promptly disappearing, headed back to the physical world to relay the message to Sen. Ariak was forced to draw his spear once more. Whistler grabbed her staff nervously.

"So what do we do in the meantime?"

The Abomination let out a loud bellow as it prepared for another forward charge.

"Do I have to say it?" Ariak asked.

***

Hanjo relayed his message quickly. Sen headed for the Spirit Portals as soon as he could, leaving Kim and Cujo in charge of the Coalition temporarily. While Sen was preoccupied travelling, Hanjo went looking for answers. He had an idea of where to start.

"Wan Shi Tong," He cried into the halls of the seemingly-empty Great Library. "We need you!"

A shadow fell over Hanjo's spectral form as the great Owl spirit materialized seemingly from nowhere. He did not seem happy to see Hanjo intruding upon his library.

"I will assume you have a very good reason for making demands of me, mortal," Tong said harshly. The dark halls of his library seemed to grow ever darker as Wan Shi Tong's anger manifested. Hanjo took a fearful step back, but quickly regained his resolve. He had a mission.

"There's some kind of monster we've never seen before attacking my friends," Hanjo said. "We need to know what it is. We need information, and fast."

Tong's owl eyes narrowed slightly as he took in Hanjo's appearance. He did seem legitimately frightened and concerned, and there was Tong's arrangement with the Avatar regarding the Hssk to consider.

"I'll allow it," Tong said abruptly. "But you stay here, and touch nothing."

Hanjo held up his ghostly hands. In an astral form, he couldn't touch anything if he wanted to.

"Now, describe this creature to me," Tong demanded. He held out his wing impatiently as Hanjo began to explain. As more and more details of the Abomination came out, Tong's attitude shifted from anger to legitimate curiosity.

"Strange," he said. "It resembles a spirit hybrid in some ways, but the reincarnation is strange…I'll have to do research."

Tong turned swiftly, vanishing in a cloud of black feathers. The bookshelves echoed with mighty wing beats as Wan Shi Tong soared across the vast expanse of his library. Ancient tomes were swept clean of dust as his massive wings pushed the air aside. Finally, he landed in his private collection, the source of all his most ancient and dangerous knowledge. One by one he picked through his way through the myriad tomes, searching for anything even vaguely resembling the Abomination.

Hanjo sat in silence in the dark halls of the library. Dusty tomes leered at him eerily from quiet shelves. He really didn't like the Great Library. Sen mentioned now and then that when the war was over he would like to come back to peruse Wan Shi Tong's tomes, but that was a field trip Hanjo would not be joining.

The dark spaces between the book cases darkened even further as the massive body of Wan Shi Tong obscured the light. The great owl stood above Hanjo, seeming somewhat frustrated.

"There's something wrong," Tong said grimly.

"I suppose we should have seen that coming," Hanjo said.

"No, we should not have," Tong said. "My library has information on virtually every existing creature. There are only two possible exceptions. The first is that this is some kind of new spirit-possessed creature, which is fundamentally impossible."

The "bridge between worlds" that the Avatar represented was as much literal as metaphorical. When Wan and Raava had united, they had closed the disastrous divide between human and spirit forms. Spirits could no longer disfigure mortals by possessing them, as they had in the era before Avatar Wan.

"The second is that this creature is not a new hybrid, but an old one. My records of this world extend only so far into the past. I was…indisposed, prior to Wan's convergence."

Hanjo's eyes narrowed.

"Are you saying this thing is older than the Avatar?"

"It is quite likely," Wan Shi Tong concluded. "Given the Abomination's ability to regenerate from mortal injury, I would not imagine immortality is beyond its power."

"Well that's spooky and intimidating and all," Hanjo said. "But it doesn't really tell me anything about how to stop it."

"It does, however, give you a clue," Wan Shi Tong chided. "You know better than most where to find information on the ancients."

Hanjo opened his mouth to protest, but then he remembered exactly what Wan Shi Tong was talking about. He then crossed his arms and muttered indignantly. This was not going to be pleasant.

***

The scouring light if the Undying Bloom surrounded Hanjo on all sides. It might have been beautiful were it not so blindingly bright. There was only one spot in the entire forest that did not burn with the light of a thousand suns: the massive, dead tree that marked the home of Ta Jide Shui.

Hanjo grimaced the moment he saw it. The last time they had come here they had ended up- he couldn't quite remember what exactly had happened, but it had been something awful. This dead tree, within reach of the imprisoned Ta Jide Shui, was Sarin's seat of power. Here and only here would he wield enough power to end the Avatar.

But the Avatar was not there. It was just Hanjo. He sheepishly stepped forward.

"You are bold to come here again," a thundering voice declared.

"Not really," Hanjo said. He was scared out of his wits, but he always put on a brave face. "I can just poof away whenever."

Hanjo demonstrated that fact by vanishing and reappearing. The methods Sarin had used to give Hanjo access to the Spirit World made him able to appear and disappear quite easily. He was quite happy to use that ability against the very person who had given it to him.

"Yes, I know that very well," The great tiger stated, with just a hint of sarcasm. He had been a conspirator in the plot to use Hanjo as bait.

Rising from his resting place, Ta Jide Shui stretched his tiger like legs. Sufficiently roused from his rest, the tiger that was both stone and cloud strolled around the tree, coming into view of Hanjo. The massive spirits form seemed even darker and more troubled than usual, having turned a shade of deep grey. In keeping with the mismatched tones of mist and stone, Hanjo could not decide whether it looked more like a storm cloud or dark granite.

"Now, why do you come to me?"

"Why does anyone come to you?" Hanjo asked. "I want to know about something super old."

It was amazing how a face that wasn't even vaguely human could show such a familiar expression of indignation.

"What possible reason would I have to give you any information?"

"Well, if your boss sent out that freaky monster, probably none at all," Hanjo admitted. "But I'm kind of hoping that isn't the case."

Broad paws of mist and stone flexed, exposing the Ta Jide Shui's claws. He knew exactly what Hanjo was referring to. Sarin had unleashed the Abomination upon the world.

"I suppose I have no reason not to help you," Ta Jide Shui said, lying through his mist-shrouded teeth. "Tell me more. Removing this Abomination may benefit both of us."

Ta Jide Shui pretended to listen with rapt attention as Hanjo described a creature he already knew quite well. He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Hanjo made a few mistakes in describing the creature. As Hanjo's tale wrapped up, the great tiger continued his charade, pretending to be mildly intrigued.

"Ah yes, I recall this creature. It was sealed away long ago, though. I can't imagine how it escaped," Ta Jide Shui lied. "I shall tell you everything I know."

Hanjo looked over his shoulder suspiciously, but all he saw were the blindingly bright trees. This was almost too easy. There should have been bargaining or deal-making, but Ta Jide Shui was all too eager to hand the information over. The great tiger clawed the ground idly.

"Where to begin," he mumbled to himself. "You mortals have such a small view of the world."

With the curse of an endless life and endless memory, Ta Jide Shui often found it difficult to talk to the short-lived. Even so-called ancient spirits were practically newborns from the stone-cloud tiger's point of view. With such limited memories, they often lacked the proper context on events.

"It was long ago, roughly fifteen or sixteen thousand years after Vaatu tore open the paths between the worlds," Ta Jide Shui said. "In those early years, spirits were largely concerned with their own world. Few spirits intruded upon the mortal realm, but those that did, ah, they were terrible to behold. Life takers, face stealers, mind eaters…"

Ta Jide Shui watched as the shadow of memory passed from Hanjo's face. The Hssk was nowhere nearby and yet his power still took hold. Ta Jide Shui had always envied that power. The Mind-Eater could exert his influence across worlds, while Ta Jide Shui was confined to his lone dead tree.

"For many millennia they endured their fate as prey to the dark spirits, but one day they could endure it no longer. A great warlord, powerful and proud, rallied the mortals to war, and they marched across the frozen wastes into the Spirit World."

Ta Jide Shui had only heard stories, passed on by those spirits who travelled through the Undying Bloom, but this story he recalled in great detail. They were the first mortals to cross into the Spirit World. They had marched headlong into the ethereal plane, crude clubs and spears held high.

"It was annihilation," Ta Jide Shui said grimly. "This was before the Lion Turtles had begun to shelter man. The mortals wielded no bending arts. They were hapless prey for the spirits who they, by their own anger, had darkened."

He could still recall the echoes of the one-sided battle. The screams of men deformed by spirit possession, and those destroyed in other ways. That first conflict had sparked the first mass migration of spirits into the mortal world, leading to their eventual domination of it. Only the intercession of the Lion Turtles had saved men from extinction.

"Most of the soldiers were simply deformed and left to their fate," Ta Jide Shui explained. "But the warlord who had united them was different. His will was stronger."

The strange events that had happened that day were part of why ta Jide Shui could so easily recall the events. The story of the Abomination was one of a kind.

"A Spirit sought to possess him, to deform him, but the warlord's will was strong," Ta Jide Shui said. "His soul would not warp, even against the Spirit's fury. The fury of two souls met, and there was no victor. In their hatred for another, neither would release their grasp on the others soul, and the two gripped so tightly that they became one."

"They became the Abomination," Hanjo said.

"Precisely," The tiger roared. "The immortality of a spirit, with the pain and suffering of a human's mortal life. A mortal's ability to die, with a spirits eternal rebirth. An endless suffering, a prison of mortal flesh for an immortal anger. A beast that lives by nothing but hatred and fear."

"Man, why is it always hate and fear? When are we going to get some one-of-a-kind weirdo for stuff like hope?"

Ta Jide Shui stared blankly at Hanjo for a long time.

"The Avatar."

"Right, duh," Hanjo said, clearly embarrassed. "Forget I said anything. The Abomination, though. That was a nice history lesson, but it doesn't really tell me how to beat it."

"The force that keeps it alive is anger and fear, negative emotions," Ta Jide Shui said flatly. "It was born in dark times, and imprisoned in the dark depths of the Spirit World to feed on the chaos. Isolate it from hatred, face it with a pure heart, and it will not regenerate."

"I know just the person," Hanjo said. "Thanks for the help. You're still evil, though."

***

Hanjo waved a sarcastic goodbye and then vanished. Ta Jide Shui rested his stony paws and chuckled to himself.

Sen arrived on the scene to find it far less chaotic than he had anticipated. Whistler was standing idly by while Ariak stood over a shifting lump of flesh, his spear held high, the point facing downwards.

"What are you doing?" Sen had been mostly brought up to speed by Hanjo, but this was new to him.

"Oh, yeah, this," Whistler said. She pointed at Ariak and his oddly-shaped victim. "Eventually we figured out if we keep stabbing the Abomination it'll just keep regenerating. No need for fighting."

Ariak thrust his spear downwards and then looked at Sen with weary eyes.

"This is very morally uncomfortable," He said with a slight whimper. The Abomination squirmed slightly beneath him as it tried to regenerate.

"That's enough," Sen said, waving his hand dismissively. Ariak stepped back as Sen stepped towards the Abomination, his hand extended. Though he could easily test Ta Jide Shui's advice and defeat in combat without hate, there was something Sen wanted to experiment with. "I need to try something."

Although the Abomination's body was twisted, its soul was almost normal. Chi flowed through everything, living and unloving, mortal and immortal, and the Abomination was no exception. The head of the Abomination began to form, and Sen placed his hand against it. Where there was a soul, there was a chance to energybend.

Two souls met, but only briefly. Sen recoiled backwards, clutching a hand struck by paranormal agony. The Abomination likewise retreated, running on malformed legs from a sudden spike of pain. Sen stepped backwards, clutching his arm, as the beast ran. Hanjo was quickest to Sen's side, though all his friends gathered around Sen soon enough.

"What did you do?"

"I tried to split it apart," Sen said. "I thought I could unravel the two souls. Separate the mortal and the Spirit."

Sen clutched his arm and flexed his fingers. The pain was intense, but it was oddly ephemeral. As Sen realized he wasn't really injured, the pain faded almost instantly. An odd quirk to spiritual damage. Any will strong enough could undo it without any trouble at all. Only a slight remnant of the soul-burn lingered in Sen's fingertips.

"It won't work," Sen said. "It's not two spirits stuck together. It's one. It'd be like trying to turn tea back into water."

"So what now?"

"We do it just like Ta Jide Shui suggested," Sen said. "We fight it without any anger."

"We'd better leave, then," Whistler suggested. She was well aware she had a large host of anger problems.

"Not just yet," Sen said. He locked eyes on the fleeing Abomination. "We need some bait."

"Some Hate-Bait," Hanjo quipped.

"That joke alone should get me enough hate to get us going," Whistler said without an ounce of humor.

The Abomination slowed in its tracks, stopped, and then turned. Whistler's hatred of bad puns was entirely potent enough to attract the beasts attention. It hesitated slightly to return, still reeling from Sen's attempt to split its soul.

"Ariak, why don't you tell Whistler what you think of her?" Sen suggested.

"I would rather not," Ariak said.

"Because that would require bad words, probably," Whistler said.

Ariak sighed. Normally he did not like to engage in this behavior, but this one time he would indulge Whistler.

"Whistler, you are so intensely misguided I am honestly surprise you can walk in a straight line without someone holding your hand," Ariak said.

"It's none of your business what kind of guided I am," Whistler said. "I'm happy, and I'm not hurting anybody. You can deal with your own stupidity instead of worrying about mine."

The Abomination limped slowly towards them, its twisted body still reforming. It had a hog-like snout, and its back was covered in the bristly quills. Sen found it odd that the Abomination reformed with different traits every time. If it weren't so incredibly dangerous, he might have liked to study the creature to see how it worked.

"I am simply trying to make the world a better place," Ariak said. "That includes you."

"I just said, my world is just fine," Whistler said. "Maybe try to fix some of your own problems. You're just distracting yourself from your own issues trying to fix someone else's."

"We're a team, Whistler, whether or not we like each other," Ariak said. "Your problems are my problems."

"I don't have problems, Ariak!"

"Whistler you were a dangerous criminal, you can't honestly say you don't regret-"

"I do regret it," Whistler snapped. "I know I did things wrong. But I forgive myself."

Whistler looked away from Ariak and readied her staff. The Abomination was getting closer.

"Maybe you should try it," She said bitterly. She could see it in every move Ariak made. He still carried the guilt of his actions as a Shorewatcher. The shadow of Kida still lingered over him. The violent bloodbender was responsible for her own actions; Ariak had no reason to feel guilty on her behalf, yet he did anyway.

The twisted form of the Abomination paused. Sen readied his hands to strike with the full fury of the elements.

"You're right," Ariak said. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

In that moment, the Abomination struck.

It barreled through the middle of their crude formation, scattering their group. Sen jumped backwards, followed closely by Ariak and Whistler. The spiny quills of the Abomination tore at Ariak's robes as the beast charged past yet again. A broad forearm slammed the ground just short of Whistler's feet. Sen struck with a large boulder, knocking the beast back and to the ground. Sen never gave it a chance to rise. A large boulder rose up from the ground and crushed the Abomination flat. He paused slightly to wait out any possible regeneration.

The boulder shifted slightly. A dull moan could be heard from beneath it.

"How do you still hate me?" Ariak said.

"I don't hate you, I never hated you," Whistler shouted back. "I just didn't like your attitude."

"Then why do you insult me so much?"

"I do that with everyone, you idiot," Whistler snapped back. "It's just the kind of person I am!"

The boulder toppled to the side as the reborn Abomination rose up. It was long, lithe, and snakelike now, and it moved in a warped slither towards its prey. The Abomination was still feeding on hatred and anger.

"Well I don't hate you, and you don't hate me," Ariak shouted. "So what's it feeding on?"

The snakelike beast reared up, hissed loudly, and struck at Sen.

He struck it back with a lance of flame, burning its mismatched scales and skin. The snakelike monstrosity came back at him once again, and Sen rose up the ground in a sharp spike, impaling the creature.

The Avatar took a deep breath. Miyani had taught him this long ago. Let go of the anger, let it be carried away on the breath. He focused himself and let go. Anything that frustrated him was carried away. All the stress of running an army, all the battles he had fought, and all of his enemies. Temujin, Kida, the Hssk, and Sarin.

The snakelike Abomination began to squirm and tremble as it reshaped. Sen struck again, nearly breaking the beast in half with a forceful blow, and the Abomination fell motionless again. Sen re-centered himself.

He focused on all the things Sarin had done. The collapsing buildings in Shen's Post.

The Abomination twitched again. Sen struck quickly and stepped back. Losing Hanjo, thinking he was gone forever. The attack on Gai Zhu, so many civilians, his friends, put in danger. He tried to let it all go.

The shifting face of the Abomination took heavy fangs. Sen buried it in a blast of fire and charred the fanged face into a black coal.

The endless pursuit of the Fogbender. The attack on the North Pole, burning fire and breaking ice at the crown of the world.

The heavy limbs of the Abomination clawed forward, reaching out to Sen's hatred. A swift burst of red flames stopped the monstrosity's advance. This time the flames did not die out afterwards. Sen clutched the crackling fire in his hand like a weapon.

There were so many atrocities, so much suffering. In so many times, in so many different places, horrible things had happened to Sen and to the people around him, the people he cared about. It all came back to one person.

Sarin.

In a swift dive forward, the Abomination lunged at Sen, pinning him to the ground with half-formed limbs. Its fanged maw had only barely regenerated when it opened wide to roar at Sen.

The Avatar roared right back. In a sudden outburst, Sen pushed the Abomination back, and then struck it with a heavy boulder, crushing its body as he forced it back. Sen took a few heavy steps forward, igniting bright fires in his hands.

"You want hate?" Sen roared. He slammed his hands forward. "Take it!"

The fire in his hands sparked into an inferno that buried the Abomination in an endless stream of fire. The misshapen monstrosity screamed as the torrent of scorching fire washed over it. It burned red at first, and then blue, and then finally Sen's anger became a white-hot blast of raw heat, a stream of fury so intense it could barely be called fire anymore. The air burned blisteringly hot as the screaming inferno burned hotter and hotter.

As the fire burned the air, Sen screamed aloud, adding his raging shout to the torrent of fire that rushed forward. All his anger carried out into the inferno, but it did not diminish. Rather with every passing second it grew hotter and hotter, never seeming to run dry, weaken, or falter for even a moment.

With a fire of such intensity, there was eventually nothing left to burn. The inferno quickly diminished as Sen restrained himself. The blazing light died out, and the fire died away, revealing a blackened patch of ground, incinerated so thoroughly that even the ash had burned away. Sen stood before the charred patch of earth, breathing heavily, his muscles tense.

There was silence for a while as Sen observed the blackened scar where the Abomination had once been. Hanjo crept cautiously to his side. Sensing motion seemed to snap Sen out of his battle trance. His shoulders straightened and the intense hatred faded slightly from his eyes.

"Problem solved," Sen said curtly. "Nothing left to regenerate."

There was no sign of motion in the scorched void where the Abomination had once been, and there was no shortage of hatred nearby. The Abomination would not be returning.

"Sen, are you-"

"We've wasted enough time here," Sen said grimly. He turned his back on the ashen scar and marched towards the Portals. "We have a war to win."

The midnight shadow of the Hssk circled around Sarin, dodging the light of the Undying Bloom as it darted between shadows. The malevolent trinity had reconvened to discuss recent events.

Ta Jide Shui was making no secret of the fact that it had given Hanjo the necessary information to defeat the Abomination. That left Sarin with only one question.

"Why?"

Ta Jide Shui stretched out and flexed his paws. He seemed utterly unconcerned with his own treachery.

"To win the war, of course," The great tiger said.

"The Abomination was part of the plan, Spirit, I was-"

Ta Jide Shui's calm demeanor evaporated in a moment. He lunged forward like a raging beast, pouncing to Sarin's side to roar into his face. The massive tiger's fanged maw dwarfed Sarin as it roared.

"You were stalling!"

With that roar the immortal spirit stepped back from Sarin, and began to circle him just as the Hssk did. The great limbs of Ta Jide Shui, at once mist and stone, sauntered with predatory intent around his "partner".

"You are wasting our time," Ta Jide Shui growled. He had lived for tens of thousands of years already. Every minute of continued existence was agony. "The only way we defeat the Avatar is to bring him, for the three of us to face him as one. Anything else, everything else, your entire petty war in the mortal world, is waste!"

"You don't understand warfare," Sarin said dismissively.

"There should not be a war," Ta Jide Shui said. "Bring the Avatar to this place. That is all that matters."

Sarin shook his head and turned his back on the spirit. Ta Jide Shui snorted derisively as Sarin walked away. The Energybender was not concerned with what the great tiger thought. There was a war still to be fought.


	80. Book 5 Ch8: Cold Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While hunting the lunatic bloodbender, Kida, in the Fire Nation, Miyani encounters an uncomfortable mirror of her own past, and Ariak employs dangerous methods to try and save Kida from herself.

While the South had pledged its support to the Coalition, that support came with far more conditions than any of the current members. Sen had been bogged down in negotiations and contracts and terms of service. He clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly as he sat down for yet another meeting. This was a waste of his and his allies time.

"Our average financial contribution to the Coalition will not exceed fifty percent of the South Water Tribe's total military budget," One representative said. Chief Kesuk tapped his fingers impatiently.

One of the invited bureaucrats on Sen's side of the table shuffled slightly as he received a report. The Southern tribe representatives droned on and on as whispered messages passed between Sen's allies. Chief Atana, sitting at Sen's right, was the last to hear the news, and she jumped slightly in her seat. Sen sat up straight as he saw the reaction to the news travel to the room. Finally there was something interesting.

Atana leaned over and whispered in Sen's ear as the Southern representative droned on and on. Sen stood up and loudly planted his fist on the table, interrupting the diatribe. He had been hoping for an interruption to the monotony, but this was not how he had wanted it.

"Gentlemen, we need to evacuate every representative of the Southern Water Tribe to a safe location," Sen commanded. "My intelligence network has reason to believe you're going to be targeted by Sarin's bloodbenders."

Ko Rin's intelligence reports were inconsistent in timing, but almost always reliable. The full details were no doubt forthcoming, but if Ko Rin said that bloodbenders were coming, there were very likely bloodbenders coming. The full moon being only a few days away added a great deal of credence to the theory.

The meeting came to an abrupt halt as Sen ordered his troops into an escort for the Southern dignitaries. The two chiefs of the Water Tribes walked alongside the Avatar as they headed out of the council chambers.

"Hopefully this will be the kick in the rear the Council needs to take this seriously," Chief Kesuk grumbled.

"They should have been taking it seriously from the beginning," Sen grunted. His disdain for the Council of Elders was barely hidden at this point. Anyone who saw the threat Sarin presented and did nothing was either a coward or a fool.

"We'll take anything that gets them moving, Avatar," Chieftain Atana cautioned. The imminent threat would certainly help them punch through the bureaucracy that was bogging them down.

The members of the Council of Elders maintained a persistent nervous twitch as they were marched to safety. Sen nodded approvingly as he saw the fear in their eyes. That would, hopefully, spur them to swifter action.

The temporary base camp of the Coalition in the South was abuzz with activity. Reports of Bloodbender activity always sparked a frenzy. Some were afraid, some were excited, and others were brimming with righteous determination. As expected, Ariak was quick to Sen's side as he entered the camp.

"What've you heard?" Sen asked. Ariak's connection to Kida had inspired in him an obsession with all of Sarin's bloodbenders. Ariak would know more than anyone.

"They're planning a three-pronged attack," Ariak said. "The first group is going after the Council members of the South."

"We'll have that covered within the hour," Sen said. "The other two?"

"An attack on our new base in Xian is also planned," Ariak said.

"Then it's a good thing we just moved in our armored divisions," Sen said. One of bloodbendings exploitable weaknesses was that the bloodbender had to see the body of the person they were manipulating. Tanks and mech suits rendered them powerless. Xian would be heavily patrolled by both.

"The last attack is aimed at one of our shipping lanes in the Fire Nation," Ariak concluded. Sen grunted slightly. That one actually concerned him. The Fire Nation supplied most of the Coalition's firepower, but due to its distance from the main conflict, the sea routes were not well-guarded.

"I should attend to the shipping lanes personally," Sen concluded.

"What do you mean?" One of the council members protested loudly. "They're after our lives!"

"My men will take care of you," Sen assured them. They didn't believe it.

"Our being dead would make it very difficult for the South to continue as a member of the Coalition," The Councilman argued. Sen's eyes narrowed, and the Councilman shirked slightly. Sen turned back to Ariak and shook his head.

"They have a point," Sen admitted. "I should defend our new allies myself."

"We still need those shipping lanes defended," Ariak said. He was managing to keep his mind on business, but Kida still occupied his thoughts.

"I have a plan," Sen said. He then grabbed a radio and sent a few messages planning for the coming full moon, including a summons for one of his other allies. Once all that work had been done, Ariak and the Council Members followed Sen to the Avatar-General's private quarters.

One of Sen's only permanent possessions in his nomadic military lifestyle was a very large desk, usually coated in papers and maps detailing the entirety of his war effort. Ariak didn't bother trying to decipher the elaborate plans of the Avatar. Sen took a seat behind the large desk as the Council Members found their way inside.

"Ariak, if you don't object, I'm going to send you to the Fire Nation," Sen said. "My hope is that Kida's obsession with you will lead her astray from her mission."

"I'm all for it," Ariak said firmly. Sen nodded. He had never doubted that Ariak would accept. He had no qualms about being used as bait, if Kida was what they meant to catch.

"These bloodbenders need to be dealt with," Sen said. "I won't be sending you in alone."

The door of the tent parted in a massive sweep as a very large figure stepped through. Miyani straightened her back and stepped into the center of the gathering, up to Ariak's side. Many members of the council flinched visibly at the sight of her.

"Miyani will help you deal with Kida and the bloodbenders," Sen said. Surprising them both, Ariak shook his head.

"I can handle Kida," He said. "I've been consulting with an expert."

"I thought that was going to be your last resort," Sen said curiously. Miyani looked around. She was being left out of a loop.

"Not him," Ariak said bitterly. "We haven't crossed that line yet. I have an expert."

"Miyani's an expert," Sen stated. Ariak took Kida too personally. "The kind you need. Kida and the Bloodbenders she's trained are a threat to everyone."

In the past, bloodbending had been used exclusively by groups that were primarily self-interested. Yakone, Amon, and the Red Moon bloodbenders had kept the powers of bloodbending a very closely guarded secret. Kida, on the other hand, was liberal in sharing her powers with Sarin's followers. Given that many of the Energybender's footsoldiers were abandoning their duties, it was likely that bloodbenders were disseminating into the general population. They could not afford to allow such dangerous abilities to propagate.

"We agree with the Avatar," A councilman said. "These bloodbenders need to be eradicated, for all our safety. The combustion bender should do the job."

"Oh, now you agree to use her," Kesuk said sarcastically. The Council of Elders had given him a great deal of trouble over Kesuk hiring Miyani as a free agent.

"Bloodbending is quite different from combustion bending," The councilman protested. "Any waterbender can learn to bloodbend. Only a special few can combustion bend."

Sen covered his mouth and looked to the paperwork on his desk. Miyani grinned slightly, but it dropped off her face quickly.

"It's true," She said somewhat nervously. "Combustion benders are born with a red mark on their heads. A bloodbender could be anyone, anywhere."

"Precisely why you need to get moving," Sen said. "You only have three days to reach the Fire Nation. And remember to move obviously, not just quickly. We need Kida to know that Ariak is in the Fire Nation."

Ariak saluted sharply and moved out rapidly to meet his nemesis. Miyani didn't leave quite yet. A small outcropping of rock was pressed against her foot, a subtle signal from Sen that he wanted her to stay a moment longer. At Sen's word the two chieftains and the Council of Elders filed out, leaving Sen and Miyani alone.

"You don't trust Ariak," Miyani said. It wasn't hard to guess the context of this particular conversation."

"That's not necessarily true. I trust Ariak with my life," Sen said. He stood up and placed his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I do not, however, trust him with Kida."

The Avatar stepped around his desk, but did not take his eyes off of it. The layout of maps and documents dealt with many topics, not the least of which were the monthly attacks of Kida and her Bloodbenders. They were one of the most significant threats the Coalition faced, second only to Sarin himself. With every month and every full moon that passed, they grew more dangerous.

"Ariak sees Kida as a problem to be fixed, not a threat to be eliminated," Sen said quietly. "He will try to save her, not stop her."

"Is it wrong to want to help someone?" Miyani asked. Kida was a madwoman, but she was not entirely without a reason for her actions. She had lost her entire family to the senseless violence of the Shorewatchers. Sen considered this briefly and sighed loudly.

"Under different circumstances, I'd be helping Ariak," Sen admitted. "But we have to face reality. Kida is a risk we can't afford to take. She needs to be stopped, and we both know Ariak won't be the one to do it."

"So you want it to be me," Miyani said flatly.

"This is me asking, not telling," Sen said, holding a hand to his chest. "You know I wouldn't-"

"I do know," Miyani interrupted. "I'll take care of it. Her."

Sen nodded slightly, and Miyani nodded back. She turned sharply and set out to follow Ariak.

***

It was difficult to set up any kind of infrastructure in the rocky islands of the Fire Nation, but thanks to a bit of Goto's absolute power, the Coalition soon found itself well-accommodated. A small village port was rapidly refurbished to serve as a base for the Coalition's strike team. The locals of the village were surprisingly welcoming.

Ariak found himself being welcomed somewhat more warmly than Miyani. Combustion Benders still bore a heavy stigma in the Fire Nation, despite Miyani's heroic actions. Most of the Fire nation villagers cut her a wide berth, so Ariak dealt with the locals.

"There's going to be great risks in the coming hours," Ariak warned them. Even their fastest vessels had only gotten them here with a few hours to spare. "Those of you with the means to evacuate should do so. If you can't, barricade your homes and stay inside, no matter what."

"We'll be alright," The village mayor said. "Your reinforcements just got here."

They mayor pointed past Ariak's shoulder. He hadn't been expecting any reinforcements. Ariak quickly turned to look to the harbor. There were ships arriving, but they flew Coalition flags and the soldiers at the dock seemed to be welcoming them. At least it was a pleasant surprise. Ariak had been momentarily worried that it had been some kind of surprise attack.

A surprise reserve of Coalition troops stepped off board the arriving ships. Ariak would have been happy to see any additional troops, but he was especially happy to see these ones.

"Surma," Ariak said happily. "I'm surprised you've come all this way."

The former Huntswoman led the band of former Shorewatchers into the village. Though they fought under the Coalition banner now, the Shorewatchers had stuck together as a unit.

"We wouldn't miss it," Surma said. She was happy to see Ariak, but it wasn't obvious in her voice. She took this outing very seriously. Surma stepped to Ariak's side and they patrolled the outskirts of the village together.

"We came as soon as we heard the Avatar's plan to draw Kida here," Surma said. "We've been hunting her without much success up to now."

"I wasn't aware you were pursuing her," Ariak said. "I've had very little success, but perhaps if you'd shared with me-"

"And you'd shared with us," Surma said. There was just a slight hint of accusation to her voice. "You take Kida too personally, Ariak."

"It's hard not to take her personally, considering she's specifically hunting me," Ariak said. "Kida is my problem to solve, Surma."

There was a slight sigh of resignation from Ariak's left. He heard a quiet shifting sound as Surma lifted her arms to pull a spear off of her back. He soon found that same spear held in front of his face. Ariak recognized the carvings of the spear well, but not as Surma's. This was Letho's spear.

"Tell me again that she is your problem," Surma said. She drew the spear back, not wanting to hold her accusation over Ariak for too long.

Ariak looked at the ground. He knew that many had already been lost to Kida's madness. Every day she continued to live free risked many more lives. He had a responsibility to protect the innocent, but he also felt responsible for Kida. It was a difficult situation to handle.

"I can solve this," Ariak said confidently. "I've been talking to someone-"

"Maybe you are right," Surma said. "But I know for a fact that I can solve this."

Surma clutched her spear tightly. Her meaning was obvious. Surma and Ariak stared at each other for a moment in tense silence. They were taking two very different approaches to this hunt. It was a divergence bound to create conflict even among close friends.

"We should split up," Surma suggested. "Whoever finds her first-"

"Agreed," Ariak said, interrupting her. They shared a terse nod and parted ways. Ariak shook his head. This was only going to make things more complicated.

The evacuation of the village was well underway by now, but it was not without its hiccups. Ariak stepped in to take his mind off Kida for a minute by helping to untangle some of the knots in the evacuation. As a friend of the Avatar, it was easy for him to defuse situations. His proximity to Sen gave him an authority that few civilians would question. It wasn't hard for him to find a problem that needed solving.

A woman and a young man stood in front of a Coalition soldier, trying to argue their way onto one of the evacuation vessels. The Soldier was blocking their progress temporarily.

"Lady, we have plenty of ships available and plenty of time," The soldier said. "You don't need to try and fake your way forward."

"I am not," The mother protested. "You said families with young children first."

"That is not a young child," The soldier said, indicating towards the woman's son. Ariak found it hard to believe anyone would even bother trying to pass him off as young. The man was almost taller than his mother, much too large to believably be a small child. He was standing silently by his mother's side, looking quite embarrassed, and a bit like he had a headache.

"He's twelve," the mother protested. "He's very tall for his age."

The obstruction was causing a commotion that stretched further down the queue. Miyani stopped helping with the town's fortification and came to investigate the ruckus. She seemed more and more disturbed the closer she got to the scene. Ariak stepped up and tried to defuse the situation as best he could.

"Ma'am, everyone will be out by nightfall, no matter what order you go in," Ariak said. "Perhaps it would be best for you to come back later-"

"He's a child!" She protested again.

Miyani stepped forward, and the commotion halted, as it usually did when she appeared. Her towering figure was imposing enough to silence everyone nearby. She took a long look at the mother, and then at her child. The young man stared right back, and Miyani leaned backwards slightly. She grabbed Ariak by the shoulder and gripped unnervingly tight.

"Let them through," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Are you sure, this isn't-"

"Let them through," She repeated again, more firmly this time. "Get him out of here."

The soldier didn't need to be told twice, especially not by a Combustion Bender. The mother and her child were funneled through the queue quickly, and order resumed. Miyani released Ariak's shoulder and wandered off quickly. Ariak followed behind by only a few steps. That entire exchange had been uncharacteristic of Miyani.

Ariak caught up to her as she slammed open the door of one of the Coalition's temporary bases and went inside the hollow structure. There were very sparse accommodations in the abandoned buildings they had taken over, so it took some time for Miyani to find a chair and slump into it heavily. She looked more stressed and fearful than Ariak had ever seen her. She rested her face in her hands and gingerly traced the red tattoo on her forehead with her fingertips.

The empty building was silent for a moment. Miyani clearly knew Ariak was present, but did not acknowledge him. Ariak allowed her a moment of silence. Though he did not understand it in the slightest, whatever had just happened had deeply affected her.

Eventually she sighed and removed her fingertips from her forehead. Though she still seemed stressed, Ariak figured that was as close to a chance to speak as he would get.

"What happened, Miyani?"

She froze in place briefly before biting her lip. Miyani plucked at her wrists nervously, recalling bandages she had shed long ago.

"That kid…trying to evacuate," She began hesitantly. "The mother wasn't lying. He really was young."

"I don't understand," Ariak said after a short pause. "He was tall? Why does that-"

Miyani interrupted Ariak by standing up and stepping towards him until they were nearly face to face, or as close as they could be. At Miyani's extreme height she could never stand face to face with anyone, and the sudden display of her height made Ariak understand.

"No," He said, stepping back. "You can't be sure."

"I know," Miyani said. She stepped back and once again slumped into her seat. "I could just…tell. He was like me."

It was difficult to explain how, but Miyani had no doubt about her intuition. It was an instinct, almost.

"Another combustion bender," Ariak said, his voice trailing off.

"No," Miyani objected sharply. "No, never. He's just a kid who's different. Too tall, he'll get a lot of headaches. That's all."

"But what you said earlier," Ariak protested. "What about the red mark? Won't someone-"

"I lied," Miyani said. She had been deliberately spreading misinformation about combustion benders for months. For every news interview, every curious questioner, she had established a careful network of lies. "I don't want anyone else to know how to find us. There should never be another combustion bender."

Ariak wandered across the room for a moment. He found his way to Miyani's side and sat down sullenly.

"Who else knows?"

"Sen. He's the only one I've told," Miyani said. "There might be other people who already knew. Fire Lord Goto, and I think Hayao, maybe."

Ariak nodded. The secret was safe, then. Goto was reckless, but even he wasn't bold enough to try and create combustion benders.

"Why keep it a secret at all?"

"I told you," Miyani scolded. "I don't want people to know what to look for. If I can lead them away, make sure no one ever creates another combustion bender…That's what I want. To be the last one. Ever."

"Why? I know they've all been dangerous in the past, but you're proof-"

"It's not about that," Miyani shouted. Being a combustion bender didn't make anyone inherently evil or dangerous. She had learned that lesson firsthand. She looked at her own hands, at the faint scars that crisscrossed her skin. She flexed her fingers nervously, briefly clenching them into a fist.

"Being a combustion bender- becoming one, that is," She said, leaning back in her chair. She pressed two fingers against her red tattoo. "It's not just this. There's more than the tattoo. It's…pain. More than you could possibly imagine."

The trauma of becoming a full-fledged combustion bender was so great she could barely remember her life before the Seventh Kingdom dungeon. Her earliest memory was looking at the thick red scabs on her arms, feeling the lingering sting of torture. Everything earlier than that was a haze, with occasional glimpses of people she did not remember, toy blocks, then fire and pain.

"The mark is the focus," she said, pointing at her own forehead. "But the pain is where the power comes from. So much pain it destroys you, so you can destroy others."

Combustion Benders had technically always existed; firebenders with twisted chi had been around long before the Hundred-Year war. It was not until the mercenary known as the Combustion Man had been grievously wounded in the war that the full potential of the mutation had been discovered. The full, terrible potential.

"But don't you think that boy deserves to know what he is? What he's capable of?"

"It doesn't matter," Miyani said. "Like I said, he'll just be taller, get a lot of headaches. His hands will be a little numb. Living like that is better than being like this."

Miyani's tense hands finally relaxed, and she let out a heavy sigh. Ariak clenched his fists and sat in silence as Miyani finally let the stress wash over her. The initial shock of seeing the strange boy had worn off, and she was ready to refocus herself.

"Nobody's born a monster, Ariak" Miyani said firmly. "But we can be made into them. Some more easily than others."

Miyani stood up and stretched her limbs. She felt like she had been carrying a heavy burden these past few minutes.

"Just pretend this never happened," Miyani said with a sigh. "Just focus on the bloodbenders."

"We have to do something," Ariak said. He wouldn't feel comfortable leaving something so earth-shattering completely unattended. "We have to tell Sen, at least."

"No," Miyani said. "Nobody should ever know what he is. Not even him. If I could make us both forget I would."

"Doing nothing can't be the best option," Ariak said. "I can't believe that."

"You don't need to believe it," Miyani said harshly. "I'm telling you, as your friend and as a combustion bender, the best thing to do is leave him alone."

Miyani looked at her open palm. She had hidden her hands under bandages for so long that her skin was a noticeably different shade where the cloth wraps had once been. So much suffering, physically and emotionally, so many years of fear, so much power. All because she'd been born a certain way. It was the kind of burden, and opportunity, that few could understand.

"We'll talk later," Miyani said quietly. "It's getting dark out."

The fiery sun was setting. Soon the moon would rise, and bring blood with it. Miyani stood up and left the dark room, and thoughts of the combustion bender child, behind.

As the sun set, three distinct teams formed. The former Shorewatchers led by Surma gathered together, and the Coalition forces split into two groups, one led by Miyani and the other led by Ariak.

"There are four major islands that can strike at the shipping lane," Surma said. She held out a map. "The island with the village has already been taken care of. That leaves three uninhabited ones."

"With no kinds of buildings, they'll be difficult to fortify," Ariak said. "But they make a good place for Bloodbenders to lurk."

"Precisely. We need to consider each of them a potential combat zone. There might be bloodbenders on one of them, or spread out across all of them."

"So we split up and take them out individually," Miyani said. "Seems straightforward."

"We can't underestimate bloodbenders," Surma cautioned. "But then, we can't underestimate you either."

Miyani smiled weakly. She was not feeling especially proud to be a combustion bender today. The three groups debated over which island to patrol. Eventually the matter was settled, and the three groups got ready to split up. Miyani had one last note.

"Remember, our top priority is their leader. If you see Kida," She began, glaring at Ariak. "Take her down."

Ariak nodded. Miyani didn't believe for a second that he understood. He led his troops away, towards the ship. Together they set out for their assigned island.

It only took about five minutes for Ariak to go AWOL. He had his own map, his own plan, and his own radio.

"I'm already on course," He said to his consultant. "All you have to do is follow my lead."

He silenced the radio and sailed his speedboat across the black waves. He was already being followed. One tail he was expecting, the other he was not.

***

Ariak sat with his legs crossed and his spear in his hands. He'd been taught this position by his father. It let you relax while still being able to jump to your feet at a moment's notice. A useful pose for anyone expecting to ambush -or be ambushed.

The halls of the old fortress laid bare beneath him. This place had been a fortress once, during the Hundred Year War. It was centuries abandoned now, and picked bared by looters. A few scraps of metal from ancient Fire Nation armor and weapons sat rusting in cobweb-filled halls. All else had been looted long ago. Ariak sat in an open courtyard, with the silver moon above him.

It was a fitting place for Ariaks purposes. Far off the beaten path, away from innocent bystanders. A good place for a conflict that had consumed too many already. As Kida often said, this was a battle between the two of them alone.

The dull halls of the ruined fortress had sat silent for a long time. Even Ariak's footsteps had not disturbed the silence. That serene quiet came to an abrupt end, its death knell the subtle scrape of wood against stone, and the sound of footsteps.

Kida examined the gates of the ruined fortress. The behemoth at her side nodded in confirmation. Ariak was here.

"Stay here, Shark," She commanded. The brutish Shark complied. "I don't want anyone interfering this time."

Kida proceeded into the darkened halls of the fortress while her massive enforcer stood by the gates. Her revenge had been interrupted once by Suda: Kida would not tolerate a second delay. She walked swiftly through the halls, hunting her prey with lethal intent.

"Have to say, Ariak," A harsh voice droned. "Could've picked a better place to die."

Kida rounded a corner, the shaft of her stolen spear dragging against the weathered grey stone. The full moon illuminated white fangs bared in a vicious smile. Ariak stood calmly.

"Not today," Ariak said firmly. Kida looked at Ariak's spear and tilted her head.

With a swift forward thrust of her palm, Ariak went flying back. Kida's grip on Ariak's blood tightened as she slammed him against a wall. The hunter let out a loud cry of pain as Kida's bloodbending took hold. The pain of bloodbending had been described to him before, but nothing had prepared him for this. Kida was going out of her way to make it as painful as possible.

"I should have learned not to waste my time back at the North Pole," Kida said. She held her spear in one hand while the other held Ariak in place. "But I never was a good student."

Kida's fist clenched as she walked forward, and Ariak's body contorted violently. Kida smiled more broadly as she watched her nemesis suffer.

"There's someone," Ariak began. He was interrupted by a spike of pain. Kida didn't want him to talk. She wanted him to suffer. Ariak powered through the pain regardless. "Someone you need to talk to."

"I'm not here to talk," Kida said, clenching her fist again. Ariak's face turned deep red as his blood travelled on unnatural paths, searing him with pain. Kida was walking forward slowly, and she was nearly upon Ariak now.

"I told you, Ariak," She said venomously. "I told you it was you or me. Looks like it's you."

She raised her stolen spear, the same spear that had claimed the life of one of Kida's sisters, and prepared to strike. The spear glistened for a moment in the silver light of the moon –and then shook as the ground trembled. A white flash if light and fire turned day into night for a split second, and then the flash faded. Kida swore under her breath.

With a loud thump and crash, the halls of the fortress rang with the sound of violence. Kida sped her steps, moving swiftly towards Ariak, but she was not fast enough.

The bloodbender known as Shark was a massive man, but even he was easily sent flying through the air by Miyani's strength. The severely scorched bloodbender arced through the air, above the high walls, and landed in a heap on the ground. Kida jumped back as the massive man landed, unconscious, just beside her.

The ground between Kida and Ariak detonated, sending Kida and the Shark flying back in a wave of fire. The explosion rang through the halls deafeningly as Ariak slumped to the ground, briefly paralyzed by pain. He came to his senses only as Miyani shook him conscious.

"How did you find me?" He stammered.

"I'm no idiot, Ariak," Miyani said. It was obvious to anyone that Kida would follow Ariak. Miyani had never stopped keeping an eye on Ariak, even as they separated. A soldier had radioed her the minute he had gone off course.

Kida's robes were scorched, and her face was burnt, but she was not yet ready to fall. The lunatic bloodbender rose unsteadily, her hands trembling slightly as she grabbed at Ariak's former spear.

The same spear was torn violently from her hands. Miyani wielded the blunt end like a club to strike Kida across the face before tossing the weapon aside. Kida reeled backwards from the blow and tumbled into a wall, leaning on it for support. Miyani stepped forward, her massive body towering high, blocking out the light of the moon as she loomed over Kida.

"This is over," Miyani said. Her voice held as much fire and force as any of her explosions.

"No," Kida groaned. "Not with you!"

Kida held out her hand, and her fingers twitched briefly. There was a slight pause in Miyani's step, but not enough. Miyani swatted her hand aside and slammed a fist into her gut, forcing Kida to her knees. Kida's rage allowed her to overcome the pain, and she raised her hand again. Miyani grabbed on to the bloodbender's forearm.

"Don't bother," Miyani said. Her grip tightened around Kida's arm, and then Miyani twisted her hand sharply. There was a loud crack, and a cry of pain from Kida, as her bone snapped in two.

"You're nothing but a lunatic," Miyani snapped. She released Kida's arm and wrapped a scarred hand around her throat. Miyani's red eye glared downwards at Kida.

"And I'm a monster."

Miyani picked Kida up, dragging her into the air by her throat, and slammed her against the wall. The aged stone cracked under the impact. Kida barely had time to scream in pain before Miyani drew her back and threw her across the room, tossing her bodily into the opposite wall. There was a bony crack on impact, and Kida fell to the ground, groaning and motionless. Miyani stepped firmly over to Kida. She was not going to leave anything to chance.

"Miyani, don't," Ariak begged. He struggled to get back to his feet, still reeling against the pain of bloodbending.

"You'll get your chance to talk, Ariak," Miyani said. She grabbed Kida by the collar and dragged her to her feet. Ariak caught only a brief glimpse of the pain written on her face before Miyani's fist slammed into it.

"She'll be spending plenty of time in the hospital," Miyani said harshly. She grabbed the shoulder of the arm she hadn't already broken, held it with two hands, and gripped it tight before pulling it apart. Kida cried out again as her shoulder dislocated.

"You are never going to hurt anyone again," Miyani roared. With both her arms disabled, Kida's bloodbending was no longer an option. Miyani drew her fist back and struck Kida in the face again, knocking her against the wall. Decades of dust flew off the wall as Kida's impact shook the foundations of the fortress. Despite that, Kida stayed on her feet.

Miyani struck again. Kida did not fall. Miyani struck her one more time, and Kida still stood. Miyani grit her teeth. She was not enjoying this, but she could not allow herself to take risks. Kida had to be unconscious. The full moon made her too dangerous.

Miyani swung her arm in a sweeping blow, knocking Kida to the side. She fell to the ground near her spear and then struggled to her feet, desperate to stay standing. Kida struggled and stumbled, clawing her way through rusted scraps of armor, finally finding purchase on an old wooden shelf. Her hands displaced some dusty old helmets as she pulled herself to her feet.

Miyani did not allow her time to rest. She grabbed Kida and forced the bloodbender to face her. Miyani drew her fist back one more time. She locked eyes with Kida for a moment. Between the bruises and scrapes, only one of Kida's eyes remained open, and it stared back at Miyani. Behind Kida, behind layers of dust, an ancient helmet stood, and a white skull mask stared out with empty eyes. For a moment, Miyani saw the same black emptiness in the eyes of the helmet and the eye of Kida, and she hesitated.

"Stop it!"

Miyani broke out of the brief trance, and her arm relaxed. That was not Ariak's voice.

"Stop hurting her," The voice demanded again. It was a woman's voice, one Miyani didn't recognize. She heard rapid footsteps, and in a moment, a young woman had grabbed on to her arm and was trying to pull it away from Kida.

"Let go!" The stranger demanded. Against her better judgment, Miyani complied. She released her grip on Kida's throat and let the bloodbender collapse to the ground. The stranger fell to her knees by Kida's side and grabbed her by the shoulders.

She was young, dark in hair and skin. One of the Water Tribe, by all appearances. Miyani took a step back as the new arrival grabbed at Kida, trying to examine her wounds.

With uneven, pained steps, Ariak stepped forward. Miyani offered her arm for her to steady himself on, and Ariak grabbed it. He kept his eyes on the two Water Tribe women all the while.

"I told you," Ariak said. "I had a plan."

No one was an island. Everyone, even Kida, was someone's family. Someone's friend. Kida shook off the pain of Miyani's beating and looked up. She knew that voice.

"Ori?" Her voice was weak and feeble, but she managed a single question.

"Yeah," The girl said. Her voice was trembling, and tears choked her eyes. "It's okay. I'm here."

Ori helped Kida get upright, took another look at her injuries, and started to cry outright. Ori pressed her head against Kida's chest and mumbled a few words through her tears, mostly apologies and regret. Kida stared blankly forward while Ori clung to her in a tight hug.

Ori stopped sobbing and straightened up to look Kida in the eyes. Kida worked through the pain of her dislocated shoulder to raise a hand and rest it on Ori's shoulder. She almost didn't believe Ori was there. Her old friend was a relic of a life she thought she had completely abandoned.

"I miss you," Ori sobbed. "We all miss you, everyone. Me, and Ila, and Kallik. And Nasak, he finally admitted he always had a crush on you and –and we all…"

She trailed off and drooped her head, unable to look Kida in the eye. Kida's sisters had been her only family, the ones who had practically raised her. Her friends had tried to support her though their loss, but they had failed. Ori blamed herself for everything, but most of all for failing her best friend.

"I'm sorry," She whined. "I'm sorry about your sisters. But you have to stop this. We want you to come home. I want my best friend back."

Kida did not respond. Her face was blank, almost expressionless. That alone was a good sign. Every time Ariak had seen her, her face had been twisted in homicidal rage. In this moment, though, she finally seemed calm. Ariak turned slowly to Miyani. She had a slight frown on her face. Her lip quivered slightly as she saw Ori cling to Kida.

The silver light of the moon still glared down, reflecting off of Kida's fallen spear. The bladed weapon was still lying on the ground, though Kida made no attempt to reach for it. Kida's fingers tightened around Ori's shoulder. Ori grabbed Kida with both hands and held on to her.

"Come on," Ori begged. "Look where we are. You always wanted to come to the Fire Nation."

Kida thought for a moment, and then nodded slightly. Ori smiled as she finally got some acknowledgement from Kida.

"I remember, when we all went out to dinner together after finals," Ori said. "You just stopped eating halfway through the meal."

"And Kalik offered to finish it for me," Kida said. Her lips twitched upwards, but never formed a smile. Ori smiled and nodded. Miyani's frown deepened.

"You said you were just so sick of whale and seal meat," Ori continued. "You couldn't handle any more blubber. You wanted to come all the way to the Fire Nation just for the food. You wanted to try something with spice."

"I remember," Kida said, nodding limply.

"So come on, Kiki," Ori said. Kida's eye twitched as she heard her old nickname. "Come with me. Let's go get some food."

Ori rested her hand on Kida's, gripping it tightly to her. Kida's eyes darted around the room for a moment. She looked over Ori, the grey stone walls, her fallen spear, before they darted upwards, to Miyani, and then to Ariak.

Her eyes stopped darting, and focused.

"You know, Ori, I already tried the food here," Kida said aimlessly. Miyani's lips stopped quivering. Ori's grip on Kida's hand relaxed slightly as she felt harsh fingernails dig into her skin.

"They use too much spice…it just tastes like fire," Kida said. "It hurts."

Ori's smile broke and collapsed like shattered glass, replaced with bitter tears. Her face surged red.

"Don't," Ori begged. "Please don't."

Ariak stepped back. Miyani clenched her fists as Kida moved quickly, one hand tightening around Ori's neck while the other reached out to grab the fallen spear. Miyani stepped forward, but not fast enough.

"One more step and I'll rip her heart open," Kida roared. She dragged Ori limply through the air with what meager bloodbending her broken body was capable of. Miyani took a step back as Ori let out choking sobs of despair.

"Ariak," Miyani growled. Ariak stood frozen, his face warped with grief. Miyani looked away from him and locked eyes with Kida. The bloodbender didn't care. She locked eyes with Ariak, only flitting to Ori for a brief second before she focused entirely on the object of her vengeance.

"One day your friends won't be here to bail you out," Kida threatened. "Then it will just be you or me."

She raised a broken arm, pushing through the pain to point a spear at Ariak. Kida slowly began to back away. Miyani considered going after her, but she couldn't risk hurting Ori. Under her breath, she cursed Ariak for bringing an innocent into this.

"Shark," Kida bellowed. She was barely capable of standing on her own, much less moving. Shark was barely conscious, but both his arms worked. He groggily stepped forward and steadied Kida's steps. The bloodbending brute looked briefly to Miyani. She glared back, and Shark backed away slowly.

Kida kept her eyes on Ariak as they retreated, brandishing her spear threateningly. She backed into the darkened halls of the ruined fortress, slowly vanishing into the shadows. Soon the only sign of her slow, stumbling retreat was the sound of Ori weeping in the darkness, begging her former friend to stop. Eventually the sounds faded into nothingness.

Ariak collapsed to his eyes, staring mournfully at the ground. Miyani clenched her fist tight, but quickly unclenched it.

"Now do you get it," Miyani shouted accusingly. "Now do you understand what she is?"

Ariak said nothing. Miyani grit her teeth and grabbed Ariak by the shoulder, forcing him to stand up and look her in the eye.

"Do you understand?" She demanded.

"You're not a monster," Ariak said quietly. Miyani let him go, letting him stand on his own two feet. "You said you were."

Miyani took a few steps back and shrugged idly.

"I was trying to scare her, Ariak," She said defensively.

"No one's a monster," Ariak said. He was barely louder than a whisper. "Not even her. I thought I could make her stop. I thought-"

Ariak trailed off into silence. Miyani sighed and shook her head, before reaching out to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Ariak, I know you were trying to do the right thing," Miyani said. "And I really wish that had worked. I really do."

Seeing the emotional moment between Ori and Kida had put things into perspective. When Miyani had thought of Kida before, all she had known was a psychopath and a killer, a dangerous threat to one of her best friends. Now she knew more. Kida was a beast of broken glass: she had been whole once, but now she was broken, and where she had fractured there were sharp, dangerous edges.

"But enough people have been put in danger," Miyani said. Maybe Kida was a tragedy, but that did nothing to diminish the threat she presented. Broken glass could never be put back together. The best thing anyone could do was put the bladed shards where they couldn't hurt anyone. "It needs to end."

"I know," Ariak said. His voice was despondent. This had been his one hope to redeem Kida, to make her change her course. It had failed, and consumed another innocent in the process. Ariak stumbled forward lazily.

"I have something I need to do," Ariak said. All of this had made his course very clear. There was something he desperately did not want to do –but it had to be done. Miyani sighed.

"Me too," She said.

***

"Why is it that the only person to report back to me is the only person I didn't send?"

Surma sat in front of the Avatar, as opposed to Miyani or Ariak, they people he had actually assigned to the mission. Perhaps that was for the best. Sen was quite upset that they had failed to stop Kida. With a little time to cool his head, he might not end up yelling at them too loudly.

"Your friends said they were occupied," Surma explained. "Miyani, she went to talk to one of the locals. Wouldn't say what about."

Sen bit his lip. He had a feeling that was going to be a long story.

"What about Ariak?"

"Told me to say that the line had been crossed," Surma said. She was surprised by the sudden drop on Sen's face. He seemed intensely troubled now.

"Thank you, Surma, that will be all," He said coldly. Surma left without another word while Sen leaned back in his chair. He didn't know what had happened in that ancient fortress, and he would not until Ariak or Miyani returned, but it had to have been something terrible. Ariak would never go that far without good reason.

Ice made a harsh prison. Cold white walls enclosed from every angle. Some people believed that a frozen prison was foolish, that prisoners could melt through the walls. They were wrong. This far north it was too cold. Nothing ever melted, only froze and froze again. It was a biting cold, deep enough to sap your will to live.

Ariak trudged through the halls, escorted by a lone guard. There weren't supposed to be any visitors at a maximum security prison, but in this instance they had made an exception.

Some people said supermax was too harsh for this prisoner. Other people said it wasn't harsh enough. Ariak leaned towards the latter. They had charged him with reckless endangerment and criminal negligence; not much, but enough to get him locked away.

Ariak stepped through the cell door. The prisoner didn't even need to look over his shoulder to realize who it was that had come to see him.

"You must be desperate, to come to me," Tinaaki muttered.

"Not desperate," Ariak said. He kept his sentences short. He had no desire to talk to his father. "Determined."

Tinaaki said nothing. He had never held any hope that his son would come to visit out of love or sympathy. Ariak wanted something, something that very few people could give. Kida needed to be stopped. Ariak had held brief hope that he could appeal to her humanity, but that hope had died. There was nothing left of Kida to save.

"I need you to teach me bloodbending."

***

Kida sat motionless on the bed. She had no desire to leave the bed, and she could not even if she wanted to. Her injuries required extensive bandaging and casts. She could barely move her left arm enough to feed herself, and her right was completely immobilized.

"Sarin's rather disappointed, you know," Dei Sensheng said. He was overseeing her care personally. Despite Kida's personal agendas, she was a valuable asset to her cause. They had very few such advantages. The Bloodbenders mission had failed absolutely –all three targets had been defended from their attacks. The command was furious that so many important operations had failed.

The look Kida gave him in return said that she knew, and that she absolutely did not care. Sensheng had expected nothing less. She was an ally of convenience, not necessity.

"I do have one bit of curiosity, Kida, something you left out of your report," Dei Sensheng questioned. "The hostage you took. She wasn't with you when you arrived."

Kida stared forward and said nothing.

"What happened to her, Kida?"

"We stopped to refuel," Kida said blankly. "She got away."

Sensheng stared at Kida for a moment. She did not look him in the eye.

"I see," Sensheng said. Stiffly, he stood up and left Kida behind, sitting alone. She took a deep breath and examined her broken arm. Slowly, and with great pain to her dislocated shoulder, she reached to her side and grabbed something to eat. It was dry and tasteless.


	81. Book 5 Ch9: The B-Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For an undercover mission requiring great discretion, Sen assembles a team of lesser-known allies from his past to act on his behalf.

It said a great deal about Republic City that Rohtan actually didn't draw many stares as he walked down the streets. Even the most "normal" garb the Sun Warriors had been able to provide him stuck out like a sore thumb in civilized society. Despite that, he did not garner a great deal of curiosity from passers-by. Republic City had many outlandish people. He was just another one among many.

Rohtan followed the directions on the map he had been provided, towards the center of the city. It was hard to miss the giant beam of green energy at the center of Republic City, but the streets were oftentimes so narrow and winding it was hard to find his way. It would have helped to approach from above, but that was not an option right now.

It would help if he knew where he was going or why he was going there. The courier who had given Rohtan the invitation in the first place had known nothing about its source. He had considered turning down the invitation, but he had always been curious about the world outside of Dragon Roost Island, and this summons provided the perfect opportunity to escape the Sun Warrior's island. It was an interesting experience, true, but Rohtan did find himself missing home. He toyed with a dragon-shaped talisman around his neck as he walked the strange streets.

He finally made his way to the vine-covered crater at the center of the Republic. The directions on his invitation said that the Spirit Portal would be important later, but it wasn't his destination right now. He was to go south down the road, towards the docks. Rohtan complied, heading down the roads of Republic City once again.

He reached the docks and saw his inevitable target; a rough-skinned man who seemed to want to be somewhere else. The stranger picked his teeth with a small knife.

"Uhh, hi," Rohtan said. "Do you know anything about the B-Team?"

"Oh, you're Rohtan," The lanky stranger said. "Yeah, I know all about it."

"That's great," Rohtan said happily. "Could you tell me?"

"No," The stranger said. He tucked his knife away for a moment. "My name's Moldun. Get on my boat."

Moldun stepped off the docks and on to a small boat. He gestured for Rohtan to follow, and he seemed very impatient.

"Look pal, I've done this four times today already," Moldun said. "I could be shooting lightning at some Grey-Faces right now. Either get on board or don't."

"Grey-Faces?"

"It's what some of the boys call those masked soldiers that the Energybender throws at us," Moldun said. "I like it. Makes 'em sound like weird looking jerks."

"Oh, so you fight the Energybender?"

"Yes! Now get on the slagging boat," Moldun said, pointing at his ships deck.

Satisfied that whatever his mysterious errand was, it was likely to be against the Energybender, Rohtan boarded the ship and set out. Moldun piloted the small vessel across the still waters of the bay and towards the massive statue of Avatar Aang. Rohtan was curious as to why so many things in this city were so large. All the buildings were huge, and they even had a giant person watching over them. Back home the biggest things around were mountains.

Moldun docked the ship in what little space was still left. The Avatar Museum underneath Aang's feet had been getting a lot more business recently. Sen's rise to power had given the world a new interest in the Avatar. The island was very crowded.

"That letter will be your ticket in," Moldun said. "Go to room 2B."

Rohtan tried to say a polite goodbye, but Moldun was completely uninterested. His role in this particular escapade had ended entirely.

The crowds gawking at various relics of the past Avatar's were not easy to get by, but Rohtan pushed his way through. Living with the Sun Warriors had not acquainted him with the social niceties of civilization, but it had bestowed him with very muscular arms that were good for pushing people around. He continued pushing until he found his way to room 2B, a meeting room in the side hallways of the main Museum.

It was a small, dusty room, meant for visiting school children to get a lecture at the end of the day. Right now it's only occupants were a handful of twenty-something strangers who seemed to be avoiding each other. There were three men sitting in opposite corners of the room, and one young girl sitting at the front, next to what appeared to be a radio. Rohtan didn't have much experience with radios.

"Hey, he's here, that makes five," One of the men said. He was the most curious of the lot, with an airbender's tattoo across his head. The mark looked fairly fresh, though he was older than the average newly-appointed master.

"Is he actually here, or did he just wander in?" One of the other men wondered. They both looked to be from the Water Tribe. One carried a spear, and the other carried a short sword at his waist.

Rohtan sheepishly held up the letter that had guided him here. The girl at the front of the room nodded.

"Then that's five," She said. "We're ready to go. Why don't you all introduce yourselves while I get this radio working."

She began to fiddle with the various knobs and buttons of the old radio as the four men in the room turned to one another. There was an awkward pause. The Water Tribal wielding a spear was the first to speak up.

"Well, I'm Alrok," he said. "Been a Shorewatcher for just a couple months now. Signed up right away after that whole debacle up North."

He had been one of the first volunteers to help restore the Shorewatchers damaged ranks and reputation. As many of their senior members had been lost to the Energybender's attack, or retired in the wake of it, the Shorewatchers had eagerly welcomed any recruit.

"Kunik," The other Water Tribal said. "A student of Master Yakkul's."

"Name's Sang Lug," The airbender said curtly. He pointed a thumb at his tattooed forehead. "Airbender."

They had all figured that out by now, but the condescending way Sang Lug said it let them know that he wasn't going to be pleasant about this whole experience.

"I'm Rohtan, I'm a Sun Warrior," Rohtan began. "I've been helping raise dragons."

Kunik and Alrok seemed impressed, but Sang Lug got skeptical all of a sudden. He rubbed his chin with one hand.

"Why are we all here? I thought we all represented peacekeeping organizations," He pointed to himself, Kunik, and Alrok. "Airbender, White Lotus, Shorewatcher."

"I can say I've never kept the peace even a day in my life," Rohtan said. "Back home my only job is hunting game to feed the dragons, and believe me, that takes a lot of time."

"That's completely irrelevant," Sang Lug said. "What I want to know is why we all got three mysterious invitations to the same place."

"I believe I can answer that," the radio said, suddenly crackling to life. Though it had been a long time since some of them had heard it in person, the voice on the radio was still familiar to them all.

"Sen?"

Everyone in the room had met the Avatar at one point. For some it had been recently, but for Rohtan it had been just slightly less than two years. He had almost completely forgotten about the stranger he'd sparred with when news of the new Avatar had begun to circulate.

"Hello," Sen said. "I know this is going to seem terribly rude of me, but I really don't have that much time to talk. Pankha will be taking over soon."

The girl next to the radio nodded. She was by far the youngest of them all, and she was clearly not built for combat. Though she lacked the body of a warrior, there was a fiery determination in her eyes to rival the greatest champions of the world. Pankha wanted something, and she was willing to go to great lengths to get it.

"I want you all to know that I chose you specifically for this mission," Sen continued. "I don't know some of you as well as I'd like to, but I know I can trust you all."

With that, the radio crackled loudly and fell silent. Alrok tilted his head.

"Is that all?"

"I'll be taking charge now," Pankha said. "I'll explain everything."

Pankha turned off the radio, ending any hope they might have had for further involvement from the Avatar, and stepped forward.

"There's a small cell of Energybender loyalists working in Republic City. Every time the Avatar or the Coalition tries to investigate them, they go to ground and cover their tracks," Pankha said. "That's where we come in. You guys aren't Coalition, and you aren't associated with the Avatar."

"Not- I lived with him for like six months," Kunik protested.

"I was supposed to be his airbending master," Sang Lug likewise objected.

"You know, not to sound, uhh…" Alrok wanted to say "ungrateful", but that might offend Sang Lug and Kunik. "But I did study with him for a long time. Wouldn't I be at least a little associated with him?"

There was a slight pause, and Pankha looked severely un-amused with their various protests. She turned a skeptical eye towards Rohtan, and he shrugged.

"Hey, I knew him for thirty minutes at most," Rohtan said. "I'm honestly surprised I'm even here."

He wasn't that surprised, actually. He knew one very good reason Sen might have invited him.

"You can protest as much as you want, but nobody looks at you guys and immediately thinks of Sen. Maybe that'll change after all this is over, but for now you're kind of obscure," Pankha said harshly. "Now, do you want to keep complaining, or do you want to save the world?"

Kunik and Alrok were quick to throw their hats in the ring. Sang Lug considered complaining for a long time, but eventually agreed to participate. Just as soon as he knew exactly what he was participating in.

"Where are we going and what are we doing?"

"To the human settlement on the other side of the Spirit Portal," Pankha said. "You're going to be taking over a tea shop."

That was hardly the critical mission that any of them had been expecting. Sang Lug nearly left the room then and there, but Pankha continued talking, elaborating why that particular teashop was so important.

The Avatar had come to the White Dragon tea shop once, long ago, and in the process had drawn the violent attention of Pankha's misguided brother Anole. With Anole in prison, Pankha had been unable to keep the White Dragon afloat, and had finally been forced to sell her parents business. The buyers, however, were some of Anole's former comrades in the ranks of the Energybender's men.

Using the store as a legitimate front for their highly illegitimate activity, the White Dragon had been repurposed from an innocuous tea shop into a den of crime. It was a hot bed of smuggling, spying, scheming, and substandard tea. Pankha would not let that stand.

"This seems pretty straightforward," Alrok said. "Why not just raid the tea shop and be done with it?"

"They've tried investigating it normally," Pankha said. "The person in charge is careful to always cover their footsteps when they know they're being watched. We need to observe them in secret."

"Okay, fair enough," Alrok said. "Where do we start?"

"Well, you need information before anything else," Pankha said. "For that, there's only one solution. You're going to have to do a stakeout."

***

Stakeouts were not nearly as dramatic as they were made out to be. For the most part they took turns sitting at the window, waiting and watching for any signs of suspicious activity.

The room that had been rented out for their stakeout was not particularly lavish in its amenities, having just enough chairs to seat them all and little else to its name. It didn't even have a televarrick or a radio, and lacking either of those, the four participants of the stakeout turned to each other for entertainment.

"Hey Sang Lug, you ever go on airbender missions?" Alrok asked.

"Very few," He said. "I was meant to train, not be a peacekeeper."

Resentment was obvious in Sang Lug's voice every time he spoke. Alrok was trying to get him to talk about something other than how he should have been the Avatar's airbending master, but somehow it always came back to that. Rohtan wasn't going to let it happen again.

"What about you, Alrok, you gone on any hunts yet?"

"Only one or two so far," Alrok said. "The Shorewatchers had to get me trained first, and get their act together."

"They were in a pretty big mess, it's no surprise it took them some time to recover."

"Yeah, and they're not really the same as they used to be," Alrok said. He sounded slightly disappointed. "There's more rules and regulations now."

"That might be for the best," Rohtan suggested.

"I don't know," Alrok said with a shrug. "I'm not smart enough to say what police should or shouldn't do. I just follow the boss."

"Speaking of boss, who's in charge here?" Kunik wondered aloud. He was still keeping watch out the window, but that question had been nagging at him.

"I thought Pankha was in charge," Rohtan said.

"Yeah, but she doesn't come with us out in the field," Kunik said. "When blows start flying it helps to have someone giving orders."

"Considering I'm the only one with any kind of actual experience in this field, it should be me," Sang Lug said.

"Hey, you just said you weren't trained for peacekeeping," Alrok objected. "I may not have a lot of experience, but I've been trained by the best."

"Far less training than I have," Kunik added.

"Well this is one ring that my hat is going to stay out of," Rohtan said. "I have no experience whatsoever."

"Okay, so you're the only one not voting for themselves," Alrok said. "Who do you think should be in charge, then? You can be the deciding vote."

Rohtan took one look around the room and decided that there was no right vote to make here.

"Let me think about it," He said evasively. "We've got plenty of time before it even matters."

"True enough," Kunik agreed. "Anyway, my shift's over, someone switch me."

Kunik finally moved away from the window and Alrok took position. There was a peculiar way he bent his neck and squinted as he observed the tea shop across the street. The Shorewatchers had a method that they taught every trainee, and it had stuck with Alrok very well. He kept up the classic Shorewatcher stance as he watched over his target. Kunik was glad to be able to pull his attention away from the window. He had a question he'd been meaning to ask.

"Hey, Sang Lug, I know Whistler probably isn't your favorite topic, but-"

"She is quite possibly my least favorite thing in the entire world," Sang Lug said bitterly. "And yes, that includes any and all horrible things you are currently thinking of."

"Right, okay, but I've just got to know," Kunik said. "You knew her before she started calling herself Whistler. What's her real name?"

Sang Lug stewed in his own anger for a moment. He had been well acquainted with the so-called "Whistler" long before she had taken up that ludicrous nickname.

"I would tell you," Sang Lug said reluctantly. "But I'm pretty sure she'd find out and hurt me."

"I can understand that," Kunik said. "She's a petty, petty person. She once booby-trapped my bedroom because I ate some snacks that she wanted."

Rohtan stifled a giggle, just barely managing to disguise it as a cough. Kunik and Sang Lug were still slightly suspicious, but they were thankfully distracted.

"Guys something's happening," Alrok shouted suddenly.

As one they all dived towards the windows. They peered around corners and through cracks in curtains at the proceedings. They had gone this far without arousing suspicion, and they needed to keep it that way. Someone might notice a group of young men peering out the windows at a tea shop.

Their vision was limited as they peered through small holes in the curtains, but they could still clearly see as someone walked past the windows of the tea shop. She was a tall, slender woman, with a very angular face. The angular style carried on down her body and into her outfit.

"Did you call us over to look at the sort of threateningly attractive lady?"

"Nobody with an outfit that pointy is ever not evil," Alrok said, glaring at the woman's pointed shoulder-pads.

"That's not really a lead, Alrok," Kunik said.

"Oh, yeah, I just felt it was worth noting," Alrok said. "She also gave a few orders to some of the employees. I figure she's the one in charge."

"That still doesn't make her a definite suspect," Sang Lug said.

"Person of interest, at least," Alrok said. "We have reason to investigate."

"We should be low key about it," Kunik said. "We don't want to come on too strong on such a flimsy lead."

"Right," Rohtan said. "About that, I've been thinking."

The other three men on the team nodded. Rohtan continued.

"I think maybe we should have a guy on the inside," Rohtan said. "We'd probably be better off watching it from up close."

"Could be risky," Sang Lug said. "We can't risk identifying ourselves."

"I'll keep it low-key. Just go in, order tea, take a quick look around and report back."

"You will?"

"It's either me or Kunik, and I think I'm the better one," Rohtan said. "You two are law enforcement, so they'd be more suspicious around you. Kunik can't take his sword into the restaurant, but if something goes wrong I'll have my firebending."

"It's a sound plan," Kunik said.

Sang Lug and Alrok grunted in acknowledgement. It was certainly better than standing around staring at things through the window.

"Alright, I'm going to sit by the window there," Rohtan said, pointing out his destination. "If anything goes wrong, I'll put my hand against the window like this."

Rohtan pressed his palm flat against the wall, demonstrating his signal.

"What if you find something out?" Sang Lug asked. "What's the signal for that?"

"I'll just walk back here and tell you," Rohtan said. "It doesn't need a signal."

"Right," Sang Lug said awkwardly.

After one more look at the tea shop to settle his resolve, Rohtan set out of their rented hideaway and onto the street below. As he left, Sang Lug looked around at his fellows still in the room.

"Wait, is he in charge now?"

Rohtan lingered for a minute as he crossed the street. A few weeks ago he had never so much as left Dragon Roost Island, and now he was standing under the eternal night sky of the Spirit World. The Avatar had a funny way of making people's lives take a turn for the strange. Rohtan toyed with his comfortingly familiar dragon necklace as he walked across the street.

A small bell above the tea shop door rang as Rohtan made his entrance. He sat down at his chosen table and waited patiently. It was not a busy time of day for the teashop, and he was quickly attended to.

"What can I do for you?" His waiter asked. It was readily apparent that this was not a typical teashop. Most restaurants were staffed by young women who needed the money. There were mostly grown men working here. Maybe Rohtan just thought it was obvious because he already knew it was a front for the Grey-Faces. It didn't matter much anyway.

"Just a cup of tea please," He said quickly. He needed to seem disinterested, just one more customer in and out the door, nothing suspicious whatsoever.

Suspicious eyes darted around the restaurant for a while, looking for anything suspicious, especially that pointed woman they had seen earlier. She did step into the front room for a moment, just to talk to one of her "employees". They were quite committed to maintaining the tea shop façade. If Rohtan wanted to see anything useful, he'd have to go to the back room.

His tea arrived, and Rohtan drank it while he looked out the window. He knew Kunik, Alrok, and Sang Lug were watching through the window, but he couldn't see them. That was a good thing. They wouldn't be seen by anyone else from the teashop either.

The White Dragon tea shop seemed to be perfectly ordinary, other than the fact their waiters were large, thuggish looking men. It would take more than that to give Rohtan the evidence he needed to take the tea shop down.

The ceramic teacup was emptied in little time, and Rohtan found himself wondering what to do next. He needed to get into the back, but he didn't know how to do so. He remembered something he'd heard about businesses on the mainland doing, but he wasn't quite sure what the word was. He flagged down a waiter.

"Sorry to bother you," he said. "But I don't really know a lot about this part of town-"

"I can tell," The waiter said gruffly. Rohtan was obviously foreign, down to his features and the color of his skin.

"Well, yeah, I don't know how some things work," Rohtan said, trying to play up the naïve foreigner routine. "Can I have an…interview?"

The large man paused briefly to think over the statement.

"You want a job interview?"

"Yes, that," Rohtan said. The Sun Warriors lived communally, and had designated responsibilities, so the concept of having to interview for a position was as foreign to Rohtan as Rohtan was to Republic City.

The large man seemed confused, and he blustered off without another word. He vanished into the back room for several minutes and then returned to Rohtan's table.

"The boss says yes," The waiter said. It was clear that this whole ordeal was uncommon for them. Likely they were only granting Rohtan an interview to not seem suspicious. Whatever their reasons, Rohtan had his way in. After a short, awkward exchange with the waiter, Rohtan stood up and found his way back to the manager's office.

The look of the office made it immediately apparent that she was hiding something. Rohtan was beginning to honestly wonder how they'd gone this long without being exposed, since everything seemed to be a giveaway about their true intentions. There were numerous blank spaces and hastily-shuffled documents on her desk, showing that she had reorganized her office just before Rohtan arrived.

The Manager herself seemed clearly stressed by recent events, and the fact that a stranger was in her office. Despite her misgivings, she politely invited him to sit.

They exchanged the usual pleasantries of a job interview first: age, prior experience, school history, the sort of useless minutiae that had no real impact on how an employee performed. As these questions went on it became more and more apparent that Rohtan was woefully unprepared. He had no references or prior work experience. Eventually his ineptitude at interviewing became so apparent that the Manager could not pretend to ignore it any more.

"Rohtan, I really have to know, what brings you here? Why not stay on your island?"

Rohtan had been hoping for an opportunity just like this. It was half the reason he'd asked for an interview.

"I was exiled, actually," Rohtan said, feigning sadness. Obvious sympathy shone through on the Manager's face.

"It all started after Rahm's attack, and the Avatar came out of hiding," Rohtan said. "He'd come to our island years before, incognito, and while he was there I worked with him. My elders didn't want any trouble with the Energybender, so they exiled me to avoid angering Sarin."

Interest was written on the Manager's face like words on the page of a book. The fact that Rohtan was associated with the Avatar intrigued her. He knew that making a connection between himself and Sen was the exact opposite of Sen's intention for this B-Team, but Rohtan figured it was worth a shot.

"You knew the Avatar?"

"Yeah, I worked with him, talked with him, trained with him," Rohtan said bitterly. "And he ruined my life."

Rohtan leaned on every bit of acting skill he had to seem angry about how Sen had "ruined his life". If the Manager was convinced that Rohtan might be on their side, he might have a way into their organization.

"I think we might have something for you," The Manager said. "Can you come by tomorrow evening?"

"Absolutely," Rohtan said confidently.

***

"You have a job at my tea shop?"

The B-Team had reconvened in the Avatar Museum meeting room to discuss Rohtan's recent job offer. The update on the situation had gotten Pankha a bit heated. The others kept their distance while Pankha went after Rohtan.

"Make sure they're using the right filters," Pankha said. "And that they only boil the water once! Oh, and check that they're-"

"Pankha," Rohtan interrupted. "I can't break my cover."

"Ensuring quality tea is the responsibility of any good employee," Pankha said. Her volume was just barely below screaming. "They're just boiling leaves in there, Rohtan! It's a travesty!"

"I would consider the multiple human rights violations and war crimes to be a greater travesty," Sang Lug said firmly. Pankha bit her lip. She was crazy about tea, but she wasn't that crazy. Sang Lug had a point.

"Okay, so Rohtan plays our man on the inside," Kunik said. "It's definitely going to take you some time to get in their good graces, though, so what the heck are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Stake out tertiary objectives," Alrok said. "No violent terrorist organization is an island. The Tea Shop might be the center of activity, but there's got to be a lot of other stuff going on connected to it."

"I can try talking to my coworkers, find out where they live, what they do," Rohtan said.

"And then the rest of us split up to investigate whatever leads Rohtan finds for us," Sang Lug said. "It just might work."

"It better work," Rohtan said. "I don't even like tea."

He could feel a sharp cutting through his neck as Pankha's angry glare hit him.

While the field members of her team went about following the leads their inside man had given them, Pankha went to see an inside man of her own.

***

The walls of the Republic City penitentiary were thick with guards, but perhaps thinner than they might have been a few days ago. The prison housed hundreds of prisoners from Sarin's ranks, and as such it was usually guarded by an extensive force of Coalition soldiers. A large chunk of those soldiers had been withdrawn recently, both to help serve the more offensive aspects of the war, and to lull the conspirators in Republic City into a false sense of security.

Pankha was let through the secure gates with relative ease. Many of the people here had seen her before. Her visits were not exactly regular, but they were frequent enough that guards recognized her.

Visiting hours were short, but that was fine with Pankha. She never liked talking to her brother very much anyway.

The convict she'd once called a brother was led into the room, just barely pushing against the hold of the guards. Time in prison toughened some men, but it was not so for Anole. He'd been fairly weak to begin with, and once surrounded by tougher convicts, he'd quickly been resigned to the bottom of the totem pole. He got very little food or exercise, and he had wasted away over the years. The only thing that had grown was his resentment towards life in general.

"Pankha," He said disdainfully. He had regarded her as a beacon of hope for her first few visits, but it had gradually sunk in that Pankha had nothing but contempt for him. His stupidity had thrown away their livelihood, their parents legacy, and Pankha's dream. She only came to visit him because it was useful.

"Anole," She said, matching his disdain. "You feel like telling me anything today?"

"Not much," Anole said. "The Avatar already gave up finding us. Why would I tease him any more?"

Anole had no way of knowing that the Avatar was investigating by proxy. He was under the impression that the Coalition had abandoned any investigations into the teashop.

"The Avatar and I have something in common, Anole," Pankha said. "Neither of us actually care about you. No amount of your stupid teasing is going to change that."

"Then why are you even here?"

"Because I want my teashop back," Pankha said bitterly. "So tell me something I can use."

"I've told you everything I can," Anole said. "If the Avatar's not smart enough to work with that, it's his own fault."

"This is a waste of time," Pankha said. She started to get up, and Anole twitched visibly, exactly as she had expected. He wanted to taunt them further, to frustrate them more and more. It was the only victory someone like him could hope to win. He and many other Grey-Faces were trapped in prison, unable to fight against the Avatar. Anole's mockery was the only real chance they had to strike even the smallest blow against their enemy.

"Just try not to cause my friend too much trouble," Anole said. "He won't appreciate you bothering him too much."

Pankha's eyes narrowed as she took one final look at her former brother. The person in charge of the tea shop now was a woman, but Anole had referred to them as male. Pankha put a hand on her chin contemplatively. That had to mean something. Maybe there was somebody calling shots behind the scenes.

Or maybe Anole was an idiot.

***

The crowds of people in Republic City made a marvelous cover for even the least stealthy person, and Alrok was not entirely untrained in the arts of stealth. Only mostly untrained.

"Excuse me," he said, as he ran into the thirteenth person today. The crowds made good cover, but a crowd was a crowd. It was cramped, hard to see, and most of all difficult to maneuver. That made following someone a tedious task. If the person Alrok was tailing wasn't so tall, he would have lost him already.

The target Rohtan had provided had been meandering around the city for a while, attending to errands. Although Rohtan had described him as an exceptionally violent and temperamental employee, and therefore a very suspicious target, he had done nothing to overtly identify himself as a supporter of the Energybender. The most aggressive thing he had done so far was yell at a cashier for bagging his groceries wrong.

After a few hours of watching the brute go about his daily business, Alrok began to wonder at what point he was supposed to call it quits. There was clearly nothing of any particular interest happening here. If this brute ever did visit any suspicious persons or Grey-Face hotspots, he wasn't doing so today.

Alrok never got around to making up his mind because his mind was made for him. The brute he was tailing eventually wandered into an apartment building and into his own apartment. Stalking was one thing, but breaking and entering was another matter entirely. Alrok's investigation was shut down for the day.

It was a long, bitter journey to the Avatar Museum. Alrok was deeply worried that Sang Lug and Kunik had found something useful, and he'd been the only one to hit a dead end. He bit his lip and opened the door to the dusty room.

"Please tell me you found something," Pankha moaned the moment Alrok entered. He began to suspect he wasn't the only one with no answers.

"No," Alrok said sheepishly. "I did not."

Kunik and Sang Lug groaned in unison. Kunik rubbed his eyebrows in frustration as Sang Lug started, once again, to complain.

"How many people do we have to follow before one of us leads them somewhere useful?"

They were now on their third day of investigation, and they hadn't found a single lead. For the first two days it had been understandable; the Grey-Faces had to live mostly normal lives. By the third day, though, and the ninth person tailed, they should have seen even the slightest hint of a lead. Yet they had nothing.

The dust in the long-empty room shifted slightly as Pankha nervously adjusted her sitting position. The only thing she had learned from Anole was that the situation might be even more complex than they initially realized. The boys were having a hard enough time as it was, they didn't need her dragging their mood down even further.

"I wonder if it's too late to go on the pilgrimage trip," Sang Lug wondered aloud.

"What?"

"A lot of airbenders are going to start a trip to the Four Temples tomorrow," Sang Lug said. "I cancelled my plans to join them for this, but it seems like there isn't much point."

"It's too early to give up yet," Kunik sighed. "To feel like trash? Sure, right on time for that. But too soon to give up."

Sang Lug sighed loudly and nodded. They felt useless now, but the most useless thing to do was give up. Rohtan hadn't even gotten back from his shift yet.

"Why are the airbenders leaving town anyway? Shouldn't they be protecting the president?"

President Dahaka was set to give a speech in two days, his first major public appearance since Rahm's attack. There was a strong suspicion that the Enerybender would try to attack the President while he was vulnerable; it was part of the reason why the tea shop needed to be investigated so thoroughly.

"He has plenty of security. Most of the Republic City PD is going to be with him."

Kunik shrugged. After his brush with General Rahm, Dahaka's security had been bolstered by a significant margin. Even the best-equipped conspirators would be hard pressed to get near the President.

Their musings on the future were brought to an abrupt halt by the door slamming open, swinging rapidly on its hinges and kicking massive amounts of dust into the air. Rohtan stepped swiftly forward, coughing on the sudden upsurge of dust, but still with a smile on his face.

"I think I have something," Rohtan said excitedly.

"Finally," The other four said in unison.

"There's a meeting tomorrow night, something private," Rohtan said. "The Manager really wanted me to come to the meeting, but she said it was a secret and I couldn't tell anyone about it."

"Secret after-hours meeting with dozens of suspicious persons," Sang Lug says. "Sounds like a recipe for success."

"I'd call it terrorism, actually," Kunik said.

"Success for us, idiot," Sang Lug snapped back. Kunik smiled slyly as soon as Sang Lug turned his back. "Where's this meeting of yours?"

"A warehouse in the Spirit World," Rohtan said. "Not far from the teashop."

"Warehouses," Alrok muttered under his breath. Warehouses were always sinister.

***

Rohtan made sure nobody saw him as he ducked out of the alleyway and towards the "empty" warehouse. The wire he was wearing hung heavy around his neck. The dragon-shaped talisman he always wore was a good cover for the microphone hanging by his neck. If this meeting went the way he thought it was going to go, they'd need to record the Manager's statements as evidence. It was also a good way for his allies to know when the fighting was going to start, as there was no doubt in Rohtan's mind that there was going to be fighting.

There warehouse door groaned loudly as Rohtan tried to push it aside. The building was dark and choked with mold, with only one light shining in the entire darkened interior. Rohtan worked his way past stacks of long-abandoned crates as he headed towards the light.

As he moved, he heard the sounds of shifting movement from around the building. The tea shop employees seemed to have beaten him here. Rohtan hesitated slightly as he wondered if this might be a trap, but he pressed onwards soon enough. Even if it was a trap, he had backup.

He rounded a corner and saw his "co-workers" waiting for him. The Manager had set up a small lecture area with several rows of chairs arranged before a large map of Republic City. Several key locations such as the Capital, The Spirit Portal, and Air Temple Island, were already highlighted in the map. Rohtan's fingers twitched nervously.

"Rohtan," the Manager said welcomingly. "So glad you could join us. Have a seat."

Rohtan did as she said, wordlessly sitting down near the back edge of the gathered tea shop employees.

"I'm glad you're here, and you'll be glad you're here too," She continued. "I know you've hit a rough patch in your life, and you deserve an opportunity to get a little revenge on the world."

That was one of the more sinister sentences Rohtan had heard in his life. That was good, for now. This was one of the rare occasions when he was actually going to go looking for sinister. Rohtan fidgeted in his seat as the Manager continued.

"I have an ambitious plan to change the landscape of Republic City forever," the Manager continued. "Acquiring the White Dragon was only the first step. For the past few years I've been carefully exploiting the business to generate a large amount of capital. Money that we're going to use to…"

Sang Lug's hands tightened around his staff, Kunik and Alrok did likewise with spear and sword. Rohtan readied himself to strike.

"Expand our franchise into twelve new locations!"

It took only a fraction of a second before a wall of crates exploded outwards in a rush of air. A furious Sang Lug stepped through the shattered splinters he had just created and shouted loud enough to shake the foundations of the warehouse.

"What!?"

The tea shop employees stood in stunned silence as Sang Lug's warpath brought him closer.

"We've been stalking you for days to find out you've been committing petty fraud?"

"What are you talking about?" The Manager demanded. "You've been stalking me?"

"Yes!" Sang Lug shouted. "We have been following you for three days, because you are supposed to be evil!"

"Evil?"

"Yes!" Sang Lug shouted again. "You were working with the Energybender!"

"What? No-," The woman protested quickly. She was clearly set off by accusations of conspiring with Sarin. "I would never- The fraud, yes, I'll admit to that, but never in a thousand years would I work with the Energybender!"

Rohtan stood up. Most of his fellow employees had put some distance between themselves and Sang Lug by now.

"Then why did you hire me when I said I hated the Avatar?"

"I didn't hire you because you hated the Avatar," The Manager protested. "I hired you because you'd lost your home, you were desperate! I thought you'd go along with my schemes because you needed the job!"

Rohtan pursed his lips. That actually did explain it. Kunik and Alrok had entered the room, significantly less dramatically than Sang Lug, and seemed to be reaching the same conclusions. What little suspicious behavior they had seen was easily explained by the Manager's attempt at business fraud.

Last into the room was Pankha, who was not looking entirely surprised by this revelation. The Manager stared Pankha down. They had had a long, antagonistic relationship after Pankha had lost the teashop.

"You! Did you try to set me up so you could get your stupid teashop back?"

"I didn't," Pankha said sheepishly. "My brother said you were one of his cohorts."

"Cohorts! I never met him! I'm just a woman trying to make an honest living."

"Dishonest, actually," Rohtan said, moving his collar to show the wire he was wearing. "We did just record you admitting to fraud."

The Manager took a long look at the microphone on Rohtan's neck, stared quietly for a moment, and then swore loudly.

***

"Everything's been handled," Pankha said quietly. "The authorities are taking care of the tea shop staff as we speak."

It was hardly a celebration in the dusty room. The motley crew stewed in silence. Technically they had accomplished something, but it didn't feel like it. The museum of the Avatar was nearly empty today, as everyone was going to see President Dahaka's speech, and that made the mood even quieter and gloomier.

"The White Dragon is going to go up for auction, and just like he promised, the Avatar is going to help me buy it back," Pankha said.

"I'm surprised he's keeping his end of the bargain," Sang Lug grunted. "It's not like we kept ours."

"We still caught a criminal," Rohtan said. "And we proved that there isn't any Energybender presence in that part of the Spirit World. That's important."

"That's not important," Kunik said.

The young swordsman crossed his arms and moped. His sword belt hung loose around his waist, and the blade rattled slightly as he sulked.

"I should have just stayed in the North," Kunik said. "I should have known I wasn't cut out to save anything. I was always an afterthought for the Avatar."

"Same with me, pal," Alrok moped. "I was just the stupid kid who never worked hard enough. Now Taina, she impressed Sen, and now she's off in the Fire Nation attending the best school ever. And here I am, digging through scraps to find petty fraud."

"You two have nothing to complain about," Sang Lug grunted angrily. "You two met him by a stroke of luck. I was raised and trained to be his master, and some selfish moron stole my destiny out from under me at the last minute. I should have been his master, but I'm stuck here with you people!"

Under different circumstances Kunik might have taken offense to the way Sang Lug was talking about him, but at the moment he didn't feel very proud. He simply sat in silence and bore the insult. He felt as if he deserved it.

"This is my fault," Pankha sighed. "I never should have listened to my brother."

Alrok's head snapped up.

"Your brother?"

"Yes, my brother Alrok," Pankha said. "He tricked me into thinking the Energybender was doing something with my tea shop."

She crossed her arms and sulked. Alrok broke out of his personal funk and tapped his chin curiously.

"Why?"

"To be a jerk," Pankha grunted.

Complex thought as not Alrok's strong suit, as he had proven quite conclusively during his tutoring sessions, but every now and then a little bit of grease got the wheels in his head turning. There was a noticeable sound of sparking.

"There's no way he isn't up to something," Alrok said.

"Oh don't you try to pull any of this," Sang Lug said. "Your 'suspicions' got us on the tail of that manager lady in the first place."

"Yeah, and he was right," Rohtan said defensively. "She was up to something. Alrok might have a point."

Sang Lug relented and let Alrok finish his thought.

"Why would your brother just come out of nowhere and start telling you these things? He had to have had some kind of reason."

Pankha ceased sulking and narrowed her eyes.

"He did seem very insistent that I keep investigating the tea shop," Pankha said.

The quiet mood of the dusty room ceased to be mourning and became contemplative. Sang Lug, despite his initial objections, quickly came to the same conclusions as Alrok.

"We weren't getting tricked," he said aloud. "We were getting baited."

"Your president is supposed to give a speech today, isn't he?" Rohtan asked. "It could be connected to that."

"It could," Sang Lug said hesitantly. "But his security is ten times stronger than usual. They'd be hard pressed to reach him."

"Yes, but the airbenders are out of the city," Kunik said.

As the others debated potential avenues of attack, Alrok reached into his pocket and withdrew his map of Republic City. He tapped his fingers on the map at the locations of Dahaka's speech and the Spirit Portal, and then traced a long line to the one location that was miles removed from the city proper. The prison.

Pankha had provided a large truck that served to barrel them all to the outskirts of the city, miles away from the skyscrapers, and into the rocky mountains that sheltered the United Republic's largest prison. Getting there was the easy part.

"So in short, we think that the Grey-Face troops are using the distraction caused by Dahaka's speech and the Airbender pilgrimage to stage an escape attempt from the prison, and they staged the entire tea shop investigation to distract the Coalition too, so there'd be no one to stop the prison break."

"It would take an hour or two for all the cops to get here," One guard said to another. His fellow guard nodded.

"I know you don't have a lot of reason to believe us-"

"Are you kidding?" The second guardsman said. "You guys work with the Avatar. That's reason enough."

It as an innocuous statement, but it was enough to send a brief rush of pride through the hearts of the young men standing before the prison gate.

"It also helps that you have a well-rounded theory with a lot of supporting evidence," the first guard said.

"We should send a message right away," The first guard decided. "We can get backup here before anything happens."

On cue, a burst of fire and force burst out of the largest all of the prison, shattering the concrete and filling the air with noise and rubble. Sang Lug blinked dust out of his eyes, briefly opened his mouth to say something, but then decided that this outcome was so obvious it wasn't even worth commenting on.

The explosive burst was the cue for complete chaos to break loose. The guards retreated to the interior of the prison to try and manage the situation from within, while their young guests started to make a dash for the new hole in the prison walls. Pankha headed for the truck still parked on the roadside. The only one to pause for the briefest second was Rohtan, who grabbed at his necklace quickly before Kunik stopped him.

"No time for good luck charms," He shouted, grabbing Rohtan by the arm and pulling him along. "Move!"

Rohtan briefly sputtered a protest but he was drowned out by the ever-expanding sounds of conflict. This escape had been planned days in advance, and most of the Grey-Face prisoners were prepared to make a quick escape. Most of them made a quick dash for the hills. The prisoners knew they only had an hour or two before the police fell on them en masse.

While it wasn't quite a massive number, some of the authorities were already on the scene. A Shorewatcher and an Airbender struck the fleeing prisoners from the side, planting themselves firmly in front of the hole in the prison walls.

"There's a lot of them," Sang Lug shouted. He found it difficult to even find the time to talk, swarmed as they were by escaping inmates.

"Just keep hitting them!" Alrok shouted back. No matter where he stuck his spear, he found a villain on the other end. It was a Shorewatchers dream come true. While the horde was much too large for them to have any hope of rounding them up completely, they had to stop as many as they could.

The arrival of Kunik made their job somewhat easier. The hole in the wall was not particularly large, and the three of them were more than enough to bottleneck it. Had the horde of prisoners turned their full attention on the three, they might have been quickly overwhelmed, but most of the captured soldiers were still focused solely on escaping.

While all this was occurring, Rohtan was still trying to regain his footing in the crowd and get a grip on his necklace. After being pushed, shoved, and jostled from side to side for a few minutes, he finally managed to get a hold of the small carved dragon that hung from his neck.

Immediately, a hand in the crowd reached out and yanked on his necklace cord, pulling it apart and dropping the talisman to the ground, where it was kicked aside by stampeding feet. Rohtan panicked and dove after it.

As three warriors bravely fought to hold the tide of bodies back, some of the inmates who had already escaped were looking for a quick way to get out of the area. As Anole had been instrumental in coordinating the distraction that was allowing them to escape, he had been one of the first out the gate, and now he was the de facto leader of the escaping prisoners.

"Looks like your sister brought us a truck," One of his fellow soldiers said.

"Least she could do, after she nearly spoiled the plan," Anole grumbled. They had watched her approach and warn the guards, nearly ruining their chances of escape. Anole did hesitate slightly as he approached the truck. Pankha was still his sister.

"Open up, Pankha," he said, pounding on the door of the truck. There was no response. He had seen her run and hide in the truck earlier, so he knew she was still here.

"All I want is the truck," Anole continued. There was still no response other than a slight shifting inside the truck. It wobbled heavily to the side as all weight shifted towards the rear. Anole sighed heavily and walked around the back.

"Open the truck or I'll-"

The back of the truck opened with a heavy slam. A large mechanical fist reached out, grabbed Anole by the chest, and tossed him to the side of the road.

The truck lurched once more as the suit of mechanized armor stepped out of the back and slammed heavily into the ground. There was a muffled sound as Pankha tried to shout something at her brother, but as mech-suits had no external speakers, nobody heard it.

With her muted taunt out of the way, Pankha began the awkward process of piloting her mech-suit against the enemy. The Coalition had loaned her the suit for emergency purposes, but had provided very little in the way of actual training in how to use it. Training did not much matter when you had fists of titanium, so Pankha managed to fight effectively regardless. Between clumsy yet effective blows against the Grey-Face soldiers, Pankha ripped one of the tires off the truck, immobilizing it. Anyone who fled had to flee on foot.

As the mech suit made it all the more difficult for the inmates to make their escape, they gradually switched priorities from fleeing as quickly as possible to fighting the young men blocking their way. Alrok, the least trained, was the first to crack under the sudden pressure. He took a heavy blow to the chest from a flying boulder and was knocked to the ground. In the brief second he was on the ground, Alrok saw Rohtan still scrambling across the battlefield, looking for his necklace.

A swift pull from Kunik got Alrok back on his feet, and he was quickly propped against the side of Pankha's mech suit for support. Sang Lug was trying his best to keep the rest of the escaping Grey-Faces away, but they were quickly getting surrounded. Alrok took a deep breath and held his spear at the ready, even though it took all his strength just to raise it. He surveyed the crowd of convicts that was gradually closing them in.

In the middle of the crowd, a head popped up with a triumphant shout.

"Found it," Rohtan shouted triumphantly, holding his talisman aloft.

"Good, you got your necklace back," Sang Lug shouted. "Can you help us now?"

"It's not a necklace," Rohtan shouted back.

With that said, Rohtan put the dragon-shaped symbol to his lips and blew. The oddly shaped whistle created a low, resonant hum, a kind of ethereal noise that shook the hearts of everyone who heard it. A few of the more sensitive members of the crowd clutched their ears as the strangely harmonic tone rang out over the hills. The strange sound brought a brief pause to the chaos around them as the escaping soldiers paused to take in the source of the tone.

"You were looking for a whistle?" Sang Lug said. For obvious reasons, he was not entirely fond of whistles or whistlers.

Rohtan held up a single hand, gesturing for a continued pause. After a moment, he looked up at the sky. Not long after that, the sun disappeared.

The air bore down on the crowd like a collapsing ceiling as thunderous wing beats struck the sky. The sun gradually returned as the massive wingspan of a dragon descended from on high, bathing the ground in a steady stream of fire as it descended and encircled the crowd of fleeing convicts. As the sapphire blue beast made a ferocious dive for the ground, everyone but Rohtan jumped aside. The wings of the great blue dragon kicked up a cloud of dust as it landed in the midst of the battlefield.

When the dust settled and the cowering crowd dared to look up, the wingspan of the blue dragon still dominated the landscape. This time, though, the dragon was joined by Rohtan, standing perched between its shoulder blades, surveying the convicts below him. Rohtan ran a hand along the dragons neck, and it let out a small puff of fire and smoke.

"Get back inside the prison," Rohtan commanded, pointing towards the hole in the wall. The dragon punctuated his command with a loud roar, and everyone in the immediate area made a beeline for the inside of the prison. Kunik even took a few steps before remembering that the dragon was on his side.

"You had a dragon the entire time?"

"Well, yeah," Rohtan said. His dragon flexed its wings slightly. "Her names Zuma. Don't touch her."

Alrok took a step back and shoved his hand back in his pocket. Zuma turned her serpentine eyes towards the young Shorewatcher, and he tried to pretend to be innocent.

"You didn't think that was worth mentioning before?" Sang Lug asked.

"We were on a stealth mission until about thirty minutes ago," Rohtan said. As the last of the escapees returned to the interior of the prison, Rohtan jumped down from Zuma's back. "Zuma doesn't exactly keep a low profile."

With her master off her back, the blue dragon took a moment to survey her surroundings. The mountains around Republic City reminded her of home. She thought one of the peaks nearby might make a good nesting ground, but Rohtan was quick to call her attention away from those thoughts.

"Those don't belong to us,"Rohtan said, indicating the mountains. "You have a perfectly good nest at home."

Zuma let out a loud growl, and all of Rohtan's teammates jumped backwards. Pankha, who was still in a rather ponderous mech suit, simply fell on her back. Kunik helped her open the front hatch and get out of the heavy metal suit as Rohtan and Zuma started to "argue", with Zuma roaring phrases that Rohtan seemed to understand.

"I need a week's worth of sleep," Kunik sighed. The guards were getting the prison situation under control, so Kunik sat down, turning Pankha's fallen mech suit into an impromptu bench. He was quickly joined by Pankha herself, as well as Alrok and Sang Lug.

"You alright, Alrok?" Sang Lug asked.

"Been better," Alrok grunted. "Man, I am not cut out for this kind of stuff."

Although mere hours ago he had been complaining that he had not been called to greatness, it now seemed like greatness might be a little too much for him.

"I'm going to go back to chasing pickpockets up North," He concluded. "All this conspiracy and warfare and dragon stuff isn't for me."

"To be fair, I don't think dragons are usually involved," Kunik said. Rohtan got particular offended by something Zuma roared, and he whacked her on the nose, prompting an offended roar.

"But you might have a point," Kunik said. "This was a pretty good thing we did. If this is the high point of my life…I think I'm okay with that. Saving the day once is enough for me."

"It's a lot more than most people get," Pankha said.

The train of thought was interrupted as Rohtan finally got Zuma back under control. He mounted his dragon and walked her towards the mech suit where his teammates rested.

"She's right," Rohtan said. "You shouldn't be so caught up in the fact that you're not as important as the Avatar, or even his teammates. You've had an amazing opportunity, one most people don't get. You shouldn't take that for granted."

"I respect your intentions, but a lecture on rare opportunities seems kind of hypocritical coming from a guy on a dragon," Kunik said. Rohtan looked down at Zuma and shrugged.

"Fair enough," Rohtan said. "Anyway, if I don't get Zuma back home soon she's probably going to eat someone. I hope we meet again."

"You can come to the White Dragon any time," Pankha said. Rohtan nodded and kicked his heels into Zuma's shoulders. She pushed herself off the ground with a massive thrust of her wings, and took the skies, carrying Rohtan with her.

"That an open invitation?" Kunik asked.

"I think you've all earned a cup of tea," Pankha said with a sigh.

"Well, I never turn down an invitation from a pretty lady," Kunik said. Pankha's face turned just slightly red. "I'll come back soon."

Kunik stepped up and made an overly formal bow in Pankha's direction before departing.

"Is it okay if I leave without kind of vaguely flirting with you?" Alrok asked. Pankha nodded, and Alrok said a completely platonic goodbye. Pankha now found herself alone with Sang Lug, and awkwardly excused herself. Now alone, Sang Lug sat on the empty metal shell and waited. Somebody had to take the credit for this adventure, and Sang Lug intended to make sure the Avatar heard all about how he'd helped save Republic City.


	82. Book 5 Ch10: Suiting Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their wartime progress stalled, Sen and his friends attend a Gala event to support the Coalition. The presence of so may important targets attracts sinister attention, and a dangerous plot unfolds.

Nowadays it was rare that all seven of them found themselves in one room. The demands of the war split their focus across numerous battlefields and missions. The company of Suda was especially uncommon; he still claimed to be recovering from the injuries he'd suffered at Temujin's hands. It was odd that Sen would call for the presence of someone injured.

The Avatar himself was still absent, dealing with Kim and Cujo just a few rooms away, but he had assured them he would be joining them soon.

"So what do you think we got on our plate here?" Whistler asked. Anything that demanded the full attention of the seven of them was no doubt monumentally important.

"The only thing I can think of is that he finally made some progress in the Earth Kingdom," Ada theorized. Over the past few weeks it had become apparent that the Energybender had all but abandoned the Earth Kingdom. They had been following trails to long-abandoned outposts for weeks. While the Coalition had had some success tracking down spies, smuggling, and other clandestine operations, the bulk of the Energybenders activities were out of their reach.

"I don't know, didn't Minister Raisu give a speech just last week about how he still doesn't like the Avatar?"

"That doesn't rule out anything," Ada said. The north-eastern provinces were still decidedly against the Avatar, and the Coalition he commanded. Sen couldn't hunt the Energybender in those provinces without risking a disastrous war.

Their brief attempt at speculation ended as the Avatar strode into the room, with his arm extended and a tailor at the end of it, measuring his wrist size with a roll of measuring tape. Sen seemed slightly annoyed by the presence of the tailor. Detective Zas was walking in time with the proceedings, examining the tailor's work.

"Hey Sen," Whistler grunted. "What's with the guy?"

"I'm getting measured for a suit," Sen said.

"I thought you didn't want to wear armor?" Hanjo said.

"Not that kind of suit," Sen said. "A suit suit. With lapels and cuff-links and that kind of thing."

"Yes, I'm thinking angora with a herringbone stitch," Zas said contemplatively. "Brown, like your usual overcoat, but a bit darker in shade to fit the eveningwear look."

"For what conceivable purpose could you need a suit?" Ariak said, dumbfounded.

"Well, we're going to be attending a gala event, so," Sen said, his voice trailing off slightly as he spoke. He could see a look of confusion spreading across the faces of his friends.

"We're going to a ball?"

"It's not technically a ball," Sen said. "It's just a…formal event, for all the higher ups of the Coalition. We're going to hand out some medals, talk about what we've done. Build a little support and public image. All our financiers will be there."

Since the Coalition was an extra-national body, and thus didn't have a group of taxpayers to support it, all funding to the Coalition was technically in the form of donations. Most was supplied by the member nations who had contributed forces to the Coalition, but a significant portion was also supplied by companies like Future Industries and Cabbage Corp, as well as rich individuals like the Uehara's.

"You expect us to spend our time running around on red carpets when there's a war on?" Ariak grumbled. He seemed actively offended by this idea. "We should be on a battlefield!"

"Men win battles, but money wins wars," Sen countered. "This is important to the war effort too. Besides, we don't have any battlefields left to fight on. All Sarin's men retreated into the northeast."

Ariak shrank slightly as Sen's logic pushed his indignation aside. Sen held out his leg in a rather comical fashion as the tailor stooped to measure it.

"Which brings me to my next point," Sen said. "We've sent invitations to all the world's major dignitaries. Including Minister Raisu."

That caught Ariak's attention in a more positive fashion.

"And he accepted?"

"He did," Sen said. "The Minister will be attending our banquet. Not happily, perhaps, but he'll be there."

"Then this is our opportunity to convince him that we're-"

"Well-intentioned, but also understanding, to the point where we're not going to bother him about anything to do with the war," Sen interrupted. "Raisu is…prickly. Trying to force the issue will just make him reject us even more. He already knows we're interested, all we have to do is show him we're willing to play the way he wants us to."

It had been a rollercoaster of frustration for Ariak in the past few sentences, and it seemed like it was going to continue.

"In other words, our orders are to behave like any other debutantes at this charade of a ball," Ariak huffed.

"Pretty much," Sen said. He sounded calm, but there was a strange tic to his voice, a subtle note that all was not as it seemed. "Wear some nice clothes, dance a little, eat some fancy snacks. Think of it as a break."

The last thing Ariak wanted was a break. The prospect of an evening off was more appealing to some people than others.

"So, if this is more of a break than a mission," Ada said, trying to seem casual. "What's the policy on bringing a date?"

"Well I couldn't exactly stop you, seeing as I'm bringing one," Sen said.

The entire room snapped to attention so quickly Sen could hear their necks pop. There was a small chorus of "What?" and "Who?" from the gathered members of his team. Sen held up his hand defensively.

"Relax, it's nothing serious," Sen said dismissively. "I'm escorting Fire Lord Goto's daughter, Princess Mika. It's for political appearances."

"Somehow I find that worse than you spending time on actual romance," Ariak said.

"Are you going to be like this the entire time?" Sen asked. "You can just stay home, you know, like Whistler."

"I haven't even said anything," Whistler protested.

"We both know you aren't going to come," Sen shot back. Whistler shrugged.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you get to say it for me," Whistler said. "It's creepy, Sen."

Sen paused briefly as the tailor grabbed at his waist and pulled his arms up to measure his waistline. The man's measuring tape scoured several angles of Sen's body for the proper fit. Zas nodded approvingly as the process continued. Once he could stand normally again, Sen continued speaking.

"Any other questions from the peanut gallery?"

"Just one," Suda said, holding up his hand like a school kid. "When is this thing going to happen?"

***

In exactly a week, the thing happened. The full moon shone overhead as the evening went on, but the normally fearsome sight was diminished somewhat. Since Sen's spies had found no evidence of any targets Sarin's bloodbenders would be attacking, they had decided to gather up all their important personnel in a single room, guarded by the Avatar and some of the mightiest warriors in the world. It would be near-impossible to attack.

Assuming, of course, that they bothered trying at all. Sen was not expecting any action tonight. Only a fool would attack an Avatar.

Sen straightened the lapels of his coat, looking over himself in the mirror. His ordeal with the tailor had been worthwhile, at least. He looked better than he ever had before. A well-tailored outfit could work miracles. They'd even made him a custom pair of glasses just for tonight.

Looking almost, but not quite as good, was Hanjo, who had been preparing for the night alongside Sen. The Avatar had taken to high fashion a bit more easily than his friend. Hanjo's cuffs would be entirely un-linked had Sen not been on hand to deal with the tiny clasps on his sleeves. Most of all, it helped to have a friend on hand to defuse the stress of the evening.

"I'm going to assume you have some kind of plan," Hanjo said. "You always seem to have a plan."

"The only thing that worries me tonight is that someone will eat all the good hors d'oeuvres before I get to have a crack at them," Sen said. "But yes, I do have a plan for that. I signed an autograph for one of the caterers, and she's making sure I get taken care of."

"That is a good plan," Hanjo admitted. "But I was thinking more along the lines of 'what if somebody decides to start trouble'? We've got a lot of important people in a very small area, Sen. It's a tempting target."

"As if," Sen scoffed. "I've got my entire team, every member of the White Lotus, and a good chunk of the Coalition military on hand. This is the single safest place on earth, Hanjo."

"Well, yeah, but the bad guys are kind of dumb," Hanjo said. "On the off-chance that they do try something-"

"We'll stop them," Sen assured Hanjo. He put a hand on Hanjo's shoulder, just for that extra touch of reassurance. "Now act casual, the princess is coming."

Sen turned his back to the door and tried to pretend like he had no idea Mika was coming. Hanjo joined in on the act, although it ultimately proved pointless as Mika couldn't care less whether they were expecting her or not. She would have burst through the door no matter the circumstances.

She was in nearly every way her father's daughter, with sharp, angular features framing her piercing amber eyes. Her face, however, seemed slightly less imposing, as it was not marked by a permanent frown. She was far softer around the edges than her father, though not, as many would attest, by much.

"The guests from the Earth Kingdom have finally arrived," Mika said. She did not have any illusions about the nature of her evening with Sen. It was a purely political pursuit.

"Then I believe it's time we made our appearance," Sen said. "Give me a minute to put on my cravat."

Mika nodded and excused herself. Sen tied the strip of fabric around his neck while Hanjo leaned against the dresser.

"She seems younger than I was expecting," Hanjo observed.

"Goto married late," Sen said. "And she's older than she looks. Makeup can work miracles."

"Maybe I should give it a try some time," Hanjo said.

"Don't start fishing for compliments, it doesn't suit you," Sen countered. "If you want someone to tell you that you look good, go ask Lahn."

"Wait, how did you-"

"When are you guys going to accept the fact that I know everything?"

Sen opened the door with a smug smile on his face. Hanjo quickly followed him out and down the hall towards the ballroom, feeling slightly paranoid all the while. In so far as he knew, Lahn was the only who knew they were going to this ball together. He quickly figured that if Sen had a problem with it, he would have mentioned something by now. That meant Hanjo was in the clear.

The princess was waiting for them in the halls, and Hanjo hung back so the two could enter the main chamber together. The Avatar was naturally the focus of the evening: there would be a large spotlight on him when he entered the room. Just before they walked into the room together, Mika grabbed on to Sen's arm and sidled in close to his shoulder.

There was a brief storm of camera flashes as Sen entered the room. He tried his best to smile for the cameras and push his way through the furious flashing until the initial wave of shutterbuggery had passed. Once the paparazzi brigade had settled, Sen looked to his partner for the evening. The Princess was still clinging to his arm, feigning affection.

"You're surprisingly affectionate," He observed.

"Appearances, love," Mika said. "The people are watching, and I want to get the right message across."

"And what message is that?"

"The message that you and I are closer than we actually are," Mika said. "Naturally I'd like for us to become good friends, Avatar, but you're a busy man and I need to build a bit of a reputation for myself very quickly."

"This has something to do with the anti-monarchists, doesn't it?"

The Fire Nation was one of only two true monarchies left in the world, along with the Northern Water Tribe. With the United Republic, Earth Kingdom, and Southern Tribe adopting more democratic models, there was mounting pressure for the complete end of monarchal governments. Atana was a very moderate leader who followed the whims of her people, which made for little pressure on her part, but Goto was a very different story. He made liberal use of his power as the Fire Lord, often completely ignoring the desires of his citizens. He was an effective leader, but his rampant use of executive authority made him unpopular.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Mika asked. "Yes, of course. I'd like to make myself seem…powerful, and connected. I don't have quite the same reputation my father does."

"That might be a good thing," Sen noted. Mika shook her head.

"My father's only real flaw is his abrasive personality. Most every action he's taken as Fire Lord has been to the benefit of his people," Mika said. "And to the world. If he bowed to the demands of his lessers as President Dahaka does, your Coalition would be half as powerful."

The United Republics contributions to the Coalition were significant, but were often hamstrung by voters. Dahaka, on the other hand, could order his troops around with impunity.

"I don't deny that democracy has its benefits, dear," Mika continued. "But there must be someone in the world willing to take charge."

While Sen and the Princess began a severe debate on the ethics of absolute power, the night carried on around them. Music was playing, food was being served, and wealthy elites bumped elbows and joked about how much better they were than everyone else. In the midst of the gilded affair of dancing couples, a few people found themselves quite startlingly alone.

Ada sat on the outskirts of the ballroom, occupying a lonesome table and sulking all by herself. She was wearing jewelry and a fine dress, but nothing about her seemed shine. It was not long before some of her friends took notice. Ariak and Miyani sat at either side of her on the table.

"What's wrong, Ada?" Miyani said, wrapping a long arm around the much smaller girls shoulders.

"Nothing, really," Ada moped. "It's silly, but Canto couldn't come, and…"

She trailed off. Ariak and Miyani shared a look.

"I get it," Miyani said. "But you'll get through it. I mean, how do you think he felt when you were out wandering with Sen?"

Ada's head only drooped lower. Ariak shook his head while Miyani was left wondering what she'd said. She had still not quite mastered social graces.

"He has 'important business in Zaofu' I understand that," Ada said. "But it feels a bit bad to be without a date when I have to watch that."

Ada pointed at the dance floor. Amidst the twirling bodies spinning in time to the music, the gargantuan form of Suda was clearly evident. He had Yoki in his arms and the two were dancing with surprising grace, with a look in their eyes that said they were completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Their worlds were both literally and figuratively revolving around each other.

"He's surprisingly agile for a guy who's been grievously injured," Ariak noted.

"Hey, cheer up Ada," Miyani said, determined to comfort her the right way this time. "Me and Ariak don't have dates either."

"I might not be a good example," Ariak said, bowing out of this attempt at comfort. He had adamantly refused to have a date to this ball. This entire endeavor was annoying him more and more with every passing minute. The full moon was tonight. The bloodbenders would be active. Sen had claimed that, given their lack of intelligence, gathering all their VIP's in one room was the best way to protect them, but something still didn't sit right with Ariak.

"Well, I still count," Miyani said. "Come on. Have you had anything to eat yet? I don't even know what half these snacks are, but they taste pretty good."

Miyani tried to pull her away from Suda and Yoki's lovestruck dance and towards the food. Ada resisted, suddenly aware that she had somewhere else to be.

"I need to go do…something," Ada said blankly. Miyani sighed as Ada walked away. On her way across the room she passed Mika and Sen, and though they attempted to say hello, the two leaders were far too deep into their conversation.

"I wouldn't even consider stepping outside of the Coalitions boundaries," Sen said.

"It wouldn't necessarily be breaking a rule," Mika said. She was walking as she talked, leading Sen across the room. "Think of it as creating a new rule, or rewriting an old one."

"If we can redefine the rules whenever we want, we might as well not have any," Sen said. "Korra and the first Coalition set up their rules of conduct for a reason."

"And those rules of conduct are allowing your greatest enemy to thrive," Mika said. "The Energybender is hiding in the Earth Kingdom, we all know it, and your Coalition can do nothing about it."

"It's an obstacle, yes, but not one we can't overcome," Sen said. "And we can overcome without using excessive force. Diplomacy and logic are the tools we use here, not bending and weapons."

"And what if you become aware of an immediate threat?" Mika asked. "One you could only prevent by invading the Earth Kingdom?"

"There's no such thing as a no-win situation," Sen said. "If I have that kind of advance warning, I could find a way to prevent it without crossing the United Earth Kingdom's borders."

"So you're saying there's absolutely no circumstance in which you'd move your forces into the UEK's territory?"

"Only by the invitation of the countries leaders," Sen said firmly.

A satisfied smile crossed Mika's face, and she crossed her arms. The princess of the Fire Nation leaned slightly to the side, looking at something past Sen.

"I presume you heard that," She said to her unseen spectator. Sen turned around. With the crowd of people around them, it had been difficult to tell exactly who Mika was leading him to.

Draped in green finery and with a severe look on his face, Minister Raisu turned to survey the two. He seemed somewhat offended by their presence.

"I heard every word of your theatrics, Princess," Raisu said harshly. "I shall spare us both any further trouble and excuse myself. This evening was nothing more than part of your charade, it seems."

Sen turned to Mika with venom in his eyes. She quickly moved to correct herself.

"Minister, wait," She protested. "Yes, that exchange was staged, but only by me. Sen had no idea what was happening."

"That means absolutely nothing coming from you," Sen said. "You've already proven you're willing to manipulate people."

Mika bowed her head in shame. The exchange did bring Raisu some pause. He stood in place and folded his hands together. He observed the Avatar in silence for only a moment.

"I'm sorry about this, Minister," Sen apologized. He bowed shallowly and then attempted to drag Mika away by her wrist. She refused to move, although she did not protest verbally. Minister Raisu stroked his narrow beard with a long, calloused finger.

"You are a hard man to understand, Avatar," Raisu finally said. "Though I think it is time I made the effort. Not here, though, not on your terms."

Raisu turned and looked around at the room, and his eyes briefly focused on Ada, the agent of Zaofu. Sen stood his ground expectantly.

"If you want to talk, Raisu, I'm willing to-"

From a distant wall of the room, a quiet but sharp noise began to travel across the room. Like a crack of lightning, Sen's eyes suddenly flared and then calmed in an instant. His hand shot out to the air behind Raisu's head and quickly grasped at the empty air. Minister Raisu, ever suspicious and caught off guard by the sudden burst of power and motion, jumped back from the Avatar, his bodyguards quickly preparing to defend him.

"Wait!" Sen shouted. His tense muscles relaxed and he pulled his partially-clenched fist back. Hovering in the air just a few centimeters short of where Raisu's neck had once been was a narrow disk of metal, still spinning slightly from its flight. Sen pulled the disk back and placed it in his hands.

"Somebody was trying to kill you," Mika observed. Though the disk was small, its razor sharp edge was visible. At high speeds, even such a small blade could have been lethal.

"Or you've staged yet another incident to try and win my gratitude," Minister Raisu protested loudly. "If this is how you're going to conduct yourselves, then perhaps Hua-Long has the right idea."

"If you're threatening war, Raisu," Mika said. "Then say it-"

"Enough!" Sen shouted, holding Mika back. "Whatever you think the intention of this attack was, Minister Raisu, it clearly failed. Don't throw lives away over your suspicions. This should not end in war."

The argument between the two leaders was brought to a sudden halt. Raisu seemed legitimately surprised that Sen had not leveraged this attack to try and force him to side with the Coalition. Raisu's eyes flitted once again to Ada. She was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, trying to get a glimpse of Sen. The entire assassination attempt had occurred in less than a second, and it had taken a moment for the rest of the room to catch up to the sudden motion.

"Very well," Raisu said, regaining his calm demeanor. "I will be leaving, Avatar."

"It may not be safe," Sen cautioned. "I can have some of my men escort you-"

"Not a chance," Raisu said. He was still not fully convinced of Sen's innocence in this matter.

"As you wish. Stay safe, Minister."

Raisu nodded severely and followed his guards out of the room and away from the ball. While the Minister beat a hasty retreat, word began to spread of the assassination attempt. Luckily most of the people here were military, so it remained fairly orderly, but some of the wealthy patrons were less battle-hardened, and began to panic.

The metal disc gleamed brightly in Sen's hands. He looked over it, examining it for any evidence or clues to its origins, and found none. He scowled at his own reflection in the bright disk.

***

Sen stood in the corner of the room, near the assumed source of the metal disk, surrounded by his team, minus Whistler, and a motley assortment of other allies. Some of them had taken a moment to change out of their impractical evening wear into more action-ready military uniforms. Sen himself had never wasted the time to change out of his suit. He was busy focusing on examining the area, trying to find any trace of their culprit. While he was otherwise occupied, his allies began to postulate other theories.

"One has to wonder about the exact motive of our would-be Assassin," Detective Zas said. "He must have known that his attempt was doomed to fail from the start. Sen and Minister Raisu had been talking for a while."

"Even an idiot would have guessed that Sen is strong enough to stop a metal disk," Hanjo said.

"And the full moon is out," Ariak said, pointing to the window. "Why would Sarin use metalbenders when he could use bloodbenders?"

With a quick, sudden movement, Sen snapped to attention and pointed directly at Colonel Kim.

"Colonel! Get to our field base. Colonel Cujo should still be in the field. Tell him to put everything on high alert," He commanded loudly, before turning his finger towards Lahn. "Lahn, find the nearest radio and pay attention to all Coalition communications."

The two saluted quickly, if a bit confusedly, and set about their duties. Hanjo sighed slightly as his date for the evening ran off. Sen was quick to explain his rather hasty actions.

"We have to consider the possibility that this is actually a distraction," Sen said. "We get so caught up in investigating our assassin that we don't respond in time to a bigger threat."

"That makes sense," Ada agreed. "But what if this actually was just an assassination attempt? The Grey-Faces have tried distraction gambits before and it didn't work out. Maybe they wouldn't try again."

"I think it's better to be on alert," Sen said. "An investigation into a lone assassin will only take a few people, but a major military strike is another matter."

Sen turned his attention to the members of the White Lotus who had rallied to his command.

"My team will take care of the investigation here. Zas, you're with me. Yakkul, you stay in the ballroom and help guard the VIP's in case our assassin hasn't finished his work. The rest of you, fan out to key targets. The docks, the capital, our base in Xian –anything that might make a tempting target for Sarin's men."

"Understood, General," Yakkul said with a sharp salute. He rounded the VIP's who hadn't already fled into a defensible position. Coalition escorts were ready to guide some of them to their homes and families, but most felt safer under the watchful guard of Yakkul and the soldiers under his command.

"Follow me," Sen said, gesturing to his investigation team. "I think I know how our culprit got inside."

The remaining members of his team, and Zas, set out, save for one notable absence. Suda stayed patiently by Yoki's side as the others departed. Sen looked over his shoulder briefly.

"Are you coming, Suda?"

"Yeah, about that, I just-" Suda hesitated. "I'm not very useful for investigating to start with, and with me being injured…I think I'm better off on guard duty with Yakkul."

"Suda, I could use you," Sen said. He held up the metal disk. "We're most likely dealing with a metalbender."

"You can kind of metalbend," Suda said. "Kind of" was an accurate term in this case. Sen himself could not metalbend, but Korra could. When and only when he was in the Avatar State, Sen was capable of metalbending.

"I still want you with us," Sen said. Ada gave Suda a longing look. Suda had been recovering for months, and he had barely spent any time with his friends. Ada missed him the most, perhaps, but they all wanted to be a team again. Suda bit his lip as he turned away from Ada's stare.

"I would," Suda said. "But I still need time to get back on my feet. Sorry, Sen."

Suda clutched the site of his injury as if it pained him. Sen gave Suda's abdomen a critical glare, and then grunted harshly.

"Fine," Sen said. "We'll handle it."

"I'll come with you," Princess Mika interjected. "You could use an extra body."

Sen nodded. Mika left the crowd of scared nobles and followed Sen. Goto waved goodbye to his daughter with a cheery smile on his face.

"Stay safe, dear," he said. "And remember, you have diplomatic immunity. The courts can't convict you for using lethal force!"

Mika smiled and waved back at her father as Sen led them out of the main chamber. They walked the quiet halls of the large building for a while, moving towards an unknown destination. Sen's face was marked with a scowl all the while.

"Ah, Sen, where exactly are we going?" Detective Zas finally asked. Sen snapped out of his frustration and turned back to his friends.

"Right. Nobody in the room showed any signs of being a traitor, so I figure it had to come from outside the room," Sen began. He rounded a corner and gestured to the wall. "Here we are. The far side of the ballroom wall."

It took only a seconds observation for Detective Zas to notice an oddity.

"Somebody used earthbending on that portion of the wall," He said, gesturing upwards. "And tried to hastily cover their tracks. See it all the time with earthbender criminals."

Sen examined the piece of wall in question. The patch of wall that had been displaced was not particularly large.

"At this height and that size, it'd be impossible for someone to have taken aim in such a crowded room."

"Unless they had senses like yours," Miyani added.

"Precisely," Sen said. "So we're dealing with someone who has seismic senses."

"That's a very rare ability," Detective Zas said. "The only way I know to acquire it is by training extensively with badgermoles, or a training school in Zaofu."

"It's been a long time, and the Beifongs have trained a lot of people," Ada suggested. "It's not impossible our academy trained someone who went on to join the Energybender."

"They already did," Sen said. "I remember reading about that school in our reports on the Zu-Shin incident. The reports on Temujin."

Ada grit her teeth at the mere mention of the name. Sen's fist clenched as well. When Temujin had broken Suda's ribs, he had put himself very high on Team Avatar's list of enemies, right up there with the likes of Kida and Dei Sensheng.

"That guy's either real brave or real stupid getting this close to us after he hurt Suda."

The scowl briefly returned to Sen's face, though it was quickly dispelled as he focused on the investigation.

"I can't say for sure it was Temujin just yet. Let's split up and search for any entrances the intruder might have used," Sen said. Several hallways branched off in multiple directions. Any assassin could have used one of any dozens of entrances into the building. As his team split up, some pairing off and others going alone, Sen found himself partnered with Mika once again. She had a look on her face that made it clear she had something to say.

"Suda's not actually injured, is he?"

Suda grit his teeth and tried to look at hallway around him, searching for clues.

"You may be impossible to fool, but you're easy to read," Mika said.

"He was injured, severely," Sen insisted. "But that was months ago. He's fine now."

It was easy for Sen, versed in the arts of chi reading and healing, to tell that Suda had made a complete recovery. It was apparently harder for others to see the same, even Suda himself. Sen could see through any lie, and Suda had not been lying when he'd said he was injured. He truly believed he was still unfit to fight. Or he wanted to believe it, anyway.

"Then why don't you say something?"

"It's not my place to tell him what to do," Sen said.

"Yes it is," Mika said. "He agreed to that when he served under you in the Coalition."

"It's different with Suda, he's my friend," Sen said.

"And next to Miyani, he's possibly the most powerful bender in your army," Mika said. "The kind of fighter who can change the tide of battles. Why do you let him sit on the sidelines?"

"Because it's what he wants," Sen said. If Suda would rather sit out the battles and stay with Yoki, that was his decision.

"We all have things we want," Mika said angrily. "I want to be in the main hall dancing to swing music and eating tiny sandwiches off a silver platter. But that can't happen, because an Assassin tried to kill a major world leader."

Sen said nothing. Mika did not want a response anyway. All she wanted was for Sen to listen.

"Suda can't stand at your side and pretend he's a member of your team if all he's going to do is waste time with his girlfriend," Mika said derisively. "He needs to make a decision. And so do you."

"It's not my place," Sen said. He was quiet and restrained even now, though Mika would soon learn that his restraint was running very thin.

"Why do you hold yourself back, Sen? From Suda, from the Earth Kingdom- You're too afraid of the short term consequences. Maybe some people will be angry in the long term, but history will prove you right."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a bad influence?"

Sen tried to play off Mika's aggressive goading, but it was starting to wear him down.

"Sometimes everyone needs a push in the right direction," Mika said, trying to sound playful.

"And some people don't need any pushes at all."

"Come on, Avatar," Mika said. "You know I'm right."

"Of course you're right," Sen said, his patience finally running out. He turned to Mika with fire in his eyes. "Do you honestly think I want to sit around watching fat nobles dance and applaud themselves for chucking around fistfuls of money? Don't you think I'd rather be chasing Sarin?"

Sen had been carrying himself with a certain restrained dignity the entire evening, but that vanished in a flash. His fists were clenched into tight fists and a dark scowl marked his face, and those shades of anger only got darker as he spoke Sarin's name.

"If I thought I could get away with it I'd storm across that border and crush Sarin's entire army like an insect beneath my heel," Sen thundered. There was a tense edge to his voice. "But I can't do that."

Mika took a step back. The hallways were dark, but in this moment they seemed to get even darker. The shadows accumulated around Sen, clinging to him like a blackened cloak.

"There are consequences to my actions, Princess," Sen said. "There are lines I cannot and should not cross, no matter how much I want to. And I promise you, I really, really want to."

Mika was silent for a moment. Her father surrounded himself with militants and warriors, and yet never in her life has she seen the kind of hatred that burned in Sen's every feature. It faded as the Avatar took a deep breath and restrained himself, but Mika would never forget that look of hatred.

"Sen!"

They were both glad to have the distraction of a call for attention. Ada's voice echoed through the halls, beckoning the Avatar. He quickly followed her voice to the source, finding Ada crouched alongside a door that showed clear signs of being forced open. It was in a back hallway, far from view, the perfect entrance for anyone trying to sneak in or out of the building. The green grass of the yard stretched out before them, with the expanse of Republic City just a fence away.

In any other location, the culprit might have left no trace of their actions, but they were at a ballroom. The owners of the venue had been so pre-occupied with their appearance that even the grass had been perfectly manicured and groomed. As such, there was a clear trail of footprints where someone had trampled the carefully tended lawn.

"Looks like we have a trail," Sen said. "Good work finding this."

Ada shrugged. It had been a hunch. Something about this door had seemed oddly familiar.

"A difficult one to follow," Hanjo said. "Once they're off the lawn they're back on concrete. No footprints to follow there."

"You forget we have a predator on our team," Sen said.

"Even I couldn't follow a trail like that," Ariak said.

Sen tapped his heel, and the delicately maintained lawn burst into clods of dirt and sod. Gun's heavy claws burst out of the soil, tearing apart the immaculately trimmed grass as the badgermole's gargantuan frame burst out of the lawn. Somewhere, a landscaper started to weep.

"Wasn't talking about you," Sen explained. Ariak nodded and took a step back. Miyani likewise retreated a step. Gun still didn't like her very much.

Following inaudible commands from Sen, Gun began to sniff at the ground, picking up the scent of their escaped suspect. While Badgermoles primarily relied on their seismic senses to compensate for their blindness, their sense of smell was also considerably developed. Gun's nose could never compare to the likes of a Shirshu, but the scent was fresh and the trail was clear. His sense of smell could guide them well enough.

Gun grunted loudly when he caught the scent, and Sen took a flying leap onto the badgermoles back. At Sen's insistence, Hanjo began an awkward climb up Gun's tree-trunk sized foreleg. The badgermole eagerly welcomed the two earthbenders to his back, and then growled in Miyani's direction. Like most animals, Gun was not fond of the combustion bender. She shrugged off his anger.

"We'll chase them down," Sen said as Hanjo took a seat on Gun's broad shoulders. "The rest of you go back to the main hall."

With that command spoken, Gun barreled across the yard, over the fence, and into the streets of Republic City, dragging his nose across the concrete floor all the while. Sen set his eyes on the horizon ahead, while Hanjo found himself more preoccupied with the Satomobiles and pedestrians that were swerving and diving out of the way to avoid Gun's massive body.

"Sorry! Very important!" He shouted at the confused citizens. "Serious Avatar business! Fate of the world!"

The police eventually arrived on the scene, sirens blaring, but as they realized that their target was the Avatar, they quickly came to the conclusion that it was probably better to help him than try to stop him. The police cars trailed a short distance behind Gun's whip-like tail, their flashing lights and sirens warning any bystanders that they should get out of the way. With their escort, Gun's charge through the city went ever faster.

As he rounded a corner, Gun suddenly planted his feet and came to a halt, clawing large marks in the pavement as his claws dragged down. His blind eyes darted across the street corner as his nose traced out a familiar scent. The police escort came to a halt behind them, the officers stepping out to back up the Avatar. Eventually Gun's claws began to tap the ground anxiously as he communicated with Sen. Sen nodded and gave Gun a few short scratches behind the ear. At his masters command, Gun took a few steps towards the nearest building.

"Hold on," Sen said to Hanjo. He immediately grabbed two handfuls of fur.

Gun suddenly stood on his hind legs, and then leaned forwards, pressing his front paws against the wall of the nearby building for support. A few cries of confusion and surprise could be heard from the interior apartments. Sen calmly walked up to Gun's head, finding himself just in front of a third story window.

With a wave of Sen's hands, the wall of the building bent open like a sheet, exposing the room within. A mere moment after the wall opened, a swarm of flying metal discs cut through the air, flying towards Sen.

Sen didn't even dignify the stupidity of that idea with a clever remark. His eyes glowed, and the swarm of discs halted in mid-air, and fell to the ground. One lone disc drifted idly through the air, landing in Sen's right palm. In his left, he held an identical metal disc, the same one from the attempt on Minister Raisu's life. Suitably incriminating evidence, even disregarding the fact that this man had tried to kill the Avatar.

"I wouldn't try to deny what you did," Sen advised.

"I don't," the would-be assassin said. He was a young man, dark haired and square-jawed. A surprising sight in Sarin's ranks. The usual Grey-Face was older, and more brutish. "And I don't regret it either!"

"I would regret it, considering it failed spectacularly," Sen said. He turned his still-glowing eyes to regard the criminal. "I know this is a longshot, but do you remember who gave you these orders?"

"I don't," The attempted assassin said stubbornly. Sen's burning eyes narrowed. Hanjo climbed up Gun's back and stepped into the room.

"Well, that's typical," He said sarcastically. Nobody in Sarin's ranks ever remembered anything useful.

"It's not," Sen said. He was well-acquainted with the memory-stealing of the Hssk: this was not it. "It's different."

Sen had spent a great deal of time working with captured Grey-Face soldiers, examining their chi to learn the ways of the unseen Hssk. When the Hssk stole someone's memories, there was simply a void: where the victim was concerned, the event might as well have never even happened. Their assassin had something else affecting his head.

"Different how?" Hanjo asked.

"Usually they just don't remember," Sen said. Confusion was evident on his face. "This one…There's something else in his head. It's holding the memories back."

Sen had never seen or heard of anything like this before. When the assassin tried to think of his past, something else in his soul rebelled, restraining the thoughts. Some other will had been impressed upon him. Sen stepped forward.

"Why did you do this?"

"For the Energybender," The assassin said. He was telling the truth, or so he thought. Sen saw something else in his mind, similar to the force that oppressed his memories. Whatever was affecting him was not only capable of restraining his memories, but implanting fake ones.

"What's your name?"

Another question, another attempt to remember, and another strange flare in his mind. The Assassin started to sweat.

"I don't- I don't remember," He said hesitantly. Sen pressed forward. The Hssk never took this many memories. Something was wrong.

"Where are you from?"

That triggered a particularly violent reaction in the assassins soul. Whatever was controlling his thoughts did not want to be tracked. Sen relaxed, letting the power of the Avatar State drift away. There was a good chance that this young metalbender was being manipulated against his will.

"Tell me everything you do remember," Sen said gently. The stress of his mental suppression was clearly weighing on the strange assassin. He was staring at the floor, disoriented and confused.

"I remember other people," He said. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he turned his eyes back to Sen. "And a bomb."

Gun's paws were back on the ground in a flash, and the police escort was left in the dust as Sen made a swift charge back to the ballroom.

***

"It's always the help," Goto grumbled.

The remaining members of Team Avatar were in a tense standoff with a few members of the catering staff, with the ball guests between them. The leader of the infiltrators had his thumb planted firmly on the trigger of a detonator.

"We only need a few select hostages, and everyone else gets to walk free," the ringleader said.

"I don't negotiate," Miyani growled. She towered over the others, her red third eye staring down the man with the detonator. A stare down was the only action any of them dared to take. Ada, Ariak, and Miyani all stood frozen, terrified that the hostage takers might actually use their detonator.

"Go ahead and try to stop me," The ringleader taunted. "You'd just set off a chain reaction and do my job for me. Now, if you would, we'll talk about who we want to take."

In the midst of the crowd, Yoki Uehara cowered in the arms of Suda. For the first time all night, Suda took his eyes off of her for more than a minute. He was staring intently at the detonator, his eyes twitching slightly. He remembered the platinum-coated stones Sen had once used. A bendable material inside an unbendable one. The plastic was impossible to use, but there had to be metal wiring somewhere inside the detonator.

"I'll go," Goto said. He started to step forward confidently. He was quite sure the Grey-Faces would do something stupid and allow him to escape anyway.

"Not you," The ringleader said, holding his detonator threateningly. Goto backed down. "Your daughter."

Princess Mika, still standing alongside the likes of Ada and Miyani, looked at her father. Goto nodded, and Mika nodded back. The Fire Lord was very confident in his daughters ability to break out and inflict grievous bodily harm on every single one of her captors. Mika stepped forward towards the hostage takers. She glanced at Zas quickly.

"Any clever plans this time, Detective?"

Zas had once saved Mika from a kidnapping attempt when she was just a young girl, using an elaborate plan involving several decoys and a hastily constructed tunnel. The aged detective shook his head, though there was still confidence, and confusion, on his face.

"Not my show tonight, princess," Detective Zas stated. He knew quite well that one of the Avatar's allies would manage something, so he focused his mind on other things. This hostage scheme seemed remarkably ill-conceived. These Grey-Face captors had some of their most important and powerful enemies all standing on top of a bomb. Removing Miyani alone would have been worth a hundred hostages.

Zas rubbed his chin. Something was very wrong about this entire night.

The captors asked for another hostage, the daughter of an important Republic City senator. They had several targets in mind, mostly the young, helpless loved ones of more important figures. Which made it only a matter of time before they asked for a certain someone.

"Give us Yoki Uehara," The ringleader said.

There was a slight fizzling sound as every wire in the detonator snapped simultaneously.

From the center of the crowd of huddled VIP's, Suda rose like a monolith. He stepped forward, pushing past a cowering captive towards the front of the crowd, taking a steady march towards the detonator. The ringleader warned him once, then twice. Suda did not hesitate for even a step, moving implacably towards his foe.

The ringleader pressed his thumb down, and nothing happened. He looked down at his detonator in confusion for only a brief second before he heard a heavy footfall in front of him. When the captor looked up, the only thing he saw before him was the gargantuan frame of Suda.

The ballroom had been built to have absolutely astounding acoustics, and the sound of cracking bone echoing throughout the hall attested to that fact. Suda's fist impacted the ringleaders ribs with such force to knock him off the ground and backwards through the air. His cohorts briefly watched their leader fly though the air. Then Suda got his hands on the first of them.

What followed was a swift and brutal affair. Suda never even bothered with his bending: his bare hands were more than enough. The room trembled under the weights of his blows as he worked through the would-be hostage takers. Mika freed herself from her captors grip and attempted to join the fight, but found she was not fast enough. Before the princess had even prepared her first strike, Suda had already grabbed him.

The last of the infiltrators slammed to the ground hard enough to splinter the wooden floors, and Suda's rampage finally ended. His back straightened, his tense muscles relaxed, and the single-minded glare in his eyes faded. He took deep, exhausted breaths and looked around. Now that the danger had been quite decisively defeated, the cowering crowd had scattered across the room, trying to run home or otherwise get to safety. Only a few people remained near the sight of Suda's battle. Ada was the first to step forward.

"Suda, I can't believe-"

Suda looked at her for only a moment before stepping past Ada and into Yoki's waiting arms. She was on the verge of crying, and Suda was quickly there to comfort her. Yoki quickly relaxed as soon as Suda wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Don't worry," Suda gently assured her. "You know I'd never let anyone take you."

Ada didn't know what to feel looking at a scene like that. She watched Suda in silence before she felt a certain eminent presence at her side. Sen had arrived on the scene just in time to catch the tail end of Suda's fights –and his moment with Yoki. Princess Mika shot him a glance as she departed with her father, one which Sen deliberately ignored.

"Bring Suda to the main office," He said to Ada. His voice was cold. "We need to talk."

***

Suda had quite reluctantly followed Ada away from Yoki and into the darkened office. Sen had turned on only one desk lamp, leaving the room with only a dim source of light. The Avatar leaned against the edge of the large desk in the center of the room, and cast a low glare at Suda as he walked in. Though some anger was visible on his face, the Avatar mostly looked conflicted. Ada stepped to the side and leaned against the wall as the two earthbenders faced off.

"You fight pretty well for someone in your condition," Sen said quietly.

"I had a moment," Suda said. "Adrenaline, mostly."

Sen raised a critical eyebrow as Suda offered his excuse. Suda was not used to confrontation with his friends, and he withered quickly.

"What do you think this is, Sen? You think I'm faking being hurt?"

"No," Sen said quickly. "You're not faking. You just want to believe you're hurt because it means you get to stay with Yoki."

Sen stopped leaning on the desk, standing up straight with his arms crossed across his chests. Suda gingerly placed a hand at the site of his injury as if to explore it. The confusion was evident in his eyes.

"You need a reason," Sen said. "An excuse. Because you don't want to fight."

"Of course I want to fight," Suda said defensively. "You're my friends, I couldn't just leave you alone-"

"So then come back," Sen interrupted. He took a step towards Suda. "Go for a physical if you need more evidence. Any doctor would tell you you've made a miraculous recovery. You could be back in the field by tomorrow."

Suda hesitated, doing nothing but staring Sen in the eyes. Ada tried desperately to vanish into the shadows as Sen and Suda stared each other down. After a minute of this staring contest, Sen backed down, rubbing his temples slightly. This was not the kind of thing he wanted to do.

"Sorry. I shouldn't," Sen said. "It's just…I want to be able to count on you, Suda. You're my friend. What you're doing…It's not fair to me. Or to her."

Sen looked back up at Suda, but this time his gaze was less accusatory and more leading.

"It's not just us waiting for you to come back," Sen said, gesturing to himself and Ada. "Yoki is wondering when you're going to leave."

Suda's eyes drifted downwards. Sen stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Love and war don't go hand in hand," Sen said. "You need to make a decision."

It was hard on Sen that he could not rely on Suda, and it was unfair to Yoki that she was constantly waiting for him to leave. Some things in life demanded a commitment, love and war being chief among them. Suda knew deep inside that Sen was right.

"I'll be okay with whatever choice you make," Sen said hesitantly. "You just need to make the choice."

Sen said that as if there was any question of what Suda would choose. He could see Suda's heart, and he already knew what his answer would be. Suda straightened his back and prepared to speak.

The door knob clicked loudly and spun in place as someone outside desperately tried to open it. After a frantic second of spinning the knob finally clicked into place, and the wooden door slammed open, pounding against the wall loudly. Suda took a step back and Ada stepped away from the wall as a breathless Lahn forced his way through the open door.

"Avatar! The message on the radio, the Energybender's attacking, they need our help!"

Sen spared only a brief glance at Suda before stepping forward. Their personal problems could wait until later.

"Where's the attack, Lahn? Who needs our help?"

Lahn took a deep breath and stood up straight, turning to look at Ada.

"Zaofu."

Sen and Suda turned as one to look at Ada as her heart froze.


	83. Book 5 Ch11: Siege of Zaofu, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sen and his team arrive to defend the city of Zaofu from an insidious attack, but the stakes of the battle prove to be even higher than expected.

The last time Sen had seen the city of Zaofu, he had watched it creep across the horizon from inside the carriage of a train. Now he saw it from above, through the window of a swift-flying plane.

Now he saw it burning.

He could feel the shiver in Ada's heart as she saw pillars of smoke rise from the streets of her home, wondering in horror if her own home was at the heart of the fire. Suda was there at her side with a comforting hand on her shoulder, but that did very little to calm her nerves. She was upset, with good reason, but underneath that despair there was a solid current of anger. Ada was furious that anyone would dare do this to her home. Sen could see a rage boiling in her heart hotter than any fire that burned in her home.

Sen took one more look at the burning city, and then back to his own men. They had limited resources available. They were utterly unprepared for large scale movement into the Earth Kingdom –the Coalition had not been expecting such an urgent invitation. Getting over the mountains in a timely manner meant he had only his airborne units, and however many footsoldiers he could fit on his planes. Considering the enemies still maintained air superiority with their helicopters, the Coalition was at a disadvantage. He would need every resource at his disposal to win.

"Ada," Sen began. "When we land-"

"I know," Ada said grimly. "I need to focus."

Sen glanced at Suda for a moment. He had a dour look on his face. Last night he had been just moments from backing out of this war entirely, but he had been one of the first ones on the plane to Zaofu.

"No," Sen said. He put his hand on Ada's shoulder. "Do whatever you have to do to find your friends and family. We'll take care of the rest."

Ada's hands shivered slightly, and she nodded, but offered no other response. Her eyes never left the plane window that faced towards Zaofu. The city grew larger and larger as they came closer to the landing strip. Zaofu's military was desperately holding their ground around the airport: the Grey-Faces had already blown the rail lines and blockaded the roads. Any help would be coming from the skies.

The plane was still rolling on the landing strip when Sen's boots hit the ground. He had surveyed as much of the battlefield as he could from the air: the airport was under too much pressure for him to take control of the situation just yet.

Having seen the planes flying in, the helicopters of the enemy quickly moved in to control the skies. Sen thrust his hands upwards, and spun them in wild gestures, churning the air wildly. The helicopters wobbled and veered off course unsteadily, a momentary delay, but a moment was enough.

A white bolt of power struck the helicopter headlining the attack and burst it into a cloud of fire and falling scrap. Zaofu's defenders took cover as the molten metal fell. Miyani set her burning eye to its next target. Whistler joined her airbending to Sen's, to better control the helicopters, while Suda sent a spinning metal disc flying to knock one's rotor off, sending it crashing to the ground.

Ariak and Hanjo tended to the front line on the ground. The helicopters were perhaps the most significant threat, but a number of foot soldiers were also pressuring the airport. Their battle on the front lines was briefly joined by Ada, who flashed through the ranks of Grey-Faces in a maelstrom of blades, before disappearing behind them. She vanished into Zaofu's streets, heading towards her home.

A thunderous explosion shattered the last of the helicopers attacking the airport, and Miyani finally relaxed. The planes of the Coalition began to land, and soldiers poured out, as one of Zaofu's soldiers approached Sen.

"Avatar-General," The soldier declared. "I'm Captain Tamin. Highest ranking officer Zaofu has left."

"Captain," Sen said, shaking the man's hand quickly. "Tell me as much as you can as fast as you can."

The city was still burning. Intelligence was useful, but in a situation like this, wasted time was lost lives.

"They struck with the bloodbenders first," Tamin said. He could still well remember the first strike. The city had been on guard, of course –roving hordes of bloodbenders could not ignored. But their preparations ended meaninglessly, as they were swarmed from earth and sky.

"Took out our centers of defense, our leaders, and communication, then hit the roads and rails. We realized pretty quickly we were going to get overrun. Took everything we had to get the message out to you and hold the airport."

"You did well," Sen assured him. "You said they attacked your leaders. Are the Beifongs-?"

"Alive, last I heard," Tamin said. "Their panic room could hold out for days."

Though the domed walls of Zaofu were long gone, the Beifongs had not forgotten the benefits of a good defense. A massive sphere of steel acted as a shelter against danger. Hopefully it would be enough to keep them safe against the full might of the Energybender's armies.

The briefing on the state of Zaofu was put on hold briefly by the loud whine of engines descending from on high. Sen looked over his shoulder and nodded approvingly as his air support arrived.

With the Grey-Face helicopters patrolling the narrow streets of Zaofu, it would be next to impossible for them to control the ground. The Coalition needed their own firepower in the air. The spaces between the skyscrapers were too narrow for any conventional aircraft, so Sen had gone to the Republic for something unconventional.

The Iron Dragons were the Republics finest airborne unit, using airbenders as pilots to enhance the speed and maneuverability of their planes. With a firebender riding shotgun for firepower, the Iron Dragons had the agility and the power to combat the helicopters on their own terms.

The fighters of the elite squadron descended on the battlefield, coming to a sharp halt on the airstrips. They'd need a refueling before they could take to the skies above Zaofu, but they would soon prove invaluable to the fight. The assigned leader of the Iron Dragons, Yonten, was quick to approach Sen.

"All wings reporting, Sir," Yonten said with a salute. "Give us time to fill our tanks and we'll be ready for action."

"Good. I'm going to need you to-" Sen paused suddenly and looked over Yonten's shoulder. "Whistler, what are you doing?"

The renegade airbender had climbed into the cockpit of one of the refueling aircraft and was fiddling with the controls. She looked up from the various dials on the aircrafts dash as Sen called her name.

"I want one," Whistler said loudly. She jumped slightly as an idea occurred. "Hey, Big Bang!"

Miyani had learned by now that "Big Bang" was her assigned nickname. Whistler never called anyone but Sen by their real name. Miyani turned to listen.

"You want to be my wingman?" Whistler asked. Miyani raised a curious eyebrow. Sen was surprisingly receptive to the idea.

"That's actually a good idea," Sen said. "Having that kind of firepower in the air can only be a good thing."

"I'm glad you agree," Whistler said. She quickly reached down from the airplane cockpit to help Miyani into the back seat. The moment the refueling was done with, Whistler pressed as many buttons as she could and then got the airplane in motion. Despite having absolutely no experience operating aircraft, or vehicles in general, Whistler took off with ease.

"Should she be doing that?" Sen asked. "She doesn't even know how to drive."

"It's actually surprisingly similar to a glider," Yonten assured him. He saluted sharply and headed for his own plane. As the airborne unit got into motion, Sen turned to his ground troops.

"Tamin, you stay here, and take charge of the defense," Sen ordered. "We'll need you to coordinate troop movements and relay information between squads."

Tamin saluted sharply. Sen started to divide responsibilities between the rest of his troops.

"Ariak, Suda, take three platoons, swing wide into the hills, and then strike the city from the side. Clear the streets and try to establish a forward post," Sen ordered. "Hanjo, take Gun and go beneath the city. You need to get to the Beifongs and get them to safety."

His three friends saluted sharply and went to work. With Miyani and Whistler in the skies and Ada left to her own devices, that covered his entire team. The only question now was what Sen himself would be doing.

"Tamin, you've been keeping track of their motions," Sen said. "What's their primary objective here in Zaofu?"

"Can't say," Tamin grunted. "They took out our communications pretty quickly, we have no real intelligence on where they're moving or why."

"I'll rectify that," Sen said, adjusting his sleeves slightly. "Where would I go to get your communications back online."

"Uhh…There's a large radio relay on the eastern border of the city. I'd start there."

"Then I have work to do," Sen growled. He set his sights on the cities eastern wall and moved out.

***

Though Yonten had compared flying a plane to using a glider, Whistler found the experience vastly different. There was something about the speed, the altitude, the roar of engines and propellers shaking her in her seat, that made flying a plane vastly more exciting.

There was also, of course, the promise of imminent destruction. Whistler was quite fond of destruction.

"Do you have any plans to fight in formation?" Yonten asked. Whistler hadn't figured out how to turn off the radio yet, so she still had to put up with other pilots.

"My only plan is keep flying and let the big girl do her thing," Whistler boasted.

"Speaking of," Miyani said, bracing herself in her seat. "Fun's about to start."

Their flight towards Zaofu's skyscrapers was nearly over. Most of Sarin's helicopters had retreated amidst the towers, into the cramped spaces. They buzzed about like carrion flies swarming in the ribs of a carcass, thinking themselves safe. They were about to be proven incredibly wrong.

Miyani and Whistler had left the airstrip first, and Miyani had a decidedly longer range than most firebenders, so they were the first to strike. Whistler zeroed in on the nearest helicopter and took a sharp dive towards it. The plane shook slightly as the steep descent rattled its wings, but they kept flying steady and swift.

Nothing was quite so swift through the air as Miyani's lances of destruction. Her red eye flared with fire and light, and the nearest helicopter burst into a fiery explosion. The burning fireball sent a shockwave through the air and through the swarm of choppers hovering in the city streets. The enemy pilots were quick to realize exactly what was coming at them, and they attempted to maneuver themselves into combat formation.

Formations, as Whistler might attest, did not matter much. Their organized form and structure only made it that much easier for Miyani to blast them out of the sky. The first vanguard of choppers was reduced to ash and scrap metal as the explosive power of combustion bending tore through them. Whistler's headlong flight into the city never slowed for a second.

"And this is where it starts to get fun," Whistler mumbled to herself.

Their plane reached the first skyscrapers of Zaofu. The space between the massive buildings was barely wide enough for the fighters wings, and the sharp corners and side streets held the threat of a chopper ambush at every corner. The sharp corners and angles of the city held no greater threat than Whistler and Miyani, though.

Whistler led the duo on a frantic flight through the crowded skyline, with one hand on the controls and the other warping the air around them. Their fighter took steep dives and sharp turns with ease as they soared through the air like a lethal bird of prey. A bird that could make things explode, but a bird.

The rest of the Iron Dragons were not about to be shown up by a newbie pilot. Yonten and his squadron hit the city in tight formation. Miyani had the firepower, and the helicopters had maneuverability, but the Iron Dragons had speed. The lightning-fast warplanes dove past their targets, strafing them with lethal gouts of fire, and were down the street and out of range before the unfortunate chopper pilots could muster a retaliation.

Another chopper burst in a spectacular flare of destruction, and Whistler laughed as she swerved past the flaming wreckage. Miyani resisted the urge to laugh at the destruction, but she still had a smile on her face. The speed and the destruction was reaching her head too –she felt oddly exhilarated.

Whistler hammered down the accelerator to speed up. The swarm of helicopters was thickest towards the center of the city –they made for an easy target.

With Whistler and the Iron Dragons clearing the skies, Suda and Ariak got to work on the ground. The wheels of their vehicles tore through the rocky terrain of Zaofu's hills, heading towards the border of the city. Most of their entourage were Coalition soldiers, but they had a few of Zaofu's remaining troops accompanying them as well.

"We need a fortifiable position," Ariak said. "Not too far from the city's border, something we can defend."

"The old bank," one Zaofu trooper offered. "That thing's built like a fortress."

"That place got overrun," Another soldier offered.

"We'll clear it out," Suda assured him.

The tires of their jeeps hit the streets of Zaofu, and no sooner had the rubber hit the road than all hell broke loose. The Energybender had far more than just his helicopters for firepower. Grey-Face soldiers had lain in wait, secretly fortifying themselves inside skyscrapers.

The first jeep flipped over as a massive boulder struck it, sending its passengers flying. The rest of the convoy came to a swift halt as drivers slammed on their brakes or swerved into side streets to avoid the sudden elemental barrage that rained down on them.

"Stay together," Ariak shouted. Getting scattered on a battlefield like this was a death sentence. His driver swerved quickly to avoid a lance of ice from above. Such attacks were starting to pile up in the streets, and the Grey-Faces were targeting any attempt for Ariak's soldiers to regroup.

The sound of rapidly uncoiling metal signaled that Suda had decided to take matters into his own hands. The Grey-Faces were attacking from open skyscraper windows, raining down destruction from the safety of second or third story windows. The reels of Suda's gauntlets caught the ledges of their vantage points and carried Suda upwards, towards the enemy.

Ariak was blind to Suda's onslaught, still being pinned down on the ground, but by all evidence it was in impressive effort. Even through the chaos of the combat on the ground, Ariak could hear the buildings trembling as Suda struck heavy blows.

"Into the building," Ariak commanded, pointing his spear at the skyscraper Suda was in the process of clearing. Earthbenders created a shield against the destruction raining down from above. Soldiers followed Ariak's lead and created a turtle shell of earth to shield their retreat from the worst of the attacks. It was a slow march to the building under the shield of earth, but they managed to get inside. Ariak made sure the soldiers were in order and then went on the offensive.

With two skyscrapers worth of soldiers bearing down on them, their movement had been restricted, but Suda was now occupying the full attention of the skyscraper to the east. The western flank was still active and firing on their troops, but Ariak doubted they would be looking for his approach.

With two handfuls of water, Ariak pressed his hands on the side of the building, freezing his gloved hands in place. Then he unthawed one, lifted it slightly, and refroze it in a higher position. Step by step he made the climb up the sheer glass wall of the skyscraper. As he suspected, none of the Grey-Faces were looking straight down. They were caught completely off guard as Ariak's icy climb brought him to the window ledge and he dove through, brandishing his spear.

With Suda on the east and Ariak on the west, the firepower raining down from skyscrapers gradually dwindled. Ariak wielded a lash of water like a whip, striking the Grey-Face soldiers against the windows, cracking the tinted glass with every impact. Across the street, the windows of the skyscraper rattled, signaling that Suda had landed the last of his blows. The street was safe. At least this portion.

Ariak took a glance out the window, cautiously examining the rest of the street. He could see open windows all up and down Zaofu's thoroughfare. They'd gone to all this trouble just to clear two.

Descending the side of the building on an icy ramp and taking a quick dash across the street, Ariak ran to rejoin his soldiers. He quickly huddled behind cover. The Grey-Faces no doubt controlled streets throughout the entire city. Suda zipped downwards and joined him in the cover of the building.

"We'll never make a march down the streets," Ariak said. "We need a way to get from building to building without hitting the road."

The earthen shell defense had worked in the short term, but it wasn't viable for a real troop movement down the main road. If they tried to crawl down the streets in that fashion, they'd get torn apart by helicopters. Sarin still controlled the skies.

"What about the skyways?" Someone suggested. The shifting skyways that connected Zaofu's skyscrapers from above might travel above the fortified line.

"Could be too obvious," Ariak said. "They'd be the first thing the enemy would try and control in this kind of defense."

"What about the tunnels?" Suda suggested. "Ada told me there was a network of tunnels under the city."

Ada had often spoken of her home, and that had naturally brought up the hidden web of tunnels that Ko Rin and his spies used to move unseen.

"Never heard of any tunnels," One of the Zaofu troopers added. "Probably one of them spymaster secrets."

"Most likely," Suda said. "So I guess they won't be easy to find…"

Suda looked around. He was starting to wish that he had a seismic sense like Sen. It might be easier to find a tunnel in that case, or so he thought. In truth, most of Zaofu's tunnels were seismically shielded. Even Sen might have had trouble finding them. Suda figured it was best to get started looking. He slammed his hands down and split the ground beneath them. It immediately collapsed, revealing a barely-illuminated tunnel.

"Huh," He said. "Guess we were right on top of one."

Ariak jumped in and looked around. Not ten steps away was a massive nexus of tunnels branching out in all directions, one tunnel becoming dozens as the network split. It was no surprise that they had been right on top of a tunnel. From the looks of it, there wasn't a single building in Zaifu that didn't have a secret tunnel connected to it. Other soldiers began to follow Ariak into the tunnel, and looked around curiously.

"What's a guy need so many tunnels for?"

The tunnel network had plenty of uses, as Hanjo might currently attest. His were of a more impromptu variety, though they often intersected Ko Rin's manmade tunnels. Gun was barreling through the underground, seeking the home of the Beifongs. Every now and then Hanjo had the badgermole pop above ground to make sure they were headed the right direction. Every time he did he caught glimpses of the battle above, which only made him push forward faster.

The chaos of the battle got quieter and quitter as Hanjo approached the center of the city. The home of the Beifong family was heavily defended, and even Sarin's best troops had difficulty approaching it. Going underground made the approach considerably less difficult. Hanjo looked above ground one more time.

"Well, I'm not sure what I'm looking for," Hanjo said aloud, to no one in particular. "But that looks right."

In the center of the city, an entire structure stood enclosed by huge plates of metal. It was a veritable fortress, and exactly where Hanjo would hide if he were a Beifong. Hanjo hopped out of the ground, leaving Gun behind, and walked over to the fortress. He pounded his fist on the metal shell for a moment.

"Anybody home? It's Hanjo, I'm with the Avatar!"

"I'm afraid they're unavailable at the moment," A voice said from the alleyway. The sound of it made Hanjo's spine crawl.

"Sensheng," Hanjo growled.

Sarin's second in command strolled out of the alleyway, flanked by his three white-clad bodyguards.

"There's no way inside that fortress," Dei Sensheng said. "But we did know the Beifongs would make good bait for one of the Avatars friends. Fitting that you'd fall right back into our hands, Hanjo."

"Or you fell right into mine," Hanjo said. He cracked his knuckles sharply. "I've got two years of imprisonment to get revenge for."

"Quaint," Sensheng said. "Jan, Ken, Po, do try not to hurt him too much."

As one, the trinity of warriors lunged forwards towards Hanjo, their weapons ready. Their advance was met with a swift assault from flying stones, breaking up their ordered formation as the stones slammed down. Hanjo's attacks were fast, but not quite fast enough. He managed to strike a blow against the fan-wielding sister of the trinity, but the other two were much faster. One of the three white-clad soldiers was an earthbender, which made his efforts that much harder, as she deflected al; his attacks.

The third sister was the fastest of them all, and her twin swords lunged at Hanjo viciously, the matching blades cutting through the air like scissors. Hanjo was ready to admit that he was out of his league. Swiftly sidestepping the blades of Sensheng's bodyguard, Hanjo slammed his heel down.

Gun was upon them in a moment, rising up from the ground like a shark from the waters. His massive jaws caught the sword-wielding sister and carried her up and away from Hanjo. Gun shook the woman in his jaws and then unceremoniously threw her to the side, slamming her against a wall. As she crumpled to the ground, Gun bared his fangs at the remaining two sisters. Hanjo glanced to Sensheng and smiled. Gun completed his exit from the ground, crawling upwards and leaving his tunnel behind, ready to finish his mauling.

The earth likewise broke open beneath the halls of the fortified bank. Suda jumped upward swiftly to assess the situation. Ariak had guessed that there would be defenses, and he had guessed right. The Grey-Faces had seen the value in this fortified position as well. Luckily the Coalition had come from below and skipped past the defended walls.

The tunnels leading into the bank poured forth with Coalition troops, and the melee began in earnest. As the fight began Suda found himself with very little to work with. A bank would not keep too much earth or bendable metal on hand in a city full of metalbenders. Despite the lack of ammunition, Suda managed to fight with nothing more than his gauntlets and his skill, and his power quickly turned the battle in the bank rather one-sided.

Until the other side trembled, the ground beneath their feet shaking under the weight of heavy steel armor. The loudest shockwave of them all was the first fall of a black fist against the earth.

"Suda," Temujin growled.

***

Some few still rushed through the darkened tunnels beneath Zaofu. Ada used the shadowed network to reach her home as quickly as possible, rushing through tunnels she still remembered well. At last she reached an exit she recognized: the one nearest her childhood home. She slammed the hidden hatch open and looked around the street.

A few soldiers standing guard outside her door. They were equipped well and fortified in their position. This was obviously a trap, but in her state Ada did not see that. All she saw were threats to her home.

Across the city, Sen found himself in a similar position. The radio relay was heavily guarded. Sen managed to sneak up to a nearby wall and press his heels flat against the ground, feeling out every enemy positioned within. Seven on the walls, three manning the radios, guards watching every window. They were well prepared.

None of the preparation mattered on either side. No amount of preparation will make a mouse equal to a lion.

Ada lunged out of cover, towards those who guarded her childhood home. They screamed in alarm when they saw her, but managed little else. With a single sweeping blow, two fell to her blades. Another tried to strike her with a bolt of fire, but she sidestepped the blow, skidded on her heels briefly, and regained control just fast enough to strike her enemy in the chest with an electrifying blow.

Someone grabbed her from behind in an electrified grip. A shock-gauntlet, like those once worn by Equalists. The electricity coursed through Ada's bicep to little effect. She turned her eyes to her attacker and stared with fury that burned brighter than any blue electricity. In her state, pain was only fuel for more rage. Ada lashed out, striking down the last of the guards around her home.

Sen had wrapped up his affairs rather quickly as well. It had been less than child's play to defeat the soldiers fortifying the building. He sent a quick radio message to Tamin, letting him know they could use their radios once more, and turned his attention back to the Grey-Faces. Amidst the pile of unconscious and broken bodies he had left in his wake, there was one oddly-intact soldier. Sen wanted questions answered.

The front door of Ada's home was hanging off its, hinges, shattered open. Someone had broken in. Ada dove through the collapsing doorway and froze for just a second. She remembered walking through this door every day on her way from school. She'd been standing just in front of it when she'd had her first kiss with Canto. It wasn't meant to be like this, to be broken and vulnerable. This was supposed to be her home.

"Mom," She cried out. "Dad?"

"Ada!"

She did not hesitate for even a second to rush towards the sound of her father's voice. Her parents were cowering in a corner of a darkened room, trembling in fear. Ada dove into their arms and held them tight. For the first second since she'd heard word that Zaofu had been attacked, she allowed herself to stop, to breathe, and to cry. She had been so terrified that something would happen to her parents. Tears of bitter relief burned in Ada's eyes as she embraced them.

That warmth of relief quickly sparked a fire that began to expand in Ada's heart. The door was broken, her parents were afraid. Something had happened, something had threatened her home. She slowly released her parents, and rested a hand on her sword.

"What happened here?"

"They came, I'm sorry," Ada's father said. "He was here to protect us, and they took Canto."

Ada's fist clenched tight around her blade, nearly crushing the steel in a vicelike grip.

Sen's fingers closed around the throat of his captive, squeezing the air out of his lungs and hopefully, the answers out of his mouth.

"Why are you here?" He demanded.

"We're after the Spymaster," The unfortunate Grey-Face said, gagging. "He's stolen thousands of documents from us."

Sen's eyes narrowed. He'd only ever gotten a few dozen reports from Ko Rin. That discrepancy could not be his priority right now, however.

"Your leaders aren't here," Sen said. "Where are they?"

"Where did they take Canto," Ada demanded.

Though they were on opposite sides of the city, pursuing vastly different goals, Sen and Ada found themselves asking questions with identical answers.

"The Redstone building," Both Ada's mother and the interrogated Grey-Face declared. Sen released his grip on the soldier's throat, and Ada released her grasp on her sword.

"Who took Canto?"

"Who's in charge of this attack?"

Again there were two questions, but only one answer. Ada's father looked to her, and Sen's prisoner looked to him, with terror in their eyes.

"Sarin."


	84. Book 5 Ch12: Siege of Zaofu, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violence consumes Zaofu as battles engulf the city from air and sky, and rage threatens to consume Sen as he duels his mortal enemy, Sarin.

"Where is the Spymaster?"

A surge of unholy energy struck Canto's every nerve. Sarin's Energybending clawed at every ragged edge of his soul, tearing at the edges and inflicting unimaginable pain on the poor boy. Despite the brutal torture, Canto remained surprisingly resistant.

"Can't tell you," Canto said. His eyes were glazed over, and his responses were almost sluggish. "Spymaster's orders."

Sarin slammed his hand down on Canto's chest, sending another surge of pain through his body. The boys screams echoed throughout the Redstone building, but he did not yield.

"Where is Ko Rin?" Sarin demanded.

"Can't tell you," Canto said through pained gasps for air. "Spymaster's orders."

Sarin held his hand down and put a steady rush of pain through every fiber of Canto's being. He did not mean to break the boy, not yet, just cause excruciating pain. Nothing Sarin was doing would cause any permanent damage –even though it was magnitudes more painful than any mortal torture could ever be.

"I want your spymaster," Sarin growled. "That man has stolen thousands of documents from me, and I will see him dead."

He tightened his grip, crushing Canto's soul in an ethereal vice. Canto let out a loud roar of agony.

"I will ask again. Where is the Spymaster?"

"Can't tell you," Canto repeated yet again. "Spymaster's orders."

Sarin's eyes narrowed, and his grip loosened. Canto breathed heavily, trying to recover from the pain, but for now his screams were silenced. In the sudden quiet, Sarin heard rapid footsteps behind him, and felt a rising heat.

Sarin leaned to the side just in time. The lance of white-hot flame surged past his head, singing the grey hood he wore as it skimmed past his face. The heat and the light blinded the Energybender briefly as the intense flame scorched the sky and Sarin's eyes. Even the blinding light of the fire was nothing, though, compared to the raging light of the two eyes behind the blow.

The Avatar himself followed the lance of fire, lunging bodily at Sarin to strike him at close range. The Energybender moved aside as Sen impacted a nearby wall, sending a network of cracks through the fragile structure. The Redstone building they were in trembled as Sen's herculean strike landed.

"Avatar," Sarin hissed. He had meant to be in and out of Zaofu before the Avatar had time to arrive. This was a complication.

Sen did not respond. He pulled himself out of the rubble his destructive arrival had created, and turned to face Sarin. The Energybender was still the same black void he had been at the North Pole: a rotting abscess in the flesh of reality. Sen could see the black shadow of the Hssk flittering about Sarin's narrow frame. The Avatar's glowing eyes narrowed into a burning glare at his nemesis.

"I hope you haven't come all this way just to run away again," Sarin taunted. Sen's escape from the North Pole still burned in his memory. The anger burning in his heart only intensified the power burning in Sen's eyes.

"Things have changed," Sen said, his voice echoing with the power of Raava, the power Sen had not possessed during their last confrontation. Sarin flinched slightly as the burning gaze of a fully realized Avatar bore down on him. The shadow of the Hssk retreated, cowering behind Sarin as it hid from the scouring light. Sarin quickly regained his composure.

"Nothing has changed," Sarin said. "I am still the Energybender. I am still your end."

Sen stepped forward, his fists ready to strike.

"I didn't come here to talk," Sen thundered. With a swift, brutal strike, Sen launched a sharp stone at Sarin. The Energybender dodged to the side, allowing the jagged stone to embed itself in the wall behind him. Sen followed through with a lash of fire, a spear of water, a spiraling cyclone of air; all this and a thousand other things in a relentless barrage.

Sarin stayed just abreast of the rampage, always one step ahead of Sen's destruction. It was not just Sen's power that had grown since their meeting at the North Pole: his rage had grown, burning brighter with every passing second of the battle. While his strikes still carried a precise, tactical, air, they held far more weight. Whenever his blows landed they shattered walls, broke windows, shook the ground. He made no half-measures, no attempts to control Sarin or capture him. Sen's only goal was destruction.

A nearby wall crumbled under a heavy hammer of earth. The battle thus far had destroyed most of the nearby structures. Anything vaguely resembling the office this space had once been was now buried under rubble and scrap.

Sarin moved backwards swiftly, pushing out a wall of air that kicked up the dust and debris Sen had created. Sen briefly shielded his face from the oncoming rush of debris, but quickly turned his attention back to Sarin.

In the brief moment of distraction, Sarin had gone for the only area of the building not marred by destruction. Though Sen's rampage had destroyed much of their surroundings, he had deliberately avoided one area: the spot where Canto rested. Sarin stood in the midst of it now, holding Canto by the neck.

"You coward," Sen growled. Sarin was not fazed by Sen's insults.

"This is not the time or place for your end," Sarin said. "Make a move, and the boy dies."

"If you were so confident in your destiny, Sarin, you wouldn't need to threaten any innocent people," Sen shouted. "If you really believed you could beat me, you'd believe you could beat me here and now!"

Sarin froze, his hand still clutching Canto's neck. Canto groaned and struggled slightly, and that was enough to bring Sarin back to focus.

"There is an order to things, Avatar," Sarin said. "You and I will meet at the end of the world, under the Undying Bloom, and there you will die."

Sen took a step back from Canto and Sarin and held his arms out invitingly.

"Then I'll go," Sen said. "Right now. I'll call off my armies and you'll call off yours, and we'll finish this the way it should always have been. You and me, without any innocent people in the way."

Sen had only ever gathered his team, and his Coalition, because Sarin was using his own armies. In an ideal world, this would have been a fight between them and them alone. Sen stood and waited for Sarin to consider the offer. He doubted the Energybender would accept, or even if he did, it would turn out to be some kind of trick. Sen was perfectly willing to face Sarin on his terms, but Sarin was a coward by nature. He would never agree to a fight where he didn't have a clear advantage.

Sen would never find out what Sarin had to say. In the darkness below, diving like a thrown spear through a network of hidden tunnels, a vengeful blade approached the battlefield.

The gateway of the hidden tunnel network broke open. Ada burst out of the wall, her blade already cutting through the air before she had taken even a step. Startled by the sudden appearance of the blade racing towards his heart, Sarin released Canto and took a step back.

Her parents had told her where to find Canto, and that had been the last coherent thought in Ada's head. Any despair in her heart was buried now, under a mountain of burning rage. Sen, Canto, the city around her, everything fell into a red haze as her eyes focused on one target: Sarin.

Every teacher Ada had ever had had warned her about losing control, but none of that mattered to her. Sarin had hurt her friends, her family, her home, the one person she loved more than anything. He did not deserve any restraint, any hesitation, or any mercy. Her blade struck at his heart with heavy sweeping blows, like the claw of a beast aiming to gut its prey.

Though Ada had lost any thought but that of cutting Sarin to pieces, Sen still retained his thoughts, and his fears. Ada couldn't stand against somebody like an Energybender. Sarin was off his footing for a second and a second only. He would quickly strike back against Ada's ferocious onslaught.

Sen got back into the fight, this time much more tactically. He needed to force Sarin back, to keep him away from Ada. Sarin's touch could be lethal. Sen did everything in his power to prevent it, but Sarin knew what kind of opportunity he had. He kept Ada close, sidestepping all of Sen's attacks as he tried to find his opening.

One of Ada's strikes came dangerously close, barely skimming Sarin's chest and cutting a wide hole in the fabric of his shirt. There, in that hairs width of space, Sarin found his opening. He reached out with his right hand, pressed it against Ada's stomach, and he gripped her soul. Sen was privy to the terrifying detail as Sarin's soul overpowered Ada's coursing through her heart and throughout her soul. The air was filled with a discordant shrieking as Sarin's Energybending began its trademark howling.

Then, like the strings of an instrument snapping in the midst of the song, the shrieking ceased in a violent burst of noise. Sarin pulled his hand back sharply, but nothing came with it. His fingers tensed and twitched as if lightning had run through his hand. Ada fell backwards, in incredible pain, but intact. She screamed and clutched at her gut while Sarin took a quick step back, holding his pained hand.

Sen struck Sarin with a brick torn from a crumbling wall, knocking him backwards. Ada was on the ground screaming, and the sound of her pain woke Canto from his near-unconscious state. He crawled forward as Sarin moved back, still clutching the hand he had attempted to grasp Ada's soul with.

Sen forced Sarin further and further back, and astonishingly, the Energybender seemed glad to retreat. He was hurt somehow, in a way Sen couldn't see. He paid little attention to Sarin's well being. As soon as Sarin was out of sight, Sen turned back to Ada.

Canto had crawled to her side, but his presence did little to help her. Her screaming had stopped, but it had been replaced by some kind of unnatural paralysis. She laid motionless on the ground, staring forward without any focus. Sen knelt down by her side. He could feel an internal tempest, even though her body was motionless. Sarin's strike had damaged the core of Ada's being.

Sen placed his hands gingerly on Ada's forehead. He could fix this. He had to fix this. Canto begged him to explain what was happening to Ada, but Sen quickly quieted him. He needed to focus. Sen closed his eyes and abandoned any thoughts of the material world. Ada's wound was not in her body.

He started at the top, the Thought chakra. That was where the flow of energy from the universe entered a mortal body. He started at the source and traced downwards. It was only moments before he found an interruption to Ada's flow of chi; one he might have recognized, if he were being more analytical. For now, he unwound whatever foreign influence clung to Ada's soul, freeing her from its grip. Sen worked with what he know of chi reading, waterbending healing, and energybending to restore her damaged soul.

Sen's power traced downwards through Ada's soul, past several chakras, finding traces of Sarin's corrupt influence all the way. It was only at the Water chakra that Ada found the most severe source of damage. Whatever Sarin had attempted to do to Ada, it had stopped here. The chakra was torn and ragged, the flow of energy twisted and interrupted by foreign influence. Gently, careful in every motion, Sen restored the normal flow of chi, undoing the damage Sarin had done.

As he did so, Sen considered what exactly was happening. In the past he had talked about Chakras with Hayao, and he had used Ada as an example of the Water chakra. She embodied the concept of pleasure overcoming guilt stronger than anyone else Sen knew. The same chakra, her strongest, had halted Sarin's attempt to destroy her soul. Sen doubted that any of this was a coincidence.

Sen's focus was violently jarred back to the physical world as his work was finished. With her soul repaired, Ada woke, seemingly none the worse for wear. She looked around in confusion for a moment, her mind briefly reaffirming its place in reality.

"Ada?" Canto asked curiously. Ada looked at him for a moment, but she said nothing. There was something in her eyes. Something like fear.

"Stay with her," Sen said to Canto. As if there was any chance he wouldn't. "I need to go after Sarin."

Everything that had happened in the past few minutes was just more reason for Sen to hunt him down. Sarin would never stop hurting his friends, as he'd hurt Ada now. She was lucky to be alive.

Sen went to make sure that Sarin didn't have any such luck.

Sarin's chi was masked from Sen, but there was nothing he could do to hide the shockwaves of his footsteps. Following the vibrations spread by Sarin's stumbling gait, Sen tracked his enemy down. Sarin was still clutching his hand in a mix of pain and confusion. The Avatar cornered his foe at the end of a hall. Sarin had nowhere to run but up an elevator shaft.

Sarin forced the doors of the elevator open, exposing the bare metal shaft that lead upwards towards the buildings higher floors. He used airbending to vault himself along the walls of the elevator shaft, heading upwards, hopefully away from the Avatar's wrath.

He could feel that said wrath was dangerously close. The elevator shaft was getting warmer. Sarin dove through the metal doors that led outwards, crashing painfully through the thick metal. No sooner had he escaped the enclosed space than a roaring wall of flame roared up the shaft, with fire spilling out the open doors. The entire building got noticeably warmer as Sen's wall of flame rose, melting the iron support beams of the Redstone building and spreading fire throughout the structure.

Sen himself was quick to rise, following his wave of fire, and chased after Sarin. They were several stories up now, high enough that Sarin caught a good glimpse of one of his helicopters crashing and burning.

The battle for the skies still raged outside. Miyani and Whistler were the dominating force in the skies, but they did not mean their side had the advantage.

The helicopters had the Iron Dragons and, with the exception of Miyani and Whistler, outgunned. Fire was an effective weapon against other planes, but it was less useful against the heavy metal construction of the helicopters. The Iron Dragons took out their fair share, but the helicopters had a decided advantage.

Realizing the disadvantage their fellow pilots were at, Whistler had at least acquiesced to Yonten's demands to fly in formation. Miyani was pushing herself to her limits to shoot down every helicopter as they appeared. She was lucky that it didn't require much power to knock one out of the skies. She had to focus on being as swift as possible.

Despite Miyani's swiftness, she could not be everywhere at once. A helicopter lurched forth from a side alley, ready to strike. Yonten, at the head of the formation, was its first target.

Yonten's firebending partner struck back at the helicopter, striking a fatal blow, but the odd flying machine retaliated in kind. A blade of metal clipped the wing of Yonten's fighter, sending him careening downwards. He and his partner bailed out just before the fighter crashed into a skyscraper and exploded in a fiery conflagaration.

"We lost wing-leader!"

The radios of the Iron Dragons blazed to new life as they struggled to maintain order in the wake of Yonten's crash. As they struggled to reorganize, they only grew more vulnerable.

"Who's reserve command?"

"He already went down!"

Even as they argued, their third co-captain was shot down by a helicopter from the sidelines. Miyani took one last potshot at a passing enemy and reached out to grab the radio.

"Follow us," Miyani demanded. "Get in formation behind Whistler."

Miyani hung up the radio and looked to Whistler's face, seeing the expected indignant stare.

"You want me to be in charge of things," Whistler objected. "You do know on how many levels that is a bad idea, right?"

"You're the best flier in the air right now," Miyani said. She took a break from her encouraging lecture to shoot down yet another helicopter. "Just keep doing what you're doing. They'll follow."

Whistler grunted angrily and relented. As much as she hated leadership, someone had to take the lead or else the Iron Dragons would get picked apart. She reluctantly swerved to rejoin the rest of the squadron and took the lead.

With Miyani and Whistler at the helm the Iron Dragon squadron found new life in the skies of Zaofu. Whistler took sharp, swerving dives, nearly outmaneuvering the agile helicopters, and led them on an aerial rampage. Broken metal and fire rained down on the streets below.

The impact of one helicopter near the bank was outmatched in intensity by the Fist of Rahm slamming down. As Suda stepped away from the blow yet again, Temujin picked up his hammer and readied it for another heavy-handed strike. The heavy metal plates of his armor clattered as he chased after Suda.

"You will not escape me this time," Temujin roared. Suda jumped backwards as yet another blow came down.

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

Very few things could give Temujin pause, but that managed to do it. The warlord of the Metal Men stopped and stared at Suda for a moment.

"I nearly killed you," He said, somewhat offended.

"Oh, right, that was you," Suda said. "There were a lot of painkillers involved, my memory of that whole thing is kind of fuzzy."

The crashing blow of the Fist of Rahm was a good reminder of what had happened at Mount Zu-Shin. Suda caught the blow on his metal gauntlets and retreated a few more steps away. Temujin did not intend to let Suda escape twice. Suda, on the other hand, did not intend on nearly dying twice.

The halls of the bank rang with metallic clashes as the two titanic metalbenders dueled. Temujin's mighty hammer broke walls and sheets of steel as he chased after Suda, and the air was filled with a storm of metal blades as Suda struck back against his pursuer. The metallic shards bounced off Temujin's thick armor and filled the air with sparks as metal scraped against metal.

"You know, pal, I really ought to thank you," Suda began. He was remembering more and more about Temujin. He was a proud man, and liable to be thrown off balance by taunting. "That hit you gave me let me spend plenty of time with my girlfriend."

Temujin growled and slammed his hammer down again. The spikes of his armor shook with every blow that fell.

"Still, don't think I'm up for a redo," Suda joked. "Yoki wouldn't approve."

He whipped out a metal line and wrapped it around the shaft of the Fist of Rahm, pulling it off course. With Temujin off balance, Suda struck him from the side, knocking him a few steps away. The metal-clad warrior took a knee as the blow put him off balance. He soon righted himself and hefted his hammer once more.

"I will not fail twice," Temujin roared. "I'll crush you, and then go after her!"

Historians would note several severe tactical missteps in the Siege of Zaofu. Threatening Yoki would be one of them.

There was a loud groaning sound from far behind Suda. The building shook slightly as a metallic roar grew louder and louder. Temujin paused briefly and looked around, uncertain about the source of the noise. He had forgotten that they were in a bank. Banks had vaults.

With a harsh shriek of tearing metal, a two ton disk of metal tore free from the door of the bank vault and dove forward. Soldiers ducked and dove to the ground as the titanic disk cut through the air. Temujin had a moment to jump back in surprise before the metal plate slammed into him and continued onwards, flying towards the bank door and crashing through the wall. The vault came to rest just in front of the door, violently ejecting Temujin and securing the Bank fairly well for the Coalition. Suda nodded firmly as the titanic slab of metal landed in place.

"Aren't those supposed to be platinum?" One curious soldier said to another.

Ariak did one last sweep of the Bank to secure it, and found it had been cleared. He grabbed his radio and let the rest of the Coalition forces know they could proceed with the attack on the city.

Sarin tried to flee, turning corners sharply and dashing down long hallways. He believed that Sen was a good distance behind. That would technically have been true, were Sen following the same rules as Sarin. Sen did not run around corners and walls. He ran through them.

The wall next to Sarin burst in a cloud of rubble, and he felt a hand take hold of him. Sen pulled on Sarin's arm and hurled him back through the new hole in the wall, slamming him into the far wall. Sarin quickly rolled aside as Sen followed through with a swift fireball, catching the wall where Sarin had once been on fire.

Sarin stood his ground for the first time this fight, and used his Energybending rather than his airbending offensively. Sen avoided the grey light. He still remembered the agonizing sting of Energybending from the North Pole. He was not eager to risk another such encounter. The cruel energy Sarin wielded passed by Sen's shoulder, eradicating whatever obstacle they then encountered. Sen ducked as Sarin launched a crescent blade of the annihilating energy, leaving a curved hole in the wall behind Sen's head.

Though he had experimented with Energybending in the past, Sen could still not wield it offensively as Sarin did. It was the one real advantage Sarin held, and he used it for everything it was worth.

With one more lashing strike at Sen, Sarin attempted to retreat again. He knew that this was not the time or place to have his last stand with Sen. He would need to stand beneath the tree of the Undying Bloom, alongside Ta Jide Shui, to have enough power to defeat Sen. All he could do know was try to bait Sen to such a confrontation.

Sarin double checked the exterior of the building and then broke open a window with his airbending. As the shards of broken glass fell, Sarin followed them, leaping out of the building and falling downwards for a brief moment. Sarin caught the railing of a helicopter flying near the window, clutching to the door. He had always been ready to evacuate at a moments notice, keeping a vehicle close at hand to flee.

The helicopter began to rise slowly, and Sarin brushed off a coating of dust and broken glass he had obtained from his battle. He turned to his subordinate on the helicopter, briefly relieved to be free of Sen's rage. That relief was short-lived as he saw the soldier besides him step back in surprise.

The helicopter shuddered in midair as something slammed into its side. There was a very tense of silence. In that short second, the air in the helicopter became much warmed.

The metal hull glowed white hot for a moment before a searing lance of fire cut through it. The bolt of flame cut through the iron shell of the helicopter like a plasma torch, sawing the machine open. Sarin stepped back from the searing flame as it travelled along the hull. In a flash the fire had completely bisected the vessel, causing it to fall into two halves that began to plummet downwards.

Still clinging to the half of the helicopter that held Sarin, Sen dragged his foe out of the broken chopper and threw him downwards, then jumped down after him. The two struck out at one another as they fell, but their descent made it difficult for any blow to land. Their aerial melee lasted only a moment before the two slammed into the building beneath them.

The Redstone building had a terraced upper level, giving its exterior a ledge every few floors. Sarin plummeted onto one such ledge, while Sen's fall took him to the ledge directly below. Sen was quick to his feet, watching Sarin rise as well. With a brief roar of anger, Sen leapt upwards, pursuing his foe. Sarin likewise moved upwards, climbing higher and higher towards the peak of the Redstone building.

Despite Sarin starting a ledge ahead, Sen's more powerful airbending allowed him to close the gap quickly. Sarin paused, ready for a fight, as Sen leapt onto the same ledge as his adversary. Then Sen leapt upwards again, to the ledge above. Sarin was not so foolish as to think this would end well for him.

The Avatar landed on the ledge above, slamming his fists onto the wall of the building as he did. With the blow, the wall tore itself apart, filling the air with a cloud of heavy stones, broken steel, and shattered glass. Sarin spun his hands rapidly, creating a domed spiral of air that cast aside the falling pieces of building, keeping himself safe –momentarily.

As the rain of rubble and debris ceased, the Avatar himself bore down on Sarin, driving a hammerlike boulder before him. Sarin, with no time to reach, caught the boulder on his chest and was slammed downwards to the ground. Sen attempted a devastating follow-through, but Sarin would not be taken down so easily. A discordant shriek split the air as a burst of grey light raced forth, striking Sen in the chest.

It was a pleasant surprise to know that the searing grey light was not quite so cripplingly painful as it had been at the North Pole, but it still hurt. A lot. A loud scream of pain echoed throughout the city as Sen was launched backwards by the blast. Sarin got to his feet and prepared to flee downwards.

Sen's fingers curiously prodded his chest as he coped with the pain. Sarin's destructive attacks could unwind the spiritual energy that bonded reality together, but not the soul of one strong enough to resist. Inanimate objects, however, could offer no such resistance. There was a gaping hole in Sen's shirt where the blast had struck him.

Paying no heed to the damage to his uniform, Sen continued onwards, chasing after Sarin. They both leapt downwards from ledge to ledge. Whenever he landed, Sen made sure to tear out a chunk of stone or metal to hurl at Sarin, slowing his downward advance.

Eventually Sarin ran out of ledge. Halfway down the building, the terraced ledges ended, and the sheer glass wall of the skyscraper took over. A metal skyway glistened in the sun below. A helicopter roared past below Sarin's feet, followed shortly thereafter by a fighter jet. Sarin planted his feet and prepared to make a stand. Sen had no interest in watching Sarin stand. He would much rather see him fall.

Sen landed, and he once again tore open the wall of the Redstone building, collapsing it under foot. The wall crumbled and cracked, falling to pieces and leaving Sarin standing on nothing but broken rubble. As the Energybender plummeted, he raked at the air with stiff claws, pulling Sen downwards with him.

Once again the two found themselves falling, flailing at their foe with reckless abandon. The aerial battle produced little result, and the two resigned themselves to continuing the duel once they had landed. The skyway beneath them ensured that it would be a short fall. Sarin landed first, followed shortly thereafter by Sen, landing with a heavy thud on the metal roof.

Sarin stumbled to his feet, careful not to teeter over the edge of the narrow skyway. The Avatar likewise wobbled as he stood, shaking off the impact. The Energybender looked over his rival, stood up straight, and shouted across the length of the skyway.

"You know Avatar, there was a time I would have regretted having to fight you," Sarin shouted. The roaring wind at this height made it difficult to talk. "Now I know better."

"How comforting," Sen said bitterly. "You've been trying to kill me and everyone I love for years, but at least it wasn't personal!"

The two stumbled forward, closing the distance between them. Sen stopped a few steps short of Sarin, and the two stared each other down. The grey rings around Sarin's eyes narrowed as he examined his foe. Sen's coattails fluttered in the harsh wind as Sarin stared him down. He did not falter under the piercing gaze of his enemy, in fact he only grew more furious the longer he looked at Sarin.

"The light in your eyes hides nothing," Sarin taunted. "I can see how much you hate me."

Sen's face dropped into a harsh scowl.

"You have no idea how much I hate you."

This had stopped being a war of ideals when Sarin had taken Hanjo prisoner, when he had robbed Sen of the first good thing in his life, and it had carried on through every action Sarin had taken, right up to his hurting Ada today. The war between them was no longer entirely about Sarin's dream of a world without conflict, nor Sen's determination to protect the current world. Those things still mattered, but their current was undercut by a deep, personal hatred between the Avatar and the Energybender.

Sen stepped backwards ever so slightly, as did Sarin. The two could hardly bear to be near each other. Sen detested Sarin's defeatist attitude, his firm belief in destiny and predetermination. Sarin hated Sen's stubbornness, his refusal to accept the inevitability of destiny. They were two diametrically opposed souls in every way. Stripping away the roles of Avatar and Energybender, they would still fight one another.

With that all-consuming hatred in mind, the two stepped further forward, their souls flaring with power. Neither possessed the patience to suffer their adversary's existence for another second. This time there would be no holding back. From Sarin came discordant shrieking and grey light, tearing at the fabric of reality. Sen walked forward, his footsteps ringing like massive bells, with radiant white light emanating from his hands.

The two never had a chance to clash. Like opposing ends of a magnet, the two diametrically opposite energies violently rejected one another. The air thundered with a cacophony of conflicting sounds, shrieking, howling, thundering, ringing, filling the city with ear-splitting noise. Sarin and Sen were both launched backwards, slamming into walls at opposite ends of the skyway, as their power violently unwound upon itself.

After a brief blackout, the Avatar regained his senses. It was an unpleasant experience. His heart felt like it was trying to crawl out of his throat, and every one of his nerves was tingling. He groped blindly at the waistline of his coat. Miraculously, what he was looking for was still intact.

The portable radio he kept on him had managed to survive the brawl with Sarin. The Energybender himself was quickly recovering from the shock of the catastrophic Energybending collision. Sen would need reinforcements, and fast.

"Miyani," He called out. "I need you. The skyway by the Redstone building…"

His radio message reached Miyani and Whistler's aircraft. Miyani pondered his request. Going after Sarin was important, but it could be dangerous. In the end, it was not her decision.

"I've been looking for an excuse to ditch these dragon chumps for a while," Whistler said. She veered sharply off course, eager to no longer be in charge of anything. She detested leadership.

Sen stumbled to his feet once again, watching Sarin do the same from across the skyway. Sarin was radioing his own air support. Sen stepped backwards slightly. This was going to get messy.

The warplane of an Iron Dragon tore across the sky, rounding a corner towards the skyway Sen and Sarin stood upon. Sen took a leap back, pressing his back against the wall of the building. With him out of the way, Miyani focused her eyes on the metal skyway. Sarin realized what was happening, and cast out his hands.

The grey light of Energybending and the white light of combustion bending tore through the sky, coming close but never quite colliding. Sarin leapt from the skyway rooftop as the explosive burst consumed the skyway, causing both connected buildings to tremble. As he fell, his streak of grey light tore across the sky with equal speed, crashing into the wing of Whistler's aircraft. The harsh grey light ripped through her aircraft, destroying everything it touched.

Sen cursed under his breath as he watched Sarin and the plane fall. With only a moment of hesitation, he turned away from Sarin and dove after the crashing plane. Whistler was doing everything in her power to slow them down, but it was still going to be a nasty crash. She grabbed her glider and Miyani, and prepared to jump.

Her first attempt at an exit from the falling plane was cancelled as Sen landed on the one intact wing with a heavy thud. Wasting no time on explanations, Sen reached forward and grabbed the spare glider Whistler wore at her belt. She was still carrying the new staff the Coalition had forged her alongside her old staff. Sen grabbed the newer glider in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Miyani, then they jumped from the burning wreckage together.

Whistler had been through a few disastrous falls, and this ranked as her favorite. Instead of a messy plummet, they ended up just leaving the crashing wreckage behind and gliding gently to the ground. Whistler set her feet on the ground, with Sen and Miyani landing just after.

Sen took a look to the skies. One helicopter was rapidly retreating from the city. Sen could feel the black emptiness where a soul should be. Sarin was getting away. Sen's eyes focused purely on that rapidly retreating chopper, paying no heed to the state of the street around him. A few buildings down, Ariak, who had been keeping a careful eye on the situation, stepped out into the street.

"Sen! The streets aren't-"

As one, the soldiers stationed in nearby buildings launched their attacks. Sen found himself the sole target of a barrage of a hundred attacks at once. Whistler and Miyani dove for cover.

Sen held his hands out, his fists clenched. Shards of ice, lances of fire, hurtling boulders, all froze in midair. Sen never looked away from the rapidly vanishing silhouette of Sarin. A dome of fire and ruin surrounded him on all sides, hovering motionless in the air as Sen held them back with sheer force of will. The rain of destruction paused in midair as Sen looked at the helicopter, rapidly retreating from the city, that carried Sarin away.

With a loud cry of frustration, the dome shattered, every attack soaring back towards its target. Broken glass rained down like hail as Sen turned every attack back on its origin. He stood in the middle of the storm of shards, watching his greatest enemy escape.

"-Safe," Ariak finally concluded.

***

Dei Sensheng sat by the radio in silence. He had already made sure the word got out. They were in full retreat. They needed to get as far as possible from Zaofu as fast as they could. The arrival of the Avatar had been an expected problem; Sarin making no progress whatsoever on their primary objective was not expected.

"So how many did we lose today, Sensheng," Gamon wondered aloud. Sensheng did not respond. "I see your little bodyguards made it, at least."

The trio of sisters sulked in a corner, nursing their wounds. Their once immaculate white garb was now marred by tears and fang punctures. The Avatar's badgermole had been far beyond their ability to manage.

"Every day my job gets easier," Gamon mumbled. He began to mark off his book, the records he kept of all their loyal men and women. He would be crossing out hundreds of names before the day was done. "Every day we lose more and more."

Sensheng waited in silence by the radio for further reports. For a group of names Gamon could cross off his list.

Those few soldiers who had managed to get away had retreated to their nearest base, and waited in disarray for the retreat to progress further. Sarin lurked in a private chamber, out of reach to even Sensheng. He had yet to speak a word about the disastrous failure of their attack. They had lost so much, and gained nothing. Sensheng tapped his fingers in agitation.

This was starting to become a pattern.

Working to fix his damaged armor and his damaged ego, Temujin toiled in silence. The impact of the vault door had warped his armor out of shape. It no longer resembled Rahm's metal shell. As he worked and worked upon his armor, Temujin looked to the black gauntlet that made up his hammer. He still could not control the dark Spirit Metal. He still could not match Rahm's power.

The cuirass of his armor made a loud groan as Temujin bent it back into shape. Temujin matched that groan with a low roar of frustration. He had been just inches away from killing Suda once before. How was it he had lost today?

Underneath the loud clashes and shrieks of reshaping metal, a silent figure crept. Temujin did not realize who was upon him until she was already at his back.

"You lost," Kida taunted. Acting on instinct, Temujin grabbed his hammer and swung it towards her. She sidestepped the blow almost casually, swiftly moving away from the black gauntlet. Temujin saw who had taken him by surprise and then relaxed.

"You should have stayed," Temujin said flatly. Though the bloodbenders had led the attack on Zaofu, Kida had left as soon as the sun had risen, long before the Coalition's arrival.

"I had no reason to stay," Kida said flippantly. She stepped lightly, walking in circles around Temujin. The ironclad warrior turned to follow her movement. He did not trust Kida at his back.

"My war is a little more…personal," Kida said. There was venom in her voice. "I'm at my strongest when fighting on my own terms. Suda's the same way, apparently."

Temujin waited in silence. Kida was many things that Temujin disliked, but she had power, and Temujin liked power. If she had something to say on the matter, he would hear it. As Kida circled around and around the mighty warlord, her eyes flitted between the Fist of Rahm, and the metal armor that Temujin had shaped in the image of the now-deceased General.

"You want to be as strong as Rahm?" Kida asked. "Then you need hate."

Kida stopped circling and turned to face Temujin. She slowly crept closer, diving into his face with every step to emphasize her words.

"Suda beat you because he hates you," Kida said. "He hates you for hurting him, for threatening the person he loves. You can't be as strong as Rahm because you don't hate like he did. Because when the mountain collapsed, you ran instead of finishing the job. Because when you lost today, you sulked away in shame instead of trying again."

Kida stopped, close enough to Temujin now that he could see every vicious spark of hatred in her eyes.

"Hate, Temujin. Hate until there is nothing else inside you but fire."

Kida bared her fangs in a wicked smile and vanished, creeping back into the shadows she'd come from. Temujin stood firm for a moment, his fists clenched.

He reached out to grab the handle of his hammer, and turned it until the black gauntlet of Rahm was just in front of his face. The armor of a man who had done more, fought more, than any other human in history.

Hate. Temujin considered the word, and scowled.

***

"Alright, everybody out of the badgermole hole," Hanjo beckoned. The Beifong family followed him out of a hole in the dirt as he led them to safety. Zaofu would not be safe for a week, at the very least. The Beifongs would find shelter in Ba Sing Se or some other large city.

Whistler observed the Beifongs as they walked by. She managed to refrain from commenting on how they'd hidden away while their city burned instead of taking charge. She had a funny feeling about this whole attack on Zaofu. Her hands had been shaking even after the battle proper had ended. She didn't like Zaofu.

"Thanks for taking charge of the Dragons," Yonten said. Whistler jumped slightly. Lost in thought as she was, the pilot had snuck up on her.

Yonten limped slightly, as his landing had been far from perfect, but he was otherwise fine. The biggest wound was to his pride. The Iron Dragons had not performed as well as he'd expected. Until Whistler took charge, that was.

"You'd make a good pilot," Yonten advised. "Could even be a squadron leader in no time at all."

"I'll pass," Whistler said. She didn't bother taking a minute to think it over, and walked away from Yonten without hesitation.

Far removed from the center of activity, Ada sat at the outskirts of the command center, clutching her head in her hands. She had requested, quite vehemently, that she be left alone for now. Even Canto and her parents had been cast aside. Those who cared about her stayed at the outskirts, watching her from a distance.

Sen could see that something was troubling her, but he had an army to manage. The Grey-Faces were in full retreat, but Sen still had to coordinate sweeps of the city for any lingering threats or enemy soldiers. Zaofu was not completely safe yet.

Sen finished giving orders to one of his subordinates and took a moment to look around. Most of his friends were attending to their own agendas, but Suda was lingering nearby. He quickly noticed that Sen's eyes were on him.

"She won't even talk to me," Suda said quietly. His eyes still lingered on Ada, and the dark cloud that seemed to hover around her.

"She's okay, Suda," Sen said. She was fine, at least physically. "She's a strong spirit, one that won't break easily. She just had a close call. That's scary. For all of us."

Suda nodded. Ada had been by their side for years. Anything happening to her was –Suda didn't even want to think about it. He looked between his two friends for a moment. Sen gave one more order and found himself with a moment of free time. There was something that needed to be said.

"Suda, I'm sorry about the other day," Sen said. "I shouldn't have forced you to make a choice like that, it was-"

"No, you had a point," Suda admitted. "You were right. I got lazy. I forgot why I was doing this."

Time spent away from the battlefield had made him forget the reasons he fought. Everything that had happened today had been a harsh reminder that everyone had loved ones, had a home that was worth protecting. Suda hadn't just joined the Avatar because Bolin asked him to. He felt a responsibility to the world, but he had almost forgotten that responsibility.

"I love Yoki," Suda said. "But I'll still love her when this is all over. I'm with you, Sen."

Sen looked at his former earthbending master with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"You'll still visit her now and then," Sen said.

"Yeah I'm not even going to bother denying that," Suda said.

The two of them laughed together for a moment. Their levity drew strange stares from those around them. The mood in the city was still rather somber. Sen shut his mouth and tried to focus on his work. When he thought about everything that had happened during the battle, one particular incident naturally stuck out. Sen glanced at Ada.

"You know, it's strange, the way she resisted Sarin," Sen said.

"Did you expect anything less?"

"Kind of," Sen admitted. "We spent so long assuming I was the only one who could fight Sarin safely."

"I wouldn't say it went all that well for her," Suda corrected.

"No, I don't want any of you fighting him again," Sen said. Although Ada had survived, it had been dangerously close and excruciatingly painful for her. Nobody would be repeating her mistake. Sen's battle would remain one between Sen and Sarin alone.

"But he tried to break her," Sen said. "And he failed. Even with all the Hssk's power behind him."

Sen rubbed his chin. As usual, everyone who heard him forgot what he had said quickly. Miyani gave him a strange look and then went back to business. Sen knew nobody would ever remember the Hssk's name, but it was still comforting to say it out loud.

"We need to re-evaluate how much of a threat Sarin is," Sen said. Ada surviving Sarin's Energybending proved that they had overestimated his power. Perhaps they were wrong about other things as well. Sen needed more information on his rival –and he knew just where to start.

"Canto," Sen said. Ada's lover was close at hand, despite Ada's stubborn refusal to talk to him. He stared longingly at her from a distance, but quickly turned his attention to Sen when he was called.

"What do you need, Sen?"

"I need to talk to Ko Rin," Sen said. There was nobody else who might be able to get him information on Sarin. "Can you tell me where he is?"

"Can't do that," Canto said stiffly. Sen's eyes narrowed.

"Why not?"

"Spymaster's orders."

A few steps away, Ada lurched violently out of her seat, standing up and stepping away quickly. Canto's words were like knives in her ears. Ada made up some excuse to leave and wandered off to somewhere secluded, far from the prying eyes of her friends. If they were her friends. She wasn't completely sure who they were anymore –or who she was.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she walked. Sen's work healing her soul had untangled a part of her psyche that had been oppressively locked away. Now memories that had once been locked away by imprisoning shadows flowed freely. Memories of the Spymaster's orders. Ko Rin's voice echoed in her ears.

"Take these to Raisu Province," The Spymaster ordered. "Place them throughout the mine…"

His voice faded from memory, replaced by the sounds of bursting fire, collapsing stone, the screams of miners trapped under the wreckage.

"Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada leaned against the wall, trembling slightly. Her fingers closed around the handle of her sword, steadying herself. She walked forward through the hazy noise of memory.

"It is better if you not contact Zaofu except in an emergency," Ko Rin said, a memory of a phone call from Gai Zhu. "Your Spymaster commands it."

"Tell me as much as you can about this combustion bender." Another phone call, another command from Ko Rin.

"Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada's eyes started to feel that all too familiar burn. The oppressive weight of a will that was not her own, forcing her to do things she did not choose to do.

"You should recommend me to the Avatar."

She could feel her tongue burning, her mouth moving against her will, the choking feeling of having words that weren't hers said in a voice that was.

"Your Spymaster commands it."

"Take these to Zu-Shin pass. The Tunnel must not be completed."

Explosions, a falling mountain. Complete and utter betrayal, an act of treachery she didn't even remember committing. So much lost, so many people hurt.

"Your Spymaster commands it."

"Leave the door unlocked at the banquet hall. One of your fellow agents will arrive shortly."

An assassin snuck in through a back way. A metal disc sent flying towards an unsuspecting Minister. Barely a trace of memory left behind, just enough to put a disquieting chill in her heart.

"Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada stepped outside, into the streets of Zaofu, her face drenched in sweat, her fist clenched tight around the hilt of her sword. Under her feet an endless network of darkened tunnels stretched outwards. Access to every building, every secret in Zaofu –and beyond. Massive towers, soaring skyscrapers packed with people and industry –more money, power, and influence than any one person could ever dream of controlling.

Zaofu echoed with the words, above and below. Ada looked at her home, across the shining towers above and the shadowed tunnels below, and those words were all she could hear.

Your Spymaster commands it.


	85. Book 5 Ch13: The Spymaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark shadows in Zaofu are brought to light as a restless Ada confronts a web of lies and manipulation that threatens the Earth Kingdom and the world.

The radios had only just barely been repaired when the accusations started rolling in.

Raisu, Hua Long, and dozens of other members of the United Earth Kingdom parliament were furious that the Coalition had dared to cross the UEK's border. An emergency session of parliament had quickly convened, with the Avatar-General joining in to defend himself via radio.

"This debate is cyclical," Earth King Wu II protested. "No matter the objections raised by any members of parliament, the United Coalition was acting within the rules laid out by its charter."

While the Coalition was normally barred from entering nations not participating in the Coalition, an emergency situation and an express invitation from a provincial leader could override that rule.

"A charter which I might remind the esteemed ministers, they voted to uphold," Sen added. While the UEK Parliament had rejected joining the Coalition, they had voted to recognize its authority and legitimacy as a military force. All the old rules still applied.

"No one is arguing the legality of your actions, only the intent," Raisu added coldly. "You will use this intrusion as a precedent for further actions in our territory."

"Any 'precedent' set here was set by Sarin," Sen countered. "He's the one who attacked a neutral territory without an official declaration of war."

"Do not pretend that Zaofu is neutral. That city is so deeply in your pocket it might as well be hanging Coalition banners," Raisu retorted.

"The actions of a handful of private citizens don't justify a full-scale military assault on a civilian populace," Sen said. While many in Zaofu, such as Ada, Ko Rin, and Canto, worked with the Coalition, most of the victims of Sarin's attack had been civilians.

"The Avatar is right," The Minister from Omashu interjected. "Sarin's proven he's willing to attack without provocation. The Avatar is the only one who can protect us!"

"Just like he protected the Redstone building," Minister Hua-Long taunted. Sen scowled. The damage he'd done to the Redstone building during his duel with Sarin had rendered it unstable: it would need to be demolished.

"The Avatar is just as much of a threat as Sarin is," Hua-Long concluded. Sen managed to bite his tongue and keep from retaliating, but only barely. He did not like being compared to Sarin in any way.

"Zaofu provoked the Energybender by helping the Avatar," The Chin province representative protested. "The safest course is to stay as far away from General Sen as possible!"

"Neutrality is for cowards," The Kyoshi Island minister shouted. "We need to join the Coalition! I demand a vote!"

"Enough!" Prime Minister Tse shouted. "This is not some public forum, we have rules! You will speak when recognized or not at all."

The conflicting ministers acquiesced to the commands of their leader and gradually fell silent. Once order had been restored, Sen spoke up.

"The Coalition has a responsibility to our cause and to the people of Zaofu to ensure that every possible threat in this city is eliminated," Sen said. "Once that is accomplished, parliament has my guarantee that we will withdraw from Zaofu and the Earth Kingdom as a whole."

That placated Raisu slightly. Some members spoke up in protest, but they were mostly those that believed the Avatar should stay in the Earth Kingdom. Sen had no real desire to stay in Zaofu much longer. Most of Sarin's invading force had either retreated or surrendered at this point. There was very little reason for them to be there.

Sen was already making plans for the Coalitions exit from the city. They were helping rebuild as necessary, and briefly enjoying the hospitality of the Beifongs. Oddly, the one who should have been enjoying their time in Zaofu the most was enjoying it by far the least. Ada was still withdrawn and fearful, two qualities Sen would never have attributed to her. Her brush with death had frightened her greatly –or so Sen thought.

The parliamentary debate raged for a moment longer, and then was dismissed. Sen was glad to step away from the radio and breath a heavy sigh.

"This is not going to end well," Sen said. At best this would forestall the UEK joining the Coalition even further, at worst it would cause civil war. He wished he had been able to do more against Sarin during their fight. He could have ended it all right then and there. Sen clenched his fists tight as he remembered Sarin's escape.

"We should start getting things out of here as soon as possible," Hanjo advised. "Especially all our tanks and planes and stuff. All the heavy hitting stuff."

"Does that include me?" Miyani asked. "I kind of like it here."

"I don't think people count," Hanjo said.

It was an attempt to add some levity to an otherwise tense moment, and it did not really work. Hanjo and Miyani both looked to Ada.

She had been following them, and sluggishly interacting, but it was clear that she was not herself. She had adamantly refused to clue any of them into what was wrong with her. They all assumed it was due to her near-death at Sarin's hands.

"If some of you could just get started on that, I would appreciate it," Sen said. "I'm going to be up all night dealing with this parliament business."

Sen leaned on his desk and put his head in his hands. He didn't even know where to begin. As Sen contemplated his course, his friends gradually split up to go about their business. All but one. Sen decided to put the problems with the ministers on hold for a moment.

"What's wrong, Ada?"

She took slow, sluggish steps forward and sat down by Sen's side, staring at the floor.

"I don't know where to start," She said quietly. "There's so much…I need you, Sen."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Ada, but," Sen began hesitantly. "I don't think you do."

Ada paused and waited in silence. Sen was quick to continue and explain himself.

"I wouldn't be a very good friend if I thought I had to solve all your problems for you," Sen said.

Sen turned away from his desk and his radio to give Ada his undivided attention.

"I know you had a close call. I know that scared you, but…I don't think it should," Sen said reassuringly. "Your survived something we thought no one could. You escaped death through sheer force of will. With a spirit that strong, well, you could do anything."

That did it for the pep talk. Sen firmly believed that sometimes the best way to help someone was to get them to help themselves. With that taken care of, though, it was sometimes necessary to actually help them.

"If you need me, I'll be here for you, always," Sen promised. "I know you're scared right now. But I hope you remember how strong you are."

Ada stared at Sen blankly. He could feel the wheels turning in her head. She had been cold and quiet for a few days now, but Sen could feel a certain spark inside her now.

"I need to go home," Ada said firmly. She stood up. It was nearly sunset now. It had been a long time since she'd had a good night's sleep in her own bed.

***

The room was smaller than the last time Ada had seen it. For a moment she wondered if she had grown larger in the years she'd been away, but no, she was as small as she'd ever been. The claustrophobia, the feeling that the room was shrinking around her –that had nothing to do with her, and nothing to do with her brush with death.

It was about Ko Rin.

This was Ada's bed. Her room. Her house. A place she'd been longing to return to for years. Yet here she was lying atop the sheets, desperately wishing she had never come.

It all felt poisoned now. The sheets chafed, the walls closed in around her, the meal her father had cooked had tasted like ash in her mouth. Nothing in Zaofu felt like home. She couldn't look any one of them in the eye, not her father, not her mother, not Canto. She even avoided Sen and her other friends, ones who'd barely been in Zaofu for two days. Nothing here was safe. If she couldn't be safe inside her own mind, where could she be safe?

Ada's eyes fell upon her sword. That, that she could trust. She had seen it forged with her own two eyes, far away from this poisoned city. It did not have the corruption that Ko Rin had tried to put at the heart of her old blades.

She had been thinking for too long. Hesitation allowed the poison to sink deeper and deeper into the world allowed her. Every second she hesitated Ko Rin spoke those poisoned words again, and someone else succumbed to his control.

Your Spymaster commands it. Somehow those words cut through any independent thought, turning the ones who heard them into a slave to the Spymaster's will. Every time she thought of them Ada felt a hollow burn behind her eyes. It was an empty pain now: any sway Ko Rin held over her was broken now, but the chains had left scars. She could still feel Ko Rin's cold will chafing the edges of her mind.

Ada could remember them all now, years' worth of incidents, years of her life spent a slave to a foreign will. Minister Raisu was right: Zaofu was the center of a massive ring of sabotage and conspiracy. She could remember so much now, so much treachery, so much death. Ko Rin had used her, Canto, so many hundreds of others. All of them just children.

Tense fingers wrapped around the hilt of her sword. She could go back to the Avatar. Sen would trust her, Sen would understand. But Sen's own words made Ada second-guess herself. He had no idea of the full extent of the situation, but his words had some merit all the same.

Ada gripped her sword even tighter. She was strong enough to fight her own battles. Ko Rin was not Sen's problem. This was not Sen's home. It was not Sen's life. It was not Sen's mind.

Ko Rin had poisoned all those things for Ada. She would excise that poison herself.

***

The night sky was far behind her now, but it was no brighter where Ada lurked. The darkened tunnels beneath Zaofu stretched on for miles in a seemingly endless labyrinth. Ada found what she was looking for.

She pressed her hand against a segment of wall, displacing a secret panel. A door to another tunnel opened. Secrets within secrets within secrets. She grit her teeth. Ko Rin had hidden too much.

This hidden hall featured in far too many of the memories Ko Rin had sought to suppress. A secret hall, walked only under the command of the Spymaster. Not even Ada's fellow agents knew it was here. It had to lead to the heart of Ko Rin's web of lies.

With her sword in one hand and a chunk of glowing crystal in the other, Ada worked her way down. The tunnel was heavily slanted, leading to the darkened depths of the earth. Unlike the well-maintained network of tunnels that led through the upper level, this shadowed path was rough and dirty, though markings on the floor suggested it was used often.

The rough tunnel of dirt gave way for a moment as Ada entered a chamber. The only part of the tunnel she remembered very clearly. An armory.

Ko Rin had claimed once that the explosive she'd carried out of these tunnels was a one-of-a-kind prototype. That, among many others things, had been a lie. This room was piled with explosives, both the handheld explosives of Varrick's design and larger, more powerful charges. The same kind of charges that had collapsed the Zu-Shin tunnel, and mines and buildings across the Earth Kingdom.

Ada's fist clenched as she recalled once more all the destruction Ko Rin had forced her to carry out. In Raisu province and beyond, Ko Rin had waged a consistent campaign of sabotage. Mines, railroads, business centers, all suffered suspicious "collapses". He was always careful, just subtle enough to have all incidents explained away as collapses and surprise earthquakes. But now Ada knew the truth.

The hoard of explosives was once again left in darkness as Ada proceeded to the next chamber. There was a long hallway, with no light but the glowing stone held in Ada's hand, that led to something even Ada could not recall. Whatever was in the next chamber was clearly important. The memories had not just been repressed, but outright removed.

The darkened shadows that Ko Rin had buried his secrets under parted ways under the dim luminescence of Ada's glowstone. The chamber was sparse, not filled to the brim with explosives, but the little that Ada saw was enough to shock and enrage her more than a thousand bombs ever could.

A chair with metal bonds. A circle of stone. A single lantern, unlit. A strange combination of items to most, but not to one who knew the history of the Earth Kingdom, and of the Dai Li.

***

The quiet and solitude of Ko Rin's sanctum was violently broken by the door slamming open. His guest was not feeling particularly subtle.

Ada found the Spymaster at the heart of his network of blackened tunnels. Here, and only here, there was a source of light. A cluster of lanterns that illuminated a single massive table. The stone slab was covered in paper. Some of the papers were dry and ancient, having been in place for decades. Each paper, each scrap of conspiracy, was covered in indecipherable markings. The only one who could understand the network of lies and deception stood over it now, his back to Ada.

At the sound of her harsh entrance, Ko Rin slowly rose, his white robes coated in shadow by the heavy light. Slowly, he turned to Ada, to see her blade pointed at him. An ocean of blackness stood between them – the burning electric lights only barely illuminated Ko Rin's table of secrets.

"Tell me why," Ada demanded. Ko Rin never turned to face Ada completely. He did not turn away from the table that held the full breath of his lies.

"I won't waste both our times pretending I don't know what you speak of," Ko Rin said. He kept his hands planted firmly on the table in front of him. "But you will have to be more specific."

Gently, almost lovingly, Ko Rin's fingertips traced the papers laid across his stone table. It was part map and part web, an intricate tapestry of every lie he'd ever told, every act of destruction he had ever committed.

"I have done very many things, Ada," He said. "More than even you know."

Ada was in no mood for games. She took a step closer, pointing her blade at Ko Rin's heart.

"Everything! The sabotage, the assassinations, the lies! You brainwashed children, you killed innocent people, you even twisted the White Lotus to your agenda! I want to know why! Answer me!"

"Do you think it will help you sleep better at night, knowing the things you did were for a good cause?" Ko Rin asked. He stepped slightly to the side, and Ada matched his step. Her sword arm never wavered.

"I didn't do any of those things," Ada said. What Ko Rin had forced her to do put no weight on her conscience.

"The victims would disagree," Ko Rin said. "It was your thumb on the detonator, your hand holding the blade."

"Stop stalling!" Ada shouted. She took a quick step forward, her blade held high. "Tell me!"

"I have no reason to stall, Ada, I just think you need to consider the consequences of your actions," Ko Rin said. "I've taken great strides to improve Zaofu."

Ada was well aware of that aspect of Ko Rin's plans. Wherever Ko Rin's agents went, whatever suffering they caused, Zaofu benefitted. By removing the competition through sabotage or assassination, Zaofu had become an economic powerhouse without compare. For a moment Ada had considered that Ko Rin's motivation was simple greed, but that theory had too many holes.

"If I were to fall, half of Zaofu would fall with me," Ko Rin boasted. "Can you destroy your own home, Ada?"

Her sword never faltered. She did not even need to speak for Ko Rin to know Ada's answer. She knew very well that allowing Ko Rin to continue would cause thousands of times more suffering than stopping him here and now. She would not be so easily dissuaded.

"If you must be so stubborn," Ko Rin said with a sigh.

"I want answers," She demanded again. "How and why?"

Ko Rin sighed and shook his head. He took a step and Ada matched him in turn. The two began to circle each other in the dark. Ko Rin was careful to change direction before Ada got near his table. Ada likewise changed direction and mirrored Ko Rin's steps.

"Suyin Beifong was a lovely woman," Ko Rin said nostalgically. He smiled slightly as he recalled an old friend. "Always willing to make a new friend, to give someone a second chance."

Ko Rin turned to Ada, and his nostalgic smile became a wicked one.

"Even a former agent of the Dai Li."

Decades past, during the Red Lotus riots, angry hordes had swarmed the headquarters of the Dai Li, eager to pay back decades of oppression. The angry mob had overwhelmed many, but the Dai Li had never been truly broken. Ko Rin was alone so far as he knew, but he had no doubt there were others out in the world –though obviously none were quite so successful as he.

"It was simple enough to take control right under the noses of the Beifongs," Ko Rin said. "And the rise of the Energybender only made it easier."

Fear and paranoia were powerful tools to a man like Ko Rin. The parents of Zaofu had practically begged him to train their children, giving him more agents than he could have ever wanted. By invoking the name of the Avatar, Ko Rin could get away with practically anything.

"From there it was a matter of consolidating power," Ko Rin continued. "Sabotaging our economic rivals was easy enough, but money can only get you so far. I re-established the White Lotus to gain prominent allies in foreign territories, enough that my whims could be carried to the ears of world leaders. A few personal actions, such as rescuing Hanjo, ensured that my own reputation grew in kind."

Even his attack on the Coalitions banquet had been a tactical move. The assassination attempt on Raisu had been a distraction; the real endgame was the abduction of heirs to powerful and wealthy families. After they had spent enough time in captivity to be brainwashed, Ko Rin could heroically "rescue" them, gaining further influence and sleeper agents across the globe.

"You're still stalling," Ada said threateningly. "I already know what you've done. I want to know why."

"Ah, yes, I suppose I do digress," Ko Rin said. He was disquietingly calm about this situation, but now an edge of concern showed in his voice.

"The destruction of the Dai Li was not the destruction of our mission. I am still tasked to uphold the traditions that made this kingdom great. I will undo Korra's mistake, to turn this fractured democracy into one united, powerful empire once again," Ko Rin said. "We must undo the mistake of democracy, Ada. The Earth Kingdom's greatness was built on the back of mighty kings, not whining Ministers."

Ko Rin leaned on his table. It was clear he actually cared about this, in his own twisted way.

"We've lost our identity in a horde of selfish voices," Ko Rin said. "You must see that, Ada, even now Parliament bickers over a pointless conflict-"

"A conflict you started! Minister Raisu and the others only hate the Avatar because of your sabotage!"

Ada would not allow Ko Rin to use the consequences of his own atrocities as a justification for more. Ko Rin silently relented. He looked at the nebulous web of conspiracies he had built, all centered around Zaofu. He'd been playing both sides against each other for so long it was impossible to tell where all this conflict had begun, even for him.

"Zaofu already had the economic dominance," Ko Rin said. "I took steps to enhance that. People follow coin. Soon enough I will control the economy of the Earth Kingdom –the connections I have made in the White Lotus will grow my political influence in turn. I would have liked to have distinguished myself in command of the Coalition, but alas-"

"Sen stopped you," Ada said. "Just like you were afraid of. That's why you've been avoiding him. You know he'll see right through you."

Ko Rin paused. The Avatar did present a significant obstacle. With his chi reading, Sen would not need more than a glance to know that Ko Rin was a liar, corrupt to his core. Master Hayao had seen the same thing, years ago, and it was why he had refused Ko Rin's invitation to the White Lotus.

"He stopped you there, just like he stopped your master stroke a few days ago," Ada continued. "You let the attack happen, didn't you? You wanted the Beifongs to die, so you could seize control. But Sen stopped you."

Ko Rin frowned harshly, but remained silent, Ada continued.

"First Zaofu, and then let me guess," She said harshly. "You'd use the tension between the Ministers to spark a civil war. Ba Sing Se would fall in the chaos, and you'd be there, a wise and experienced ruler of Zaofu, ready to take control as the new Earth King."

Ko Rin's eyes narrowed. Ada scowled and pointed her sword at Ko Rin's heart.

"You're despicable," She said. "This, all of this suffering and manipulation, all just a pet project for your own power!"

"Ada, please, I'm an old man," Ko Rin said mockingly. "I would rule for a decade at best, hardly enough time to abuse the power of a burgeoning king. I mean to establish a legacy for the good of the Earth Kingdom, not my own personal gain."

"You can justify it however you want," Ada said. "You've already lost. Sen made sure of that."

"The Avatar's intervention has caused setbacks," Ko Rin begrudgingly admitted. "I have not been stopped."

For the first time in the conversation, Ada lowered her sword, though she did not relax completely. She put a hand on her chest, just near the pocket of her uniform coat.

"No," She boasted. "Not yet."

"Ada, please," Ko Rin chided. "Would I explain so much of my plan to you if I thought there were even a chance of you affecting its outcome?"

Ada's sword stayed right where it was. Ko Rin stared his pupil down for a moment. With a quick flourish of his hand, Ko Rin gestured towards Ada's sword and then thrust his hand towards Ada's heart. The only change in Ada's blade was a slight shift as she adjusted her stance. Her hand remained near her pocket.

"This isn't the same sword, Ko Rin," Ada taunted. She knew now that Ko Rin had prepared her old blades for just such an occasion. By bending the impure metal in the core, he could have disarmed her instantly –or worse. But this sword was pure to its heart, and would not be so easily manipulated.

"You've had months to see that, Ko Rin, but you blinded yourself," Ada continued. "You've stretched too far. You think you're so smart you can keep track of a thousand little things, but they're all slipping out of place."

Ko Rin's narrow eyes narrowed even further. His weathered face was beginning to show signs of stress. His calm façade was cracking, and that brought a smile to Ada's face.

"Put your sword down, Ada," Ko Rin said calmly. "Your Spymaster commands it."

Ada's fingers clenched even tighter around her blade. She had been waiting for Ko Rin to try it, to exert his control once more. She heard those poisoned words one more time –and felt nothing. Ada reached into her pocket with a smile on her face. She pulled out a small plastic mechanism. Her mind was free, but mind-controlling Ada was only a fraction of a fraction of Ko Rin's web of lies. It was time to tear down the rest.

"You're no genius, Ko Rin," Ada taunted. "Geniuses don't leave explosives unattended."

Ko Rin's calm composure finally broke as Ada's thumb pressed down the trigger.

The earth around them rattled and rumbled, but their chamber did not collapse. Chunks of loose earth fell, and the stone vibrated, but nothing fell apart just yet. Ada had only prepared detonations in the brainwashing chamber and the explosive stockpile, enough to destroy the primary sources of Ko Rin's vile machinations.

"That should get the Avatar's attention," She said. Even with the seismic shielding around Ko Rin's tunnels, an explosion of that magnitude would send shockwaves to the surface. Ada tossed aside the detonator and tightened her grip on her sword.

"In the meantime," She threatened. "We need to talk."

Ko Rin's anger was written all over his wrinkled face. The Spymaster's composure had collapsed as quickly as his tunnels. With a quick flick of his wrist, a blade of raw steel emerged from Ko Rin's white sleeve, hovering inches away from his hand. He readied himself for Ada's onslaught.

She stepped slowly at first, approaching one step at a time, her blade ready. She and Ko Rin circled each other still, but this time with a bladed edge to their steps. The gap between them gradually closed as each descended on the other, both with claws at the ready.

Ko Rin held his floating blade in a cautious, guarded pose. He watched every step Ada took with the utmost care. He would be careful and deliberate in every blow.

Ada would not.

There was no physical cue that signaled the breaking point. Ada took a step forward, Ko Rin took a step forward, and in that instant there was an unspoken agreement that this is when it would begin. A footstep became a lunge as both swordfighters dove forward.

Their blades clashed in the middle, the hardened metal ringing through the underground chamber as the swords collided. Ko Rin's floating blade gave him an advantage in the initial clash: where Ada's blade stopped, Ko Rin's slid off the edge of her blade and dove forward. Ada sidestepped the cut and lunged forward in turn, forcing Ko Rin back.

The two dueled, with Ada constantly moving forward while Ko Rin swerved and dodged backwards, always positioning himself carefully. Ada's furious assault proved more and more frustrating for Ko Rin as the battle continued. He exploited every advantage, used every trick his floating sword style afforded him, and yet Ada was always able to respond.

The hovering blade of Ko Rin dove for Ada's heart. She caught the blade and rolled her wrist, pushing the bladed metal aside. Ko Rin recognized the technique. Smooth, flexible motions, always ready to adapt. Master Yakkul.

Ko Rin was no novice to the sword. He knew how to respond. He switched from powerful, heavy blows to swift strikes, like lightning in a blade, leaving Ada no time to react. In response, Ada planted her feet, holding her blade at a ready angle, putting a wall of steel between herself and Ko Rin. Stiff, rigid, and defensive, the hallmarks of Sorikami.

There was a momentary pause as Ko Rin struggled once again to adapt his style, and Ada seized on that moment. She gripped her blade in both hands and dove forward, putting the force of the dive behind her blow. She lacked a strong arm, so she compensated by exploiting her momentum, just as she had learned from Aquila.

The diving blow struck true, and Ko Rin's floating blade was briefly cast aside by the force of the clash. Ada thrust her sword into the momentary opening, sending her sharpened edge sailing towards Ko Rin's heart. The Spymaster turned sharply, moving out of the path of the sword, but not fast enough. The blade skimmed the edge of Ko Rin's chest, tearing a red line through his immaculate white robe. Ada fought with the wisdom of many masters, but that viciousness was hers and hers alone.

The air rang with the harsh clash of metal against metal as the two fought. The sole light in the room danced along the edges of their blades as they cut the air with rapid blows. Ada had many advantages, not the least of which was a burning anger towards Ko Rin, but she would be a fool to underestimate Ko Rin.

While Ko Rin chose to use his intelligence for vile and selfish purposes, he was clever in much the same way Sen was. The Spymaster fought analytically, carefully observing his opponents moves. The longer this fight went on, the more Ko Rin would learn about Ada. She had to keep him on guard, and, if possible, distract him. She knew just the thing.

Ada chose her steps and blows deliberately, moving Ko Rin back. They danced around the room to Ada's tune, always moving towards a destination only she knew. Ko Rin did not realize he was being so effortlessly herded until he tried to take a step backwards, and found his leg hitting the edge of a table. The ancient papers rustled slightly as the impact slightly disrupted Ko Rin's intricate conspiracy. With Ko Rin pinned against the table, Ada raised her hand for a heavy downwards strike. Ko Rin saw the blow coming, and easily sidestepped it. Such a slow strike had almost no chance of hitting a careful opponent.

It had never been meant to strike Ko Rin. Ada's sword plunged into the table, embedding itself in the surface, cutting a map of the Earth Kingdom in half as it fell. With one spiteful glance to Ko Rin, Ada hit the trigger on her blade.

Blue electricity sparked violently as the surge of power ran through the blade. The small bursts of lightning ran down the sword's length and struck the table, bouncing onto the ancient papers. Dried and cracked by age, the web of lies caught the blue sparks and burst into red fire. Ada's sparking blade became the heart of an inferno as the fire spread from paper to paper, burning Ko Rin's elaborate plans to ash.

She withdrew her blade and watched the blaze spread. The red light of the fire danced on her ash-touched blade, and in Ko Rin's eyes. The fire sank deep into his dark eyes, igniting a rage in Ko Rin's usually calm mind. Ada needed that.

"Do you think you've changed anything?" Ko Rin asked. "All you've destroyed is a few scraps of paper. I have many more."

In this case, it wasn't just destruction for destruction's sake. Destroying Ko Rin's physical plans would force him to split his focus, trying to recall as much information about his intricate conspiracy as possible. That would keep his mind off the fight. He would lose his focus. Ada would not.

Ada had nothing but violence on her mind. She swung her blade away from the tableau of lies and towards the man who was the real heart of it all. The red light of the fire gleamed on their blades as the two clashed once again.

Any elegance, any mastery in the duel gradually faded away as the fires burned. Only a shadow of their technique and form remained as two vicious beasts clawed at one another in anger. Sparks flew as metal struck metal in furious collisions.

In one heavy strike, Ada forced Ko Rin's floating blade back, pushing the strip of metal against Ko Rin's extended palm. She held her blade in place, staring into Ko Rin's eyes from across the twin blades.

"Every teacher I've ever had warned me to keep control," Ada said accusingly. "And you took it away from me."

Ko Rin did not respond. Their locked blades broke apart, and each took a step back, preparing for another blow.

"Did you think you could do anything great on your own?" Ko Rin taunted. "You always were a reckless fool. This ill-conceived duel proves it."

With his tunnels shattered, Ko Rin could feel his way through the dark earth around him. The Avatar was coming, and he was not coming alone.

"You drew the Avatar to me, Ada," Ko Rin said. "And he's bringing some of our mutual friends."

Ada looked to the trembling walls of Ko Rin's hidden chamber. She could not feel their presence, but the Avatar, and those he had brought with him, were coming nearer.

"Will he have brought more of your fellow agents? Members of the White Lotus? Perhaps even Canto," Ko Rin said mockingly. "And all I'll have to do is speak a few words to-"

He was interrupted by a sudden swing of Ada's sharp blade. The red light of Ko Rin's burning secrets danced along the razor edge of Ada's sword. Her attacks resumed, as relentless as ever, hammering against Ko Rin with raging force.

Even her most furious blows, though, were not fast enough. Ko Rin was a master swordsman, not an opponent that could be conquered in a moment. It was a battle Ada could win given enough time, but the question was whether she had enough time. Sen and the others were already on the way. If they arrived too soon, it would be disaster.

"Maybe you can beat me, Ada, but can you defeat Yakkul?" Ko Rin taunted. "Could you fight your lover? How many people are you willing to sacrifice to beat me?"

Ada grit her teeth. She had charged into this battle foolishly. She would not allow her own mistakes to put her friends at risk. She knew what she had to do.

"One," Ada said.

The two swordfighters were close to equal in skill, but there was one quality that divided them. Ko Rin was a taskmaster: he manipulated other people, sacrificed human lives like meaningless pawns. When danger presented itself, he thrust the burden of risk on to others. He did not and could not understand self-sacrifice.

Ada tightened her grip on her sword and held her breath. Ko Rin readied her blade for another strike, and this time Ada did not block, did not dodge. She moved her feet slightly, making sure she was at the right angle, and stepped forward, diving onto the blade.

A loud scream of pain and the crackle of electricty rang in Sen's ears, giving him a spark of motivation to push through the stone wall that much faster. Sen broke through the rocky wall in a burst of rubble. The shockwaves of the explosions had caused enough concern –when he had attempted to gather his allies and realized Ada was missing, that made it an official emergency. He and Gun had tunneled to the heart of Zaofu as quickly as their skills would allow. He could feel the heavy blows of Ada's duel ringing through the earth -and he felt as they came to a sudden halt just before he ended the chamber.

Sen was the first enter the dimly lit chamber, but Suda was the first to charge across the room to Ada's side. The front of her uniform was stained a deep red, and she clutched at her chest. Pain was evident on her face, but a thin smile was present at the same time. Next to her, his robe scorched by a stunning electrical surge, laid the motionless Ko Rin. Just as she had planned, her dangerous gambit had given her enough time to stun the Spymaster.

Sen was just a few steps behind Suda to Ada's side, followed quickly by the rest of her friends, and by several members of the White Lotus. Ada nodded quietly through the pain. Her risk had been worth it. Master Yakkul, Jung, Detective Zas –if Ko Rin had spoken even a word to any of them, it could have been disastrous.

"You can't let him talk," Ada pleaded painfully. She nodded limply towards Ko Rin. "Sen, you can't-"

Sen didn't even need her to finish explaining herself. All it took was a light tap of Sen's fingers to make sure Ko Rin stayed down. A slight touch of Energybending would be enough to keep the Spymaster unconscious until Sen chose to wake him.

"Would anyone mind explaining what in the blazes is going on here?" Moldun shouted. "Why is Ko Rin the bad guy all of a sudden?"

"Shut up," Suda said firmly. "Ada needs help!"

"I should be fine, actually," Ada said. She was no fool. If she had to take a hit, she was going to take it somewhere she knew would cause no long-term damage.

Ada moved her hand. A wide cut was visible across her shoulder –in the exact same spot that she had cut Suda in their first meeting. Through the pain, she gave her friend a feeble smile. Concern still etched on his face, Suda managed to return the smile.

***

"I found the last of the agents today," Sen assured her. "Ko Rin doesn't have anything left."

After receiving medical attention, Ada had filled them in on all the details of Ko Rin's treachery. Sen had been quick to act, interrogating Ko Rin personally, and using Energybending to break his mental conditioning on the White Lotus and the agents of Zaofu. With their repressed memories returned, both parties had quickly realized all the ways Ko Rin had sabotaged the world, and began working to undo it.

While the White Lotus worked to undo Ko Rin's sabotage, Sen looked to the way he had manipulated more recent events. Sarin's careless words had proved true: Ko Rin had stolen thousands of vital documents from the Grey-Face forces, detailing troop movements, names of commanders, and locations of important bases. Ko Rin had intended to leak this information piece by piece, to control the flow of the war in his favor, but Sen was going to use the sudden wellspring of information to bring the war to a swift and vicious end.

"Taking Ko Rin down may be the most important thing we've accomplished so far," Sen said. He cast a guilty glance at Ada's bandaged shoulder. "Though I wish you would have asked for help."

"You said you trusted me to handle anything on my own," Ada said with a sly smile.

"I thought you were depressed, Ada! If I'd known you were going to fight an evil mastermind, of course I would have helped."

Ada shook her head and leaned back in bed. She was recovering in a hospital bed, surrounded by her friends and family. The exceptional care she received was a guarantee she'd recover quickly. Suda had made a full recovery from the same injury with nothing but a few dirty bandages.

"I'm glad I did," She said with a sigh.

"I'm not," Whistler said. "Any decision that ends in you getting stabbed is a bad decision."

Most everyone nodded in agreement. Ada shook her head.

"You should all get back to fighting Sarin," Ada told them. "This fight is over."

"I'm not leaving you alone again until I'm sure-"

"Sen, my biggest problem is locked up in a soundproof prison cell a hundred miles away," Ada said. Ko Rin had been swiftly transported to a secure prison while it was decided who would carry out his punishment. He had committed severe crimes against nearly every nation in existence. Whoever decided his fate, it was going to be a harsh one. Ada would not be worrying about Ko Rin ever again.

"That was my war," Ada said. "Now go win yours."

Sen was concerned about her, but she was right. He couldn't abandon a war effort just because Ada had a hurt arm. Sarin was still out there, and that thought was enough to set Sen's focus entirely on his own war. Sen moved away from the hospital bed, heading back towards the conflict with the Energybender. Suda was slightly more reluctant to get a move on.

"Now, you went to all that trouble to get us matching scars," Suda said. "But don't copy me too much. I don't want you to fake being hurt so you can hang around with Canto."

"I make no promises," Ada said. The only reason Canto wasn't with her now was because he was still recovering from Sen's mental cleansing. Canto was handling the post-brainwashing experience somewhat poorly.

"You're supposed to be the smart one," Suda said. "Now get well soon so we can go back to being a dynamic duo."

"I'll do my best," Ada promised. Suda resisted the urge to hug her, still being cautious of her injured shoulder, and moved on.

As the last of them left, Ada looked up to the ceiling of the hospital room. The bed she was in was not her bed. This was not her room, and this hospital was not her home. Yet she felt safer now than she had felt days ago, lying in her own bed under her own roof.

She closed her eyes and breathed a relieved sigh. Ko Rin was gone. The poison was cut out. For the first time in years, her mind was her own.


	86. Book 5 Ch14: Raisu Province

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the startling secrets of Zaofu are brought to light, the economic and political situation of the Earth Kingdom finds itself in turmoil. From the chaos arises an opportunity for progress as a former opponent of the Avatar offers his aid.

In the business world of Zaofu, there was a common saying: "A rising tide raises all ships." In recent days, the inverse had also proven true.

With Ko Rin's "activities" brought to light, it had been revealed that a vast majority of Zaofu's financial success was built on sabotage and subterfuge. Many businesses who had thrived thanks to the sabotage of the competition were forced to pay reparations, and ongoing business deals built on fraud were suddenly cancelled as foreign trading partners pulled out of Zaofu. Dozens of business, local and multinational, collapsed overnight. It was the single biggest crash in the history of any industrialized economy.

The scale of the economic disaster was so great that even Avatar Sen was taking time out of his schedule to help deal with it. He had been one of the primary forces behind revealing Ko Rin's economic sabotage, so he felt an amount of personal responsibility. To deal with a calamity of this scale, he was working with none other than the United Earth Kingdom's highest authorities, the King and Prime Minister.

"All the trading partners that pulled out of Zaofu say they're willing to renegotiate with other businesses inside the Earth Kingdom," Sen said. "You'll have an influx of new business soon enough."

"Even if they do partner with our other provinces, they don't necessarily have the infrastructure to support those arrangements," Prime Minister Tse said. "Zaofu developed over more than a century to become a center of industry. We can't replace something like that overnight."

"I don't suppose Zaofu is willing to cooperate at all?" Sen asked. He had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer.

"The Beifong family says they fully support you in taking Ko Rin out of the picture," Tse said. "And that's the only communication we've had with them in the past few days."

"I do not expect we'll be getting invited to the next Beifong family barbecue," King Wu II said. Sen sighed. It was unfortunate that this ordeal had strained a long-standing alliance of the Avatar. Still, it had been necessary to undo Ko Rin's damage. Sometimes prices had to be paid. Sen had many allies without the Beifong family.

"The Earth Kingdom is still the only source of many resources that people are looking for," Sen said. With the most farmland and mines of any of nation, the Earth Kingdom supported the infertile lands of the Poles with food and the volcanic Fire Nation with heavy metals for industry. "It's only a matter of time before your economy swings upwards."

"Yes, that much we've developed a long-term plan for," King Wu II said. "We actually called you here today for a more short-term solution."

"Something that should help us salve our economic situation immediately," Prime Minister Tse added.

"I'm willing to help however I can," Sen assured them.

"Good," King Wu II said. "We need you to invade the Earth Kingdom."

King Wu's office had never been quieter than it was in that moment.

"What His Majesty means is that we need the Coalition active in our territory," Tse corrected. "In our current economic state we can't commit to a military venture, but we can keep you supplied. You'll buy from our businesses to keep your soldiers fed and equipped throughout your campaign."

"We keep you supplied, and you keep our industry from collapsing outright," King Wu II said. "Everybody wins. Except Sarin. He gets his butt kicked."

"As much as I like the sound of that plan," Sen said. "Parliament is suspended. Can you really authorize that kind of action without an official vote?"

During their investigations it had been found that several members of Parliament were under Ko Rin's control, via blackmail, bribery, or brainwashing. The ruling council of the United Earth Kingdom had been put on hold until replacements could be appointed.

"That is a stumbling block, but not as much of one as you might think," King Wu II said. "Between the attack on Zaofu and the collapse of Parliament, our emergency protocols have kicked in. As King, I have complete executive authority."

Though the United Earth Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy, there were situations in which King Wu the Second held absolute power. With two consecutive disasters occurring in Earth Kingdom territory, it was more than time for Wu II to act like a king.

"That said, we don't want to act completely independent of our Parliament," Tse added. "Luckily we have an opportunity to earn that support."

"Minister Raisu has extended a personal invitation to you, Avatar Sen," King Wu said. "He wants to negotiate."

Sen nodded. Minister Raisu had always been suspicious of Zaofu. All his fears and accusations had been proven correct, Ko Rin's manipulations would stop, and, most importantly, Sen had been proven to have no connection. Without Ko Rin dividing the Earth Kingdom for his own purposes, Sen might be able to make peace with Raisu and the entire eastern Earth Kingdom.

"Tell me more," Sen said. "When does he want to meet, where are we meeting, how many people am I going to be negotiating with? Will other provincial leaders like Hua-Long be there?"

"You'll be going to Raisu province's capitol," King Wu explained. "It's just Minister Raisu for now. He wants to talk to you –and one other person."

"Who's the other person?"

***

Sen was trying to occupy his thoughts with the papers in front of him. Ko Rin's trove of secrets had yielded several important documents on the Energybender, and Sen was trying to glean as much information as he could from them on the ride to Raisu Province.

Far less interested in scholarly pursuits was Sen's partner on the journey: Miyani. For reasons no one quite understood, Minister Raisu had specifically requested her presence. Nobody was more concerned about this development than Miyani herself. She had no talent for diplomacy. She tapped her fingers nervously against the armrest of her seat.

"What are you reading, Sen?" She needed to take her mind off the coming negotiations, and whatever part she might play in them. Sen seemed to be reading something particularly interesting anyway. He had an unusual look of intensity on his face as he scoured the book in front of him.

"It's part record-keeping, part journal," Sen said quietly. "It belonged to Sarin's older brother."

Miyani leaned forward in her chair. Sarin's older brother, Kalden, the Energybender who had wiped out the White Lotus, had been an enigma for a long time. Anything that shed light on him was incredibly important.

"What have you found?"

"Not much," Sen said with a sigh. "Like I said, it's mostly record-keeping. Kalden was apparently very meticulous. He kept track of every soldier, every location he controlled, all his supplies…it's all outdated by now, but every now and then he puts down some of his personal thoughts."

Sen flipped backwards a few pages and pointed out a specific entry. It noted several discrepancies in the flow of money through the Earth Kingdom and the suspicious rates of "sabotage" in provinces other than Zaofu.

"He even came close to finding out Ko Rin," Sen said. Kalden had decided not to investigate, on the grounds that anything that divided the Earth Kingdom was good for his cause, but he had come closer than anyone to realizing Ko Rin's treachery.

"Even you only found out by coincidence," Miyani said. "Kalden must have been pretty smart."

"Very," Sen said, flipping back to his previous place in the journal. "From what I can see here, Kalden was a genius. What he mentions about tactics, how to capture me, what to do if I evaded capture…If Sarin had followed some of this advice, I might not be here right now."

"It's a good thing Ko Rin stole all those plans, then," Miyani said, leaning back. At least some part of Ko Rin's treachery was working in their favor.

Sen had always wanted more information on Sarin's older brother, but every time he got answers, whether from the Witches of Winter or this journal, he ended up with more questions. Something had changed very drastically and very suddenly in the Energybender's organization. It was all centered on the transition of power from Kalden to Sarin. Sen needed to know more.

"You get scary when you think about Sarin," Miyani said quietly. Sen snapped out of his angry trance and looked upwards. Miyani was looking at him, almost fearfully. He smiled slightly to put her mind at ease. She did not smile back.

"You get this look on your face, and it's like…" She trailed off slightly as she thought of the right words. "You look the way I feel, just before I explode."

"Can you blame me? Even ignoring all the things Sarin has done, just the kind of person he is, his personality…I don't like him," Sen muttered.

"You care that much about his personality?"

"In a way," Sen said. "Sarin is…fatalistic. He completely believes that everything happens the way it's meant to happen, no matter what. He relies completely on destiny."

"Do you not believe in destiny?"

"Of course…to an extent," Sen said. "I believe it's my destiny to defeat Sarin, but that doesn't mean I'm going to wait around and hope he falls into my lap. If you want something, you should chase it."

Miyani nodded. She was a firm believer in destiny herself, but she understood Sen's perspective. Sen looked at her again and smiled more earnestly this time.

"And for the record, yes," Sen said. "I do think I was destined to meet you."

Miyani quickly turned to the window to hide her quickly-reddening face.

They had nearly arrived at their destination. Sen looked out the window. The capitol of Raisu Province was nearly in view. The buildings of the city were not massive Skyscrapers like one might find in Zaofu. Raisu province expanded outwards, not upwards: nothing was more than a few stories tall, but the city was miles wide.

"You're nervous," Sen noted. Miyani's soul was usually hard to read, owing to her warped third-eye, but some things didn't require chi-reading to see.

"Can you blame me? Negotiations aren't really my strong suit," Miyani said. "I don't know why they'd even invite me."

It had been considered that this was a trap, but anybody who set a trap for the two most powerful people on the planet was stupid indeed. There was obviously some ulterior motive behind inviting Miyani, but Sen didn't believe it was malevolent. The Avatar was fairly confident that Minister Raisu was legitimate in his desire to make peace with the Coalition.

"You'll be fine, Miyani," Sen said. "You're better at this than you think."

"I think I'm awful," Miyani moped. "So even better is still pretty bad."

"Miyani, listen to me. Maybe you don't know legal terms, or trade rates, or any of the formal parts of negotiating," Sen said. "But all we're here to do is make peace. I know for a fact you can help people find peace."

Sen relaxed, resting his head on his right hand. As he moved his arm, he quite deliberately shifted his sleeve just enough to show off the metal bracelet he still wore. Miyani grinned slightly as she saw the stone brick on Sen's wrist. Though he hid it up his coat sleeve most of the time, he had never stopped wearing the bracelet.

"Alright, you got me," Miyani said happily. "But you'll still do most of the talking, right?"

"Naturally," Sen said. "We'll stick to our strengths."

Miyani nodded firmly. She was glad she had an excuse to stay out of the negotiation. Despite Sen's reassuring words, she still knew that the best hope for their success was to let Sen handle everything.

Their vehicle slowed and ground to a halt as they reached their destination. This was an old city, built long before satomobiles were a factor: the roads were not designed for travel by car. Sen would be approaching the capitol on foot. He and Miyani stepped out and examined the city.

They had, as expected, gathered a crowd of curious onlookers to gawk at their arrival. The huddled citizens stepped back as Sen stepped out and stood up, and stumbled back ever further as Miyani emerged and stood, towering over them all. She paid no mind to their fear. With any luck, they would have no reason to fear her after today.

Sen and Miyani had only a handful of nameless Coalition soldiers for their escort, and they were outnumbered by far by Minister Raisu's "greeting committee". A large troop of Weavers stood ready to greet the Avatar. Sen managed to contain his scowl as he saw the militaristic uniform of Minister Raisu's personal inquisitors. Though it had been years since his first and only run-in with a Weaver, he still bore certain hostility towards them.

"Master Avatar," The lead Weaver said. He wore a golden badge denoting his leadership. "Minister Raisu bids you welcome."

"I'm honored and grateful for his hospitality," Sen said formally. He attempted to maintain his composure, but he had never been very good at lying. Sen didn't trust this Master Weaver one bit. Everything about him screamed "villain".

"The Minister awaits," The Weaver said. The legion of uniformed officers broke formation and then filed around Sen, Miyani, and the Coalition escort. None of his soldiers liked being surrounded, but Sen waved a hand to calm them. Though he didn't fully trust the Master Weaver, there was no sign of active hostility just yet.

The Weavers tight formation led a quiet march up the winding slopes. The capitol building was atop a large, defensible hill. An ideal fortification for any purpose. Sen still relied on Cujo and Kim for most of his tactical knowledge, but even he could see that Raisu Palace would be a difficult objective to conquer. It was good for them that they were here to negotiate peace, not war.

Sen needed to make sure that all of his bases were covered before any negotiations began. He turned to the Master Weaver and started up a conversation. The more he knew about his potential enemies, the better equipped he was to handle any and all eventualities.

"Thank you for the escort, ah, what exactly is your rank?"

"Captain," The Master Weaver said. "Captain Kalan, at your service, Master Avatar."

Kalan was oddly calm considering the circumstances. That meant he was either far less threatening than Sen thought, or far more. The most dangerous people were always the calmest in the face of danger. Miyani, for example, was perfectly content being surrounded by the Weavers. She knew very well that she could defeat their entire legion singlehandedly if she needed to.

"Will you be part of the negotiations today, Kalan?"

"That is not my part to play, Master Avatar," Kalan said. "You and the combustion bender shall represent the Coalition, with Minister Raisu and his son representing the Eastern provinces."

"Minister Hua-Long won't be joining us?"

"The esteemed minister of Hua-Long province was not exactly receptive to these negotiations," Kalan said. Sen nodded. Hua-Long was the one Minister they knew for a fact was siding with Sarin. If the corpulent minister was opposed to the negotiations, that meant they were likely legitimate.

"I'd think that the Eastern provinces would want another representative besides Raisu's son. Does he have any political experience?"

"None whatsoever," Kalan said. "He runs a manufacturing plant. Given that your companion has no political experience either, I would say the negotiations are fairly equitable."

Miyani nodded. It was technically a fair arrangement, though Miyani believed they still had the advantage. Sen could have talked circles around an entire parliament, much less a single negotiator. The arrangement seemed less favorable to Sen. He knew Parliament was in disarray right now, but he would have thought that more people would have been involved. Something was off about that.

The slope of the hill gradually decreased as they came to the summit. The walls of the fortress stood before them now, high and imposing. Though Sen at first thought that the gates had been thrown open wide, closer examination revealed there were no gates. Wear and tear where hinges had once been showed that the gate had been removed some time ago.

Some of their Weaver escort broke off to guard the gates, while Kalan led the way into the fortress itself. Many buildings in the interior showed signs that they too had been stripped bare. This had possibly been a grand palace once, but it had been stripped of valuables until it was threadbare. The poverty that had overwhelmed Raisu Province as a result of Ko Rin's sabotage had even reached the palace, it seemed.

Kalan came to a halt in front of a large oaken door, rapping it lightly with his knuckles and then stepping aside. He saluted sharply as the door opened.

The large doors parted as Minister Raisu stepped through. He was as dignified as ever, but not quite as tall and imposing as he had seemed before. He had been humbled, and burdened, by recent events. His righteous indignation was spent, replaced with an equal measure of relief and guilt. He nodded respectfully to the Avatar and then turned his attention to Kalan.

"You are dismissed, Captain," Minister Raisu said firmly. Kalan hesitated slightly, but shared a conspiratorial nod with Raisu and then left. Sen did not like that exchange.

"Welcome to my home, Avatar Sen," Raisu said with a deep, respectful bow. "This reconciliation is long overdue."

Sen returned the bow, and then quickly set his mind to business. He could sense a liar easily, and Raisu was not one. His attempts to reach out to the Coalition were completely earnest. Despite the impressions of honesty, however, Sen noticed a current of deep, abiding unease from Raisu. All was not well in his world.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Sen said. "Shall we begin?"

Raisu nodded and gestured to an unseen individual.

"Pak, our guests are here," Raisu called. He was quickly answered by the nervous shuffling of feet. A man came into view, his body language quite clearly showing his anxiety.

Minister Raisu's son had never had any political aspirations. While the Raisu family had been the hereditary rulers of the province for generations, the rise of democracy was putting an end to such royal lineages. Pak Raisu had never planned on being involved in any major political events, but his father was insistent.

"Pak, if you would please escort Miyani to the sitting room, the Avatar and I will get to business," Raisu said calmly.

"We won't be negotiating with you?" Pak asked. He was obviously relieved. Miyani had a nearly identical sense of relief.

"We will handle this ourselves," Raisu assured his son. "Please see to our guest."

Pak nodded and stepped to Miyani's side. The combustion bender shared a nod with Sen. She had no problems whatsoever with this arrangement. Sen was more concerned. Why invite Pak and Miyani at all if they were just going to be sent away? In any other situation, this amount of suspicious behavior would have led Sen to abandon the objective outright. These talks were too important to abandon outright, though, and despite suspicious behavior Raisu was still entirely sincere in his desire to negotiate with the Coalition. Sen had to at least try.

"Goodbye, son," Raisu said as Pak walked down the hall. Pak waved goodbye to his father and continued to escort Miyani away.

Minister Raisu gestured into the meeting room, and Sen followed as he led the way. A large oak table dominated most of the room. Lighting was provided by a few lamps scattered around the room, and one large chandelier hanging above the table. The gold and crystal chandelier made an odd centerpiece in a palace which was mostly stripped of anything valuable. Miyani caught a quick glimpse of the chandelier through the door before Pak led her down the hall.

There were four seats prepared at the oaken table, oddly enough. Perhaps Pak and Miyani had been meant to join them, but Raisu had reconsidered at the last minute. Sen prepared to take the nearest seat, but Raisu interrupted him.

"Please, you are my guest," Raisu corrected. "Take the seat of honor."

Raisu gestured to the far side of the table. Sen nodded and took a seat, while Raisu took the seat Sen had been trying to choose, the one directly beneath the chandelier. While the two of them got seated and began their talks, Miyani and Pak strolled through the halls. Pak was being surprisingly calm about his association with a combustion bender.

"I've never been one to look at the bigger picture," Pak said. "I mostly concern myself with my factory. Tell me, are things always like this? With conspiracies, and war?"

"I'm led to believe it's not," Miyani said. "But I work with the Avatar, so in my experience, yes, everything is always this complicated."

"That does make sense," Pak said with a nod. They walked into the sitting room area and Pak had a seat on a large cushioned chair. Miyani followed suit and continued the conversation.

"So how did you manage to keep a factory running, with all of the sabotage going on around you?"

"I couldn't tell you," Pak said with a shrug. "It's possible Ko Rin just never saw us as competition. Zaofu has never really had any interest in plastics."

The production and export of large quantities of plastic had been the only thing keeping Raisu Province afloat in the troubling economic times. Miyani tapped her fingers together.

"Plastics, huh? What kind of stuff do you make?"

She tried to make small talk, but she had an ulterior motive. Her friendship with Sen had vastly shifted her priorities, but her old idea for toy bricks still lingered in her head. She'd always foreseen them as being made from plastic, unlike the stone prototypes that Sen had made for her.

"Bottles, cases, small trinkets and things of the sort," Pak said. "Why do you ask?"

Miyani wrapped her fingers together nervously.

"Well, I did have this idea," She began hesitantly. She thought about her situation for a moment, and then realized that this was hardly the time to be discussing children's toys. "It can wait for later. We'll have plenty of time to talk after Sen and your father are done negotiating."

Miyani believed that would be a few minutes at best, but she wasn't well aware of the intricacies of politics. The two leaders were only partway through discussing economics.

"Given how things are at the moment, internal welfare is frankly impossible," Sen said. No region of the Earth Kingdom had enough fiscal strength to support the others –among other reasons that prevented any kind of internal cooperation.

"That I understand," Raisu said. "My own province has nothing to give. I can hardly expect others suffering the same way to provide."

"There's also the matter of your history," Sen said hesitantly. "Many of your neighbors aren't happy with the way your Weavers have been operating."

That brought Minister Raisu pause. His lips pursed tightly. He was oddly calm given the circumstances, but Sen could see that something was troubling him deeply. Raisu shared many of the same suspicions about his Weavers –he knew that they answered to another authority. Sarin had a manipulating hand in his most trusted soldiers.

"Yes, that is an…expected consequence," He said guiltily. "I allowed my fears to lead me astray."

Raisu had been so afraid of Zaofu's machinations that he had given his Weavers too much power, too much reign across the Earth Kingdom. It was an opportunity that Sarin had easily exploited. Fear and anger were Sarin's favorite weapons, and the Weavers wielded those things well.

"Your fears were well-founded," Sen assured him. "You had good reasons to do what you did."

"Good intentions can produce ill results," Raisu said. "For months, I allowed an evil to fester inside my homeland, all because I was paranoid of the alternative."

Sarin had exploited Raisu's suspicion of Zaofu to create a rift in the Earth Kingdom, a conflict he could use to shelter his forces. The only reason Sarin had thrived for so long was because Minister's Raisu and Hua-Long spearheaded the campaign to keep the Avatar out of the Earth Kingdom.

"In a way, you were right," Sen said. "Ko Rin was manipulating the Coalition to his own purposes. We could very well have fulfilled all your worst fears if we'd been allowed into the Earth Kingdom."

The two launched into a long discussion of the way Ko Rin's manipulations had affected them both, while their partners continued a vastly different discussion in the sitting room.

"You almost seem glad to see us here, Pak," Miyani said. "Did you not share your fathers suspicions?"

"No, I did not. It put quite a strain on our relationship, actually," Pak sighed. "I always thought my father was just paranoid. Knowing he was right all along…I hope we can make things right."

"I don't doubt it," Miyani said. "Today's a day for reconciliation."

It was coming slower than some people would like. As Sen and Raisu talked, Raisu seemed to slow, growing more and more agitated. Minister Raisu looked upwards, towards the golden chandelier that hung overhead. Sen waited patiently as the Minister considered his words.

"I have made terrible mistakes, Avatar," Raisu said sadly.

"Nothing that's happened in all this comes back to us, Raisu," Sen said. "Sarin and Ko Rin have been pushing us, manipulating our better natures. Ko Rin used the fact that we both care about our people to set us against each other."

Sen held his hand out across the table, palm up.

"We have a chance to make that right now," He said. "We both want what's best for our people, and we have the chance to work together to make it happen."

Raisu closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. He stood up, but did not move from his place at the table.

"There are some mistakes that cannot be undone," Raisu said. "Not by me."

"Raisu, there's always a chance-"

"Yes," He said firmly. "That chance is you. We have both been manipulated, Avatar, but you were fighting that manipulation while I buried myself in my own fear. I cannot undo what I have done, but you can."

Sen stood up. Raisu's heart was pounding. Something was wrong. Raisu nervously gripped the edge of the heavy oak table. The chandelier overhead shifted slightly as Sen moved.

"Please, save my people," Raisu begged. "Save my son."

With a sudden lurch, and a surprising amount of strength for such an old man, Raisu lifted the oaken table and tilted it forward towards Sen. The Avatar had a fraction of a second to process this odd movement before everything turned white.

Miyani and Pak were making idle chitchat when the thunder started. Pak was confused, but Miyani recognized the sound quite clearly. It was one she was well-acquainted with. The sounds of explosions had often rung through her ears.

The echoing blast had only just barely ended when Miyani rushed towards the source. The walls were shaking and the lights flickered on and off intermittently. It had to have come from within the capitol building, and Miyani had a suspicion she knew where. Pak followed her footsteps closely as she ran towards the center of the building.

Coalition soldiers and Weavers had already gathered around the charred remains of the meeting room. Sen was being dragged out of the ash. Miyani lunged forward as soon as she saw him.

"Sen!"

There was no response. Sen's skin was burnt by the heat and cut a thousand times by what seemed to be splinters of wood. Miyani grabbed at him frantically for a moment, examining him for any signs of life. One of the Coalition soldiers put her mind at ease by assuring her that the Avatar was only unconscious. Miyani relaxed, but she did not release Sen's limp body just yet.

"What have you done?" A sinister voice intoned.

Kalan stepped forth from a cloud of smoke and ash, stepping out of the shattered remnants of the meeting room. His metal armor glistened in the waning fires of the explosion. He turned to Pak, who was still frozen in shock.

"My father," Pak stuttered. "Was my father in-"

"Minister Raisu is dead," Kalan said. Pak froze in place, overwhelmed. Kalan nodded his head towards Miyani. His meaning was obvious. Miyani glared up at the Master Weaver hatefully.

"She couldn't have," Pak muttered. He was still overcome with shock, but some things were obvious. "She was with me."

Kalan twitched visibly. That had not been the plan. One of Coalition soldiers travelling with Miyani and Sen caught the visible quirk on Kalan's stance.

"You tried to frame us!" The soldier objected. The gathered Coalition troops tensed, as the surrounding Weavers likewise prepared for a fight. Miyani clung to Sen as the two sides squared off. She tried to shake him back to consciousness, but he was still unresponsive.

"They tried to assassinate your father at the ball, and they succeeded here," Kalan said accusingly. He demanded action from Pak. "Everything they have done has been a lie!"

"He's the liar," The Coalition soldier shouted back. "You set up this whole meeting to frame us! You only invited Miyani so you could blame her for the explosion you caused!"

Miyani looked up from Sen. She could see the smoking ruins of the meeting room. A small portion had been preserved, thanks to the shielding provided by the heavy table. Thanks to that, and his distance from the explosion, Sen had been able to survive the detonation.

"The chandelier," Miyani mumbled to herself. It had seemed out of place. Anything suspended in midair might escape Sen's extra senses. All evidence showed that they had been framed.

"You're in charge now," Kalan shouted to Pak. With emergency protocols in place, Pak assumed control of Raisu province, and its armies. "Avenge your father!"

The Coalition shouted back, and Kalan retaliated. Pak stood motionless in the midst of the verbal maelstrom as both sides tried to persuade him to attack the other. Miyani's fingers tightly clenched Sen's shirt as he laid motionless in her arms. She had evidence that Kalan had set them up, but was it enough to convince Pak? Would he believe her even if it was? He might simply take it as an excuse offered up by someone trying to frame her enemies.

While Miyani clung to an unresponsive Sen, Pak looked back and forth between the two opposing sides. Miyani watched him briefly as his eyes darted between the Weavers and the Coalition as the two warring sides tried to force him to make a choice. He was visibly torn between two diametrically opposed sides.

Miyani took a deep breath, and slowly, she released Sen, laying him carefully on the ground. She stood up, straightened her back, and towered at her full height above them all. Neither side of the argument paid her much mind at first, engrossed as they were in their argument.

"Stop it!"

The sound of her shout was a harsh reminder of Miyani's power. Both Weavers and Coalition fell silent. She turned to glare at the Weavers for a moment. She could wipe them all out in the blink of an eye if she so chose. She turned then to the Coalition soldiers. She could also choose to stand with them, to provide evidence of the framing scheme against them. Neither option interested her.

"All of you, just be quiet," She demanded, speaking to both sides. Once they had all been sufficiently cowed by Miyain's glaring red eye, her tone shifted. Miyani relaxed, and stepped forward, towards Pak.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Miyani rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry about your father."

The conflict quieted down, and the fires died. Pak trembled slightly in place as the realization sunk in. Then, quietly at first, he leaned forward, rested his head against Miyani's shoulder, and began to cry.

***

"What were you thinking?"

Gamon's demanding shout rang through their base. It was loud and harsh, especially so because of who it was being aimed at.

Sarin stood stoically, enduring Gamon's tirade. Gamon had begun it all by slamming down a copy of the latest newspaper. The headline read in bold letters: "Minister Assassinated! Sarin to Blame!"

"You could have talked, you could have used his paranoia to help us," Gamon roared. He began to pace back and forth angrily. "But no! You had to blow Raisu up! Because that worked out so well!"

With time to think and to process his grief, Pak had proceeded with a calm and careful investigation of his fathers assassination. The inspection of Raisu's Weavers had revealed their every indiscretion. The plot to assassinate Minister Raisu had been uncovered, and all the Weavers had been detained, removing Sarin's influence in the political world.

Sensheng could have intervened at any point, but he chose not to. Sarin had put his plan into motion at very short notice, without involving Sensheng at all. Assassination was a workable idea, but Sarin's execution had been amateurish. Under different circumstances Dei Sensheng might have thought it an important lesson for Sarin to learn, but the stakes were too high this time.

Gamon paused his tirade briefly and rubbed his face with his hands. He was stressed as much as he was angry. He was in charge of managing their troops, and every day he found himself with less and less to do. They weren't just losing battles, they were losing morale. Every day fewer and fewer of his men reported back as entire platoons defected quietly. He knew exactly what to blame: incompetent leadership.

"Everything you've done since this war started has made things worse," Gamon accused. "The attack on Zaofu and this pitiful stunt you pulled with Raisu are the final straw."

With Raisu dead, all of the Eastern provinces were now clamoring for the Energybender's defeat. Hua-Long was the only ally they had left in Parliament, and one vote was not enough to turn the tide. An emergency session had already been called, and there could only be one result now. The Avatar would be coming for them.

"You swore loyalty to me, Gamon," Sarin said calmly.

"I swore loyalty to Kalden!" That seemed to sting Sarin. His calm stance finally broke.

"You're no Kalden," Gamon said. He pointed an accusing finger at Sarin. "You're not fit to call yourself an Energybender. You're not even fit to call yourself his brother."

The grey rings around Sarin's eyes seemed to grow just slightly darker as he leered at Gamon. The captain of his Sarin's armies turned to each of his comrades in Sarin's inner circle. Ahn-Li was the only one who would look directly at him.

"We had a mission once," He said. "We were supposed to bring peace. Sarin has turned us into nothing but terrorists. Ah, no, even terrorists have a plan. We're just nothing."

Gamon turned his back on Sarin. He had every intention of leaving, immediately. With any luck he would be able to return to isolation, to live out the rest of his life in hiding, his only punishment a lifetime of guilt for his role in Sarin's madness. It was a harsh future, but it was better than the wrath of the Avatar.

It was not, however, the Avatar's anger that Gamon had to worry about. The last thing Gamon felt was a burning grey light against his back, and then there was nothing.

Sarin flexed his fingertips. Ahn-Li covered her mouth in shock, though few others seemed to react. Dei Sensheng had almost been expecting that, though that was not to say he approved. He cast a suspicious leer towards his commander.

"He lacked conviction," Sarin said flatly. "And respect."

"What he had, however, was a point," Sensheng added. He was one of few who would openly defy Sarin after a moment like that. "We find ourselves heavily compromised. We can no longer hide behind the Earth Kingdom's border."

"We will endure," Sarin said. "We have time to maneuver. The Avatar will need time to recover before he strikes."

Sensheng did not respond. It was reasonable to assume the Avatar would need some time to recover and prepare -but Sensheng had to wonder if the Avatar wwas feeling so reasonable.

***

Sen moved his arm slightly to test the feel of the bandages. The damage from the explosion was not significant, but it was enough that all his doctors were recommending a significant period of rest. He had only recently regained consciousness, and the first person he wanted to talk to was Miyani.

"They told me what happened after the explosion," Sen said. "You did a good job."

"I did my best," Miyani said. "I'm just glad it worked."

With time to think and investigate, Pak had sided with the Coalition, and Parliament had rallied behind him. The Earth Kingdom was wide open to the Coalition.

"And for the record, I never want to do it again," Miyani said. She clutched her tattooed forehead as if she had a headache. "All those things to consider, everything that could go wrong…I don't know how you do that."

"It helps when you know what's right," Sen said. He moved his neck side to side and stretched his legs slightly, making sure everything worked right. "Anything that gets us closer to beating Sarin is the right choice."

Sen looked at his arm. The burns did not sink too deep into his skin, and would leave no scars, but his skin was still bright red. Sen clenched his fist, and found it painful to do so. Despite the sting, it could have been much worse. He reopened his hand to look at his burnt palm.

"It's a shame, what happened to Raisu," he said solemnly. He frowned at first, and then it slowly drifted into a scowl.

The Minister had arranged everything, down to the seating at the table, so that Sen would survive. Minister Raisu had given up his own life to save Sen. it shouldn't have been necessary. Raisu was a good man, and a good father. He deserved to lived, to make things right with his world and his son. But Sarin had taken that chance away from him. Miyani nodded quietly.

"I know. Pak was devastated."

Sen nodded slowly in kind. Miyani bit her lip and looked at Sen, at his scorched hand resting on the bed. Sen could only imagine what Pak was feeling after the loss of his father. Slowly, painfully, his burst hand balled up into a clenched fist.

"You know, Sen, there was a second, when I first saw, you after it happened when I-" She choked on her words for a moment and reconsidered. She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm glad you're alright."

She reached up to put her hand on top of his, and found it was no longer there. Sen was no longer lying down in bed. He had sat up, quite painfully, and moved to the edge of the bed.

"Sen?"

Cringing slightly as his aching body righted itself, Sen stood up. He wobbled unsteadily as he first stood, but quickly found his footing. He lurched forward, limping unevenly away from the bed. Miyani stood up and watched him limp towards an unknown destination. He slowly stripped the bandages off his arms, exposing reddened and burnt skin.

"Sen, you should be resting," Miyani cautioned.

Sen paid her no heed and walked over to where his coat hung. His old coat had been burnt and torn in the detonation. What had once been a smooth brown coat was now blackened and shredded. Sen's eyes narrowed. He took the ruined coat from its hook and put it on, shaking off a bit of ash and straightening the torn sleeves.

With his coat in place Sen turned and headed for the door. He slammed it open, pushing past the guards assigned to his room and out into the hall. Hanjo was the only one on hand to see him exit, though all of his friends were swiftly headed this way.

"You'd better go back before Tlun gets here," Ariak joked. "He'll knock you flat if he sees you up and about."

"No," Sen said. The grim intensity of his voice brought a swift end to any jokes. Hanjo stepped forward.

"Hey, Sen, you're hurt," Hanjo said. He grabbed Sen by the wrist and held his hand tightly for a moment. "You have to rest."

Sen had for a moment seemed oddly calm in his actions, but now that came to an end. Slowly, he raised the hand Hanjo had no hold on. His fist was scorched red by fire, and he clenched his fingers tight into a crimson fist, cracking his burnt skin, exposing even redder burns beneath. Miyani stepped out of the room just behind him, concern carved into her face.

"I am not going to waste time resting at a time like this," Sen said. He ripped his hand out of Hanjo's grip and proceeded forward.

"I have an army, I have the information, and now, I have access to every inch of this world," Sen said. There was fire burning his voice, a heat that made the pain in his body seem miniscule. "For the first time, there is nothing standing in my way."

Lahn was waiting nearby, ready to deliver Sen's reports, and Sen was ready to give orders now.

"I expect Suda, Ariak and the rest are headed this way?"

"Yes sir," Lahn said quietly.

"Tell them to turn around and get back to work," Sen growled. He didn't need or want anyone wasting time doting on his injuries. He wanted action.

Sen reached the doors of Xian's hospital and slammed them open. He limped forward through the doors and took a look around. The base of the Coalition was quiet and calm. With their General out of commission, the armies had taken a few days to rest and prepare for their next deployment. Sen frowned intensely as he saw the aimless soldiers.

Sen clenched his fist, and the stone rose up before him in an impromptu podium. Sen lurched forward, his shoulders hunched, as he climbed up the pillar he had created.

"All of you, on your feet!" The soldiers of the Coalition jumped at the sound of his voice. They saluted sharply to the Avatar-General.

"I want every unit ready to leave by tomorrow morning," Sen demanded loudly. "We are marching into the Earth Kingdom! We will chase our enemy wherever they run, we will find them wherever they hide, and we will annihilate them wherever they fight!"

The soldiers saluted hesitantly as Sen's harsh voice echoed over their camp. Sen stood far above, his voice echoing like thunder over all of them. Miyani and Hanjo looked to one another, fear and concern written on their faces.

"We are going to war," Sen declared. "And we will not stop until I have my hands around Sarin's throat."


	87. Book 5 Ch15: Hunter and Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally able to hunt The Energybender without restriction, Sen leads a renewed and vicious charge into the Earth Kingdom as he pursues the forces that threaten the world.

Sen overlooked the enemy base from the hilltop in silence. Colonel's Cujo and Kim stood at his side to assess the situation.

"Looks like they've started getting serious," Cujo said. He was almost impressed by their defenses. The bases they'd struck beforehand had been just gathering points, places where Grey-Face troops could stop to resupply. Here in the Earth Kingdom, they had built proper fortresses to defend themselves.

"It will take a great deal of time to break that barricade," Colonel Kim said. The Grey-Faces had set up a substantial perimeter. Seeing the Coalition on the nearby hill had only caused them to redouble their defenses.

"It won't take much time at all," Cujo scoffed. "Look at the General."

Kim turned to examine his superior officer. The ruined coat he wore shifted slightly in the slight breeze, but the Avatar himself was almost entirely unmoving. Only his eyes, barely hidden behind glass lenses, showed any sign of movement.

Sen had said little since laying eyes on the walls of their enemy. His eyes darted rapidly from point to point, carefully examining every chunk of wall, every fortified tower, and every soldier. Kim nodded quietly. There was a harrowing look in Sen's eyes. The two Colonels waited patiently for the Avatar-General to finish his assessment.

Sen turned his head in a sweeping glare over the length of the wall, and then nodded. His heel tapped slightly against the ground as he turned.

"Follow me once the wall is down," Sen said sternly. Cujo saluted sharply and prepared their soldiers to charge.

Sen walked down the slope of the hill, calmly at first, conserving his energy while he could, and waiting while a few preparations were made. The Grey-Face soldiers on the wall hurried to attention as they saw a lone figure approach. They knew better than to underestimate any lone figure. With titans like Miyani and Sen rallied against them, one man could mean the end of an entire army.

Sen took one last slow step, and then broke into a dead sprint. He was in range of the enemy now. He knew it, and they knew it. It was not long before Sen was dodging a torrent of elemental destruction from the walls above. He ran in sharp, jagged patterns, turning sharply and erratically to avoid the barrage. Though he felt the heat of the fire ran down around him, not one blow landed. The desperate attacks of the enemy only increased in intensity as Sen got closer and closer to the wall.

His elaborate dance between lances of fire and earth and ice continued, Sen always staying one step ahead of whatever attack was coming his way. In truth, Sen was barely paying attention to the attacks raining down around him. He could have reached the wall by now if he had wanted to. His real focus was on the soil underground.

Sen got the signal he was waiting for. He silently thanked Gun for his hard work and paused for a brief second to do the math. The wall was roughly twelve feet high, he was ten feet away, which meant he would be in for a long dive. With a kick to the ground, Sen called up a swift-rising stone beneath his feet, catapulting him through the air.

An aerial approach was a bit of a risk; anyone smart enough would lead their attacks and strike Sen right out of the air. Sen knew very well that anyone smart had defected from the Energybender's service long ago. His jump went unimpeded, and he landed safely atop the wall. Stunned enemy soldiers took a step back from the Avatar. He took a quick look at those around him and scowled.

Sen reached out with both hands and slammed his open palms against the wall. The massive stone structure collapsed downwards, falling into the subterranean void that Gun had tunneled. One by one sections of the wall collapsed downwards into the empty space that had been hollowed out below them. A cloud of dust and screams filled the air as panicked soldiers found themselves dropping downwards.

Colonel Cujo rightly assumed that was their signal to move. The Coalition marched into the chaos and found that the top of the wall was now level with the ground, and the mass of soldiers was still disoriented from the sudden drop. They marched across the fallen wall, capturing the enemy as they went, and prepared to move into the base.

"I see the General didn't deign to wait for us," Kim observed. One look at the base made it obvious that Sen was already on the move. The shattered front door was a first clue, as was the Grey-Face soldier currently flying out of a broken window. The sound of screaming and an earth-shaking blow signified the Avatar's continued onslaught.

Very few were brave enough to stand against the Avatar for more than a second, but their courage was irrelevant in any case. No one who came near Sen was on their feet for more than a few seconds anyway. His blows were targeted, devastating, honing in on weakness and vulnerabilities in seconds.

There were a few who tried to avoid Sen's sight, but even they were not spared. Sen could feel their pounding, fearful heartbeats, and he tracked his enemies through walls and across stories of the building. With a flick of his wrist, the roof collapsed, dragging a few soldiers who tried to cower on the second floor down to his level.

Sen continued walking. He limped slightly, a sign of injuries not yet fully healed, but his gait had not been interrupted yet. One soldier who was feeling particularly bold, or particularly desperate, let loose a single bolt of fire from a hallway to Sen's side. Sen held up his hand and waved the fire away, before retaliating in kind. The soldier's reflexes were not so good, and he was blasted backwards, left singed by the blast of fire. Sen never even turned his head.

Footsteps shook the ground ahead. Sen paid them little heed. One of the soldiers was brave enough to take a stand. It mattered little to Sen. The situation got only slightly more intriguing as Sen felt the clash of negative and positive chi that characterized lightning.

The blue sparks seared the air for a brief second as the attack surged towards Sen. He extended two fingertips to catch the lightning, and briefly did the dance-like motion to carry the burning power through his stomach and out the opposite hand. He directed the lightning harmlessly into a nearby wall and turned his attention to its source.

The lightning-wielding soldier was already gearing up for a second attack. He was no Harrier, however, and his lightning came to slow to compete with Sen's blindingly fast motions. He was off his feet in a second as a stone swept across his legs, and then the soldier felt a hand around his throat, keeping him from falling.

"You're better than the rest of them," Sen observed. "You'd be in charge. Talk."

"I know nothing-"

Sen's grip on the lightning-bender's throat got a little tighter, interrupting him. Sen pulled the soldier to his feet and pulled off his grey-marked mask, looking the man in the eye. The Grey-Face leader did not maintain eye contact for long. There was a fire in Sen's eyes like the light of the sun, impossible to look directly at.

"I know, the Hssk takes all your memories of your leaders, your bases," Sen said caustically. "But I'm willing to bet it overlooked something. There has to be some scrap of information in that head of yours worth having."

Sen had been scouring every soldier for any fragment of memory or information, anything that would lead them further on the trail of Sarin. The intelligence Ko Rin had been hiding from them was supremely useful, but it was incomplete. Sarin was still hiding. Sen could not allow that.

Though the Hssk made it nearly impossible for a direct trail to be established, Sen had come up with several ideas to work around it. While the Mind-Eater might understand the importance of erasing memories of leaders and homes, as a spirit it had several misunderstandings of the human experience. For example, the Hssk did not need to eat.

"Your food," Sen demanded. "Where does it come from?"

"What?"

"Answer the question," Sen demanded. Any army had to have supply lines. Tracing the source of their food could lead him to Sarin.

"I don't know! Containers are unmarked, they deliver to us every month," The soldier stammered. "They know where to find us, but we don't know where to find them!"

"Then you're useless," Sen stated flatly. A quiet bell tolled, the usual harmonic tone that rang whenever Sen used Energybending. It was simple enough to knock someone out cold using the ancient art, even if it was a rather mundane use of an exceptionally powerful ability.

Sen left the unconscious body behind and proceeded out of the base as chaos enveloped it. The Coalition swarmed the halls, capturing or disabling what few enemies Sen hadn't already devastated. Sen walked calmly the other way as soldiers rushed past, some pausing to salute sharply to their General, others running by, eyes low. The enemy wasn't the only force that had a healthy fear of Sen. His actions lately had inspired a respectful terror even among his subordinates.

"Keep soldiers waiting here," Sen ordered. Colonels Kim and Cujo quickly stepped forward to listen. "Someone comes here every month for food deliveries. When they do, track them back."

"And when we find the source?"

"Find every base that they deliver to," Sen said. "Then burn it to ash."

"Sir?"

"I'm not wasting time with their bread and vegetables while Sarin is still out there," Sen said. "Find everything, burn everything, and our soldiers will keep marching."

"Classic blitz tactics," Cujo said. "Crush everything in front of you, burn everything behind you. I like it."

"Some might object," Kim said hesitantly.

"Then those 'some' can answer to me," Sen said threateningly. Kim shrank back, and Sen continued. "Where's the nearest radio?"

"That way, Avatar-General," Cujo said, pointing over his shoulder. Sen thanked his two subordinates and moved on. He had orders to give. Kim cast a concerned glance to Cujo, but he simply smiled and shook his head. The other Colonel did not share Kim's concerns about Sen's new attitude.

Sen sat down at his makeshift desk and grabbed the radio receiver.

"Lahn, connect me to my team," He demanded. "I want reports."

Lahn affirmed his orders and then went silent for a moment, trying to reach all the Avatar's friends. Sen tapped his fingers impatiently while he waited. Scattered as they were across the Earth Kingdom, it took quite some time to reach everyone Sen knew.

"I can't get Miyani or Ada, seems they're already travelling to their next targets," Lahn said. Sen nodded to himself and crossed off two targets on his map. He had given each of his allies a checklist of objectives to destroy.

"Just put me through to whoever you can reach."

There was another short bout of silence. What followed after was a short burst of static and noise from a person who clearly barely knew how to operate a radio and had no desire to learn.

"Hey Sen, not much to say," Whistler said. "Probably set a record for most guys punched in a day, but found nothing that gets us closer to Sarin."

"Then keep punching and keep looking," Sen commanded. Whistler was happy to agree on both counts. She always kept things short and sweet, eager to get back to the fight. Unlike many people, who were vaguely concerned about Sen's aggressive attitude, Whistler knew full well that it was easily cured. As soon as Sen got his hands on Sarin everything would be back to normal.

Suda was next to be contacted. He had little to say, but Sen had not expected much. Suda was not cut out for the violent hunt Sen was carrying out, despite his imposing physique. Sen had deliberately assigned him to missions that were more focused on defense and resource acquisition. He was probably spending a good chunk of his time with Yoki anyway. She was always conveniently visiting towns close to the front lines. Sen didn't bother objecting to Suda's romantic distractions. They'd had this conversation before.

The next duo was far more important. Ariak and Hanjo were focused on trailing some very important targets. While Sen would have liked to pursue the source of the helicopters more aggressively, the flying machines were small worries compared to Sarin's army of bloodbenders.

"We got some results, but not many," Hanjo said. "Looks like the Bloodbenders are on the move."

Ariak was currently investigating further, with his usual fervor to pursue Kida. All they had found so far was an empty base, and many signs that the bloodbenders were beating a rapid retreat. It wasn't the progress they wanted, but it was better than nothing. If the bloodbenders were on the retreat, they weren't attacking innocent civilians.

"How's Ariak dealing with the hunt?"

Hanjo had been assigned to the same pursuit as Ariak partially because it was important enough to require two sets of eyes, and partially because Sen still didn't fully trust Ariak to handle Kida. The young hunter still felt a great deal of guilt, and that made him ineffective.

"He seems to have his priorities straight," Hanjo said. "No signs of any mission-ruining guilt trips this time."

Hanjo heard a quiet grunt of affirmation from the other end of the radio. Ariak had cast off any ideas of salvation after their last confrontation. He knew now that Kida had to be stopped. The methods of how that would be done, though, still deeply troubled Ariak.

"He's alright with Kida, I think, but the whole bloodbending thing…"

He had yet to use bloodbending to any serious extent, but the knowledge alone was enough to change Ariak's behavior. He counted down the days to a full moon, and every time the silver light shone overhead, he stayed awake all night. He was not the kind of person who could bear such power, or such grim responsibility, easily.

"Ariak can handle it," Sen said. He was prone to self-doubt, but Ariak was strong at his core. If anyone could bear the burden of knowledge that bloodbending presented, it was him.

"What about you, buddy?" Hanjo asked. "How're things going on your end?"

"Another day, another dead end," Sen grunted indignantly. "Sarin's gone completely off the grid."

"We'll get him eventually, Sen, don't you worry."

"Well we're not going to make any progress just talking about it," Sen said. "I'm getting back to work."

There was a certain bitter edge to Sen's voice that made it quite obvious that "work" in this case meant "hurting a lot of people". It was also a goodbye, as far as Sen was concerned, and Hanjo heard no more from his friend. He put down the radio and got back to his own work.

Hanjo and Ariak's group had thankfully encountered very little resistance on their march. The bloodbenders were not a resource Sarin was willing to risk. Their retreat was swift and orderly, and every stopping point the Coalition found had been abandoned several days prior. All they ever found were a few hints to the bloodbenders next destination, and leftover scraps of life.

The much-easier hunt for Ariak culminated in Hanjo finding him, quite predictably, in Kida's quarters. He was pacing back and forth, flipping through the pages of a book. Hanjo leaned against the wall casually.

"Found Kida's diary? Tell me, how many ways can she phrase 'I want to kill Ariak'?"

"It's not a diary, it's a novel," Ariak said. He sounded somewhat frustrated. "One of a series. The fourth of five."

Hanjo nodded. He had been expecting something of this nature to happen. Ariak put the book down.

"And the food, you know what kind of food I found?"

"Mochi and green tea," Hanjo said with a sigh. "Same kind you've found at the last couple places."

"Her favorite meal, by all appearances," Ariak said. "Nobody else in the base eats it."

"So do you plan on using her love of mochi and serial novels to track down this murderous psychopath?"

"She is not-"

Ariak began to object, but stopped himself halfway through. He looked at the ground and shook his head.

"I try so hard to see her as a monster, to lose all faith in her, I even became a bloodbender to stop her," Ariak said. "But I keep finding humanity in her. Something to believe in."

Hanjo let a long, slow sigh and nodded to himself. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"It's good that you have compassion, Ariak, that's a good thing to have," Hanjo said. "But you're going for the wrong person. Try having some compassion for all the people Kida's hurt. For all the people she's going to hurt."

The book Kida had been reading laid open on the table. Ariak had to wonder if she had finished it. If she planned on finishing the series, and if she ever would.

"You are right."

Ariak said that, but he knew deep down, what was right was not always easy.

***

"Our retreat is going fairly orderly, Sarin," Sensheng said.

"Good to hear. The Coalition presence in the Earth Kingdom seemed overwhelming at first."

Sarin looked at the map and shook his head. They were running out of options. Most of the UEK had turned against them after Raisu's death. Only Hua-Long province still offered shelter. The corpulent Minister Hua-Long had far too much money tied up in Sarin to betray them so easily.

"Our retreat is greatly assisted by the fact that half our remaining army has gone missing altogether," Sensheng declared dryly. "This is our biggest wave of desertion since the formation of the Coalition."

"They are unnecessary," Sarin said. "If their loyalty falls apart so easily, then they were worthless anyway."

"I would not say it fell apart easily," Sensheng stated. He watched nervously as the black shadow of the Hssk crept around the room. "For the past few months we've suffered nothing but devastating defeats. We need some kind of progress, Sarin, a real victory to boost morale."

"Surely some easy target prevents itself," Sarin mused.

"Easy, yes, relevant, no. Anything more important than a latrine is guarded or otherwise inaccessible to our forces. We're outnumbered fifty to one, Sarin, and most of our best-trained soldiers have been lost. We have our bloodbenders, the Metal Men, and…you."

Sarin looked at his right hand. His fingertips twitched slightly. Sensheng allowed a moment of contemplative silence to pass.

"It may be time for us to make a last-ditch maneuver," Sensheng suggested. "Something bold, desperate, like our attack on Zaofu."

"That did not end well for us," Sarin corrected.

"A failed risk would at least provide us with a quick end," Sensheng suggested. "The alternative is a slow burn into nothingness."

"We will find a way, Sensheng," Sarin said confidently. "Even a loss in this world is meaningless. Given the…appropriate circumstances, I can complete my mission exclusively in the Spirit World."

"Then why are we even here?' Sensheng questioned. "You could go to this Undying Bloom, wait there, force the Avatar to come to you."

"There are intricacies to this situation you do not understand."

Sarin waved his hand dismissively and turned his back on Sensheng. He did not leave quite yet.

"You could try explaining them to me," Sensheng pleaded.

"Leave," Sarin commanded, and Sensheng reluctantly obeyed.


	88. Book 5 Ch16: Brotherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pieces of Sarin's past come to light as Sen hunts down more information on Sarin's older brother, Kalden. The intensity of his hunt begins to raise questions among the Avatar's friends and allies.

**SEVEN YEARS AGO**

Kalden oversaw the arena as Sarin dueled his partner.

The young Energybender moved stiffly. Kalden had gone to secretly acquire the teachings of the old airbending masters and pass them on to Sarin, yet none of those lessons had stuck. Sarin had developed his own style. His stiff, direct movements clawed at the air, forcing it to move according to his will. It was unique and it was effective, but something about it nagged Kalden.

He watched and analyzed further, turning his haggard eyes to every movement Sarin made. His style was antithetical to any airbending Kalden had ever seen. Airbending was meant to flow naturally, not in stiff grasping motions. Sarin did not flow naturally with his element. It was a forced obedience, more like master and slave than a productive partnership.

Sarin repeated the routine he had developed for himself. Setting his stance and striking, forcing the air to grasp his target like an invisible hand. His unfortunate sparring partner, inexperienced in facing such wild airbending, was easy prey for Sarin's attacks.

Kalden's eyes narrowed. The punishing cost of Energybending had withered his body, but not his mind. He saw every move and analyzed it. With a stiff gesture of his own hand, Kalden brought Sarin's training to a halt and summoned his brother. Sarin, as always, was swift to obey his brother's call.

"Why is it that you do not heed the teachings I passed on to you?" Kalden asked. "I spent two years apprenticed as an Air Acolyte to gather what knowledge I needed to train you. Why do you not use those teachings? Ah- perhaps that came across accusatory."

Sarin had seemed nervous for a moment. That was not Kalden's intention.

"I am merely curious, brother," Kalden said. "Your airbending is strong. I only want to understand why it is so unique."

Sarin nodded, clearly relieved to not have incurred his brother's anger.

"I cannot say," Sarin said hesitantly. "It simply is the way it is."

An explanation was attempted, but few answers came of it. Sarin did not fully understand the deeper nature of the bending arts. Such things had never been part of his education, focused as he was on one day becoming the Energybender.

"That is enough," Kalden said finally. He was no closer to understanding than before. That bothered him. He was used to having precise details, to having everything under his thumb. Variables did not sit well with Kalden.

"Return to your training," Kalden commanded. Sarin reluctantly obliged. He had been training nearly non-stop for the past three days, and he would continue for several more. Kalden could see the exhaustion and fatigue on Sarin's face, and ignored it.

The black shadow of the Hssk flitted about Kalden's ankles. Soon they would depart for the Undying Bloom, and perform the strange ritual the Hssk had described. It was possible Kalden would not survive the experience. He needed to make sure Sarin was prepared.

"You must understand why you act the way you act, why you fight the way you do," Kalden advised as Sarin sparred. "Understanding is the most powerful weapon one can wield."

Sarin struck again, with surprising effectiveness. Kalden rubbed his whiskered chin thoughtfully.

"Some people think victory is assured if you understand your enemy," Kalden continued. "But you will always have a weakness if you do not understand yourself."

***

It took a great deal to pull Sen away from the front lines, but Detective Zas had managed. As much as Sen enjoyed crushing his enemies, he also enjoyed learning more about his enemies. It helped him crush them faster. It was therefore always in his interests to learn more about any of his enemies, even, as was the case today, enemies who were no longer alive.

With Ko Rin's mental manipulation no longer holding sway over what information Zas could give to Sen, the Detective had been much more productive in tracking down leads on Sen's enemies. Though the trails leading to Sarin today were well-covered, there had been many trails left behind in the past. Some leading to more information on Sarin's lost predecessor, Kalden.

The esteemed Detective had traced Kalden's footsteps to the Eastern Air Temple. A thorough investigation had revealed that Kalden had spent two years there apprenticed to the Air Acolytes. He had even found a group of residents who had known Kalden and were willing to share what little they knew about him. The information had been gathered and presented to Sen, and now was being presented to Sen's closest allies.

Sen had not supported the idea at first. It seemed a waste of time to him, to gather useful soldiers like Miyani and have them waste their time reading paperwork, but Zas had insisted and Sen had inevitably relented.

"Thank you all for coming," Sen said. "It's been a while since we've all been together."

"Yeah, a merciless blitz into enemy territory will have that effect," Hanjo said.

"I don't know what you're getting snippy about, I'm having a great time," Whistler said.

"I know you like aimless violence, but some of us have actual goals," Suda said.

"Which we can wrap up that much quicker if we get down to business here," Sen said harshly. "If you could keep your comments to yourself for a moment."

Sen nodded to Detective Zas, and Zas in turn directed their attention to a few sheets of paper that had been placed in front of them. The group briefly perused the contents, Whistler taking by far the longest.

"Thanks to Zas we've collected a great deal of information on Kalden, Sarin's deceased older brother. I've already taken a look at it, but I wanted your perspective, your thoughts."

Sen was a master of analytical thinking, and had garnered a great deal of useful information from Zas' gathered data already, but he lacked perspective. Ariak, Ada, Hanjo –all of his friends possessed unique perspectives on life that might give them an insight into Kalden's mind and, by extension, Sarin.

"I thought we already established this guy was a crazy hoo-ha control freak," Whistler declared as she idly skimmed the papers. "I'm not sure why we're looking into a dead guy. Sarin's the one we should be psychoanalyzing."

"Sarin barely knew his father, Kalden is the man who raised him, trained him, taught him," Sen elaborated. "Understanding Kalden is part of understanding Sarin."

"Like here, it says Sarin and Kalden had different moms," Hanjo said. "Kalden's mom was his dads actual wife, and Sarin's mom was just a random member of the cult."

"They say children born of loveless relationships are fated to unhappiness," Ariak said somberly.

"I'm literally the only person on this team with decent parents and you guys all turned out fine," Ada said. While it was a bit poetic, Ariak's theory didn't really hold water.

"My dad abandoned my mom and I'm doing great," Suda said.

"Stay on topic," Sen demanded. He was here to learn about Kalden, not hear anyone repeat their family issues. They could be here all day talking about parental abandonment and abuse.

"So, just to say something actually useful here," Whistler interjected. "Could we track down Sarin or Kalden's mom?"

"Highly doubtful," Sen said. Even if they could be found, the Hssk likely would have made interrogating them useless. Sen saw very little point in pursuing that lead anyway. The real rise of the Energybender cult had occurred only during Kalden's adulthood, long after a mothers perspective might have mattered.

"Okay, so family perspective isn't that useful then," Ada said. "Do we know anything else about how Kalden was raised or trained?"

"As of today we know where he learned about airbending," Ariak added. "Have we interviewed his master? What he taught Kalden was one day taught to Sarin."

"Sarin learned it, but he sure doesn't use it," Hanjo said. His ill-fated duel at Tunuk Bay had given him first-hand experience with Sarin's airbending. "He's all stiff, forceful, not fluid and graceful like other airbenders. Not even like Whistler."

"I guess it's curious how he ended up that way," Ariak mused. "But it's not exactly something we have a lot of information about that."

"Something to think about, at any rate," Sen asked of them.

Whistler remained quiet for a while. She was the resident expert on airbending. If anyone could analyze the reasons behind Sarin's aberrant style, it was her. Unfortunately the lists and journals they had compiled didn't offer much information. All she could gather was that Sarin was right-handed, which wasn't much help.

Hanjo scanned the documents in front of him. Sen had called for an oddly obsessive level of detail in his investigation. Every possible fact about Kalden was listed. A fondness for apples, his preference for linen over wool robes, a tendency to scratch behind his left ear when he was nervous…His former associates in the Air Acolytes had compiled a rather strange list.

One thing that every Acolyte had shared, though, was the observation that Kalden was a control freak. He managed every aspect of his life with a meticulous obsession to detail. Every moment of every day was planned in the absolute. His obsession with control and planning extended beyond his own life and on to others as well. He was known for becoming irrationally upset when those around him did not enable his plans or disrupted his schedule.

"Okay, this seems like the big thing to me," Hanjo said. "Kalden was an absolute control freak. He had to be in charge of everything."

"And if his journals are any indication, he was rather good at it," Sen said.

"So what happened to Sarin? I'm not being biased when I say the guy's a bit of a dipstick," Suda said. Sarin's fumbling attempts to manage his end of the war were common knowledge at this point. Even Sarin's own followers no longer had faith in his ability to win the war.

"A good teacher can do nothing for a bad student," Ariak suggested. "Some people just can't be taught."

"I don't buy it," Ada said. "Even the stupidest person would have picked up on some of Kalden's skill after spending so much time with it."

"Miyani, you've been oddly quiet," Ariak said. "You have any ideas?"

Miyani had been thinking about other issues entirely, and she jumped slightly as Ariak's call dragged her down to earth.

"Sorry, I just don't have many ideas about this," Miyani said absentmindedly. "I was thinking about something else."

Sen shot her a cutting glare, which she swiftly withered under. Her thoughts had been more focused on her current friends, not a long-dead enemy.

"Okay, well, I've actually had my eye on the ball, here's a theory," Hanjo said. "Sarin spent too much time learning Kalden's technique, didn't like it, ended up rejecting it out of spite."

"I could have told you that," Sen growled. He clenched his fist tightly. His friends froze for a moment. Sen didn't even realize it, but his anger was enough to make the ground tremble.

"I just don't think we have enough information to make any real conclusions," Ariak said with a resigned sigh. "This isn't going to get us anywhere."

"You're right. Thank you all, but this was clearly a waste of time," Sen continued. "Follow me and I'll get you new assignments."

Hanjo wasn't sure they had really wrapped up any of their business here, but he had already spent too much time being left behind. He grabbed his papers, just in case he wanted to look over them again later, and headed out, with almost everyone else follow suit. Ariak and Detective Zas were the only two left behind.

"You were unusually quiet, Detective," Ariak observed. Zas was one of the world's brightest minds. He should have been more involved in the discussion.

"Ah, at first I hoped Sen would be the one to make connections," Zas said. His voice positively dripped with disappointment. "But then it became quite clear that wouldn't happen."

Zas folded his hands and looked to the floor somewhat sadly.

"When I first met the Avatar, I was impressed by a certain…intellectual spark, that he possessed. He was inquisitive and analytical. He thought his actions through, he was clever."

"You don't see that any more, do you?"

Ariak had noticed the trend as well. Sen was becoming more and more direct, sacrificing elaborate strategy in favor of brute force and direct action. It was still effective, but it wasn't what most expected from Sen.

"I think his anger is blinding him," Zas said sadly. "He's trying to follow Sarin's trail, but he's looking for the footprints of a monster when he should be seeing the footprints of a man."

***

**SEVEN YEARS AGO**

Sarin had never had a place to call home, but it was uncomfortable all the same every time they packed up and left. Kalden made sure that they stayed on the move, not leaving a trail behind. After the destruction of the White Lotus, they were wanted men. Fear could only protect them so much. They could not take unnecessary risks.

"Where will our new base be?" Sarin asked.

"We are not travelling to a new base," Kalden said. "You and I must go to the Spirit World. We'll be travelling through Republic City."

"You said we should avoid Republic City," Sarin said.

"And now I say we must go there," Kalden said harshly. "We have very little time to waste."

Kalden staggered as he walked. The self-destructive price of Energybending wore greater on him every day. He knew that any attempt to Energybend now would be his last. Sarin would be doomed to the same fate without the power the Hssk offered.

Sarin did not fully understand the sudden change. He knew of the Hssk, but did not know the full litany of secrets which had been revealed to Kalden.

"What will we be doing in Republic City, Kalden? There's so much in the city we could see-"

"We are not going to waste any time sightseeing, Sarin. You have a destiny, Sarin, which we must pursue at any cost."

Kalden forced Sarin to follow close behind as they set out.

***

The gathered Team Avatar waited impatiently on the sidelines while Sen radioed into the field, finding any battlefields he could deploy them to. It was a time-consuming effort. They had already devastated any obvious targets. All that remained now were the cornerstones of Sarin's war effort: his helicopter manufactory, his supply lines in Hua-Long province, and of course his central command center. All of these things were well-hidden, leaving the Coalition playing a massive game of hide and seek with their mortal enemy.

While Sen attended to this multinational manhunt for Sarin, Miyani gave him a long, lingering glare from a distance. She waited until he was preoccupied talking on the radio to say anything.

"Hanjo, you're Sen's best friend, right?"

"So the newspapers say," Hanjo said with a sigh. Sen hadn't been very friendly to anyone lately.

"So when was the last time he acted like it?" Miyani asked. "When was the last time he cracked a joke, pulled a prank, helped you out, did anything to show that he was your friend?"

Hanjo actually had to stop and think about that one. It had been at least two weeks since they'd last seen each other, and that had just been for a mission assignment. Before that it had been a full week, before that three days…

"I…We've been busy, alright? I doubt any of you have had much time for your friends."

"Had a lovely conversation with Ada just the other day, actually," Suda corrected.

"He's thinking about proposing to Yoki after the war is over, wanted my advice on how to do it."

Suda's face turned slightly red. Ada smiled slyly at him. Suda and Yoki's relationship was common knowledge, and Suda's friends all approved of it, but he was still slightly bashful talking about her.

"Me and Whistler have a standing competition to see who can beat the most people," Ariak said.

"Stickler's winning, but only because he keeps getting all the good assignments from Sen," Whistler said indignantly.

"The point is we're managing to make time for our friends, in spite of everything," Miyani said. "And Sen isn't."

"Have you considered that maybe it's because he's running a massive war effort on his own? We're all just taking orders, not giving them. Sen's in charge of a few thousand people."

"Yeah, I think you're worried too much," Whistler said. "Sen doesn't even have time to see a doctor, much less waste time cracking jokes."

Sen's skin was still burnt and scarred by the explosion in Raisu province, as well as a few smaller injuries he had sustained in the meantime. Sen worked to heal his injuries himself whenever he had spare time, but he still refused to rest, or to see a real doctor.

"He should still try and take a break now and then," Ariak said. "To focus so much on war and battle can only have negative effects."

"I'm sure he still has his sense of humor, he just ain't using it," Hanjo said unconvincingly. He shared many of Miyani's doubts.

"I think I know a good way to find out," Miyani said. Sen was wrapping up with the radio and approaching them. Miyani had a slight smirk on her face as she approached.

"This ought to be good," Whistler said, leaning back to enjoy the show.

It didn't take long for Sen to notice the smirk on Miyani's face. He approached slowly, casting a suspicious glare in her direction. Miyani's smile only broadened as Sen got closer.

"Hey Sen, remember back after we all got together, before the whole Coalition thing started? You wanted to do an experiment?"

Sen's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Don't you dare," he said threateningly.

"Please dare," Whistler said, goading her on. This was going to be good. She gripped her staff in anticipation.

"Well, he thought that being so powerful and all, and also such a good study-"

"Miyani, you made a promise," Sen said sternly. He stepped forward, coming closer and closer to Miyani.

"You see, Sen thought that he could mimic-"

"Is this completely necessary, Miyani?" Sen asked. He still had a stern expression on his face, but it had cracked slightly under an uncommon stress.

"Yes," Miyani said. "Now, as I was saying. Sen tried to do a little experiment with Combustion Bending."

Sen sighed and hung his head low, waiting for Miyani to finish. Whistler leaned forward in anticipation.

"It went a little like this," Miynai said.

In a slight puff of fire and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a fart, a comically small burst came from Miyani's forehead, dissipating into the air in a whiff of smoke. She then fell to the ground in a deliberately absurd motion, laughing to herself as she fell.

"And then I had to carry him inside and he stayed unconscious for a whole hour."

Whistler chuckled to herself while the rest stared at Miyani lying on the ground. She got up and collected herself, coughing awkwardly. Sen shook his head and tried to move them all forward.

"Now, if Miyani is finished-"

Miyani nodded with a smile on her face. She seemed satisfied, at least.

"-We have work to do."

Sen gestured for them to follow, and then turned his back. His friends lingered for a while. Hanjo looked to Miyani, who was still brushing dirt off her back.

"So, did that little comedy routine get you the answers you wanted?"

"Yep," Miyani said happily. "He's embarrassed."

"What a productive day," Ada said.

"He's embarrassed because he cares what we think of him," Miyani said, taking on a more serious tone. "I know he's been different lately…but he still cares. That's all I needed to know."

Miyani crossed her arms and moved on, following Sen. Slowly, the rest chose to follow.


	89. Book 5 Ch17: Legacies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following a mysterious message into the heart of enemy territory, Sen is brought face-to-face with a long-lingering mistake from Korra's past, even as his closest friend begins to question Sen's path more and more.

**FIFTEEN YEARS AGO**

The journey to Republic City was an oddly quiet affair. Kalden usually had a great deal to say whenever he was alone with his brother. Lectures, stories to tell, advice to give –he rarely let Sarin sit in silence. This long ride was a marked exception.

Kalden stared in silence at the black shadow that flitted about his feet. The Hssk was a strange and terrifying creature. The elder Energybender had no illusions about its nature. The Mind-Eater was not helping Kalden because it agreed with his cause. The dark spirit had some ulterior motive.

Yet Kalden could not refuse the offer of power it gave. He sighed loudly and turned to Sarin.

"Leadership is a regrettable privilege, brother," Kalden said. "It is easy to lead a group to mediocrity, to accomplish nothing. To push them to greatness is much harder."

Kalden meant to end the chaotic nature of the world forever. It was one of the loftiest efforts that had ever been attempted, and Kalden had few resources to achieve it with. To that end he had been forced to make many regrettable choices.

"You are often called to make sacrifices you do not wish to make," Kalden explained. "Ones that seem to run contrary to your goals."

Kalden turned his aged, weary face to Sarin and shook his head slightly.

"You will often be called to walk through darkness, little brother," Kalden warned. "You must not forget that your goal is the light."

Sarin nodded stiffly, and the silence returned.

***

The roaring engine of the motorcycle made conversation near impossible. Hanjo had attempted to ask questions a few times on their ride, but Sen hadn't been able to hear. As they proceeded through the dusty terrain and rocky cliffs of the Earth Kingdom's barren southern reaches, the engine quieted slightly and Hanjo's voice could be heard.

"Are we almost there?"

"Almost," Sen assured him.

The duo had been summoned to a location deep inside Hua-Long province. A mysterious invitation had summoned them, promising leads on Hua-Long himself, and perhaps through him a link to Sarin. In order to evade detection by Hua-Long's border guards, Sen had eschewed a large troop movement in favor of taking himself and Hanjo through the countryside on motorcycle. Any detection could lead to Sarin retreating, leaving them with nothing but another dead end.

Their course brought them to a complete halt as a cliff-face stretched out before them. Sen stopped the motorcycle quickly and took a break to double-check his map.

Hanjo had many points of conversation he had considered raising, but figured Sen had already thought about them all. Sen would certainly be prepared if it was a trap, and unsurprised to see it be a dead end. Sen was a genius through and through. He would have all his bases covered, without any need for Hanjo's input.

Except, apparently, with the map. They were quite thoroughly lost.

"They really should have given us better directions," Hanjo said. "Though you can't expect much from mysterious letter-sending individuals."

"They said we should meet them under the shadow of Mount Andal," Sen said. He pointed at a peculiarly shaped mountain peak. "That's Mount Andal-"

"-And its shadow."

"Yes, Hanjo, and its shadow," Sen said awkwardly. "But I don't see or feel anyone."

"Maybe it's the time of day," Hanjo theorized. "Shadows change over time. They could just be on the other side of the mountain."

"Worth investigating," Sen said curtly. He stepped forward towards the cliff face and called out a ledge. Hanjo rolled their motorcycle forward as Sen began to slowly lower their ledge down the cliff. It was a long way down, which gave Hanjo some time to get his thoughts out of his system.

"So, say it's not a trap and there's actually somebody helpful over here," Hanjo said. "Why would they want to help us at all?"

"Lots of reasons," Sen said. "Could just be a person who wants to do the right thing. Could be a defector looking to earn himself a pardon by selling out his comrades. Doesn't matter to me very much."

Sen still had his eyes locked on Mount Andal, with his usual intensity. Hanjo rolled his eyes . That was one of the few acts of resentment that Sen couldn't notice with all his fancy extra-sensory abilities. Hanjo had been making liberal use of that fact as Sen became increasingly fixated on finding Sarin.

They reached the bottom of the cliff, and Sen immediately mounted their motorcycle once more. Hanjo barely had time to sit down and grab on before Sen sped off again, kicking up a cloud of dust beneath their wheels. The ground here was dry and rocky, stripped bare of any life other than the occasional scrub brush or desert beast.

The duo cut a speeding line across the dusty terrain, heading for the jagged peak ahead of them. Sen led them across the rugged terrain towards the shadow of the mountain. The sun was still low in the sky, and the shadow of Mount Andal stretched wide across the land. It could be a long search.

Once they were in the midst of the darkened patch of land, Sen stopped the motorcycle and dismounted once again. He took a quick look around the area.

"Still looks like nothing," Hanjo said.

"Could still be the time of day, like you mentioned," Sen added. "Maybe they'll come to meet us later."

"Guess we wait," Hanjo said. Sen was in agreement. He sat down, leaning against their motorcycle for support, and relaxed for a moment. He slightly resented being forced to waste time waiting, but even in his current state he knew that patience was a virtue. He was willing to wait- for now. Their mysterious contact only had so much time.

Rummaging through their supply bags for a moment, Hanjo found a small amount of food and water. He offered the canteen to Sen, who gladly took it, and helped himself to some of the food.

"So, read any good books lately?"

Hanjo and Sen hadn't had a long conversation in some time, and they likely had a few hours to kill. It was as good a time as any to get caught up.

"Not in the real sense, but I've been browsing some old Fire Nation military texts," Sen said. "He may have been a destructive lunatic, But Admiral Zhao had some good ideas about naval troop movements."

"You're joking, right?"

"What would make you think that?"

"You're reading Admiral Zhao's stuff while invading the Earth Kingdom."

"Okay first of all we're not invading the Earth Kingdom, we're attacking people who happen to be in the Earth Kingdom. Secondly, it's purely scholarly interest," Sen corrected. "If I show any signs of wanting to kill airbenders you can go ahead and stop me any time."

"Please, as if we could stop you," Hanjo said.

"The six of you could take me down if you really put your minds to it," Sen assured him.

"And by 'six' you really mean Miyani plus five accessories, right?"

"Eh, me and Miyani one on one could go my way. She'd need you guys for backup to take me out for sure."

"There's a chance she could beat you on her own, though, right?"

"A chance," Sen said. "Under the right circumstances. Miyani's one of very few people who's an actual threat to me."

"Very few, huh? One of them's probably Sarin-"

Sen took on a very sour look, and Hanjo quickly moved on to avoid Sen getting caught up on thoughts of his nemesis.

"Who are the other ones?"

"Suda, maybe, if he really put his mind to it," Sen said. "I'd have to hurt Yoki or Ada to get him serious enough, though."

Hanjo nodded solemnly. Suda's preoccupation with protecting the people he cared about was one of his weaknesses, but also a source of incredible strength.

"There are probably a few people in the White Lotus, too. Master Yakkul would certainly be a challenge. Fire Lord Goto and Moldun, pretty much anyone with lightning –especially the Harrier, the Energybender lieutenant I fought back on Hayao's island."

"Yeah, speaking of powerful, how strong do you think that Hayao guy is?"

"Not at all," Sen said. "He sits on a rock."

"What if he's hiding something?"

"He's hiding a lot of things, but superpowers are not one of them," Sen said. "He's just a wise man on a rock."

"If you say so," Hanjo said. He paused for a moment to eat some of his food. Sen took another sip from the canteen and then placed his hand on the ground. Another of his travelling companions apparently had something to say.

Gun, as always, had tailed his two favorite people across the nation. He always lurked underfoot, tunneling out of sight. He spent most of his time searching for food, but he was always there in a moment whenever Sen needed him.

"Hmm. Gun thinks he found something."

"Well?" Hanjo asked expectantly. "Elaborate. I can't talk to him the way you can."

"Right, sorry. He says there's a lot of tunnels around here. Badgermole sized, but no signs of badgermoles. Just human footprints."

Hanjo chomped down one last bite of food and put it back in the pouch.

"I take it you're thinking what I'm thinking?" Sen asked.

"Yeah," Hanjo said. "When that letter said meet us under the shadow of Mount Andal-"

"-It actually meant under the shadow," Sen concluded.

Sen put his canteen back and slammed his foot down. Gun appeared in a burst of earth and dirt, pausing on the surface slightly to shake off some dust that clung to his brown fur. He soon nodded his broad head towards the open tunnel he had emerged from, which lead a short distance down. Sen jumped into the center of the open pit, using airbending to slow his fall to a gentle landing. Hanjo slid down the edge of the tunnel, kicking up quite a bit of dirt, and making an awkward landing as the slope came to a sudden halt, dropping him gracelessly on the floor.

A spark of fire in Sen's hands provided illumination in the depths of the earth. The tunnel was certainly badgermole-sized, although signs of wear and age showed the tunnel had not been used by the massive creatures in quite some time. The only recent occupants of the underground passage were, as the footprints in the soft earth showed, humans.

"Good work, buddy," Hanjo said. He rubbed the badgermoles cheek slightly as a gesture of appreciation. Gun, for his part, pretended not to enjoy the petting. Sen focused his attention on the tunnel ahead.

"Guess we follow the trail," he said. Hanjo and Gun followed behind as Sen led the way down the tunnel.

Along the way Sen observed deep rivets in the cavern walls. A less intelligent sort might have taken the marks for the badgermole claw marks they were meant to mimic, but Sen could see past the deception. They were too shallow, too evenly spaced, and they were regularly placed along the walls. They were some kind of messaging system, and Sen quickly decoded their meaning.

"We're heading in the right direction," He told Hanjo. The downward claw marks pointed the way towards some kind of center of activity. Whoever they were looking for would no doubt be found there.

Signs of human activity became more and more evident as they got closer to the center. Sen could feel increasingly intense vibrations, and smell the smoke of fires carried through the stale air of the tunnels. He slowed the pace of his group as they cautiously approached. Gun managed to be surprisingly stealthy. Being in the tunnels of his own kind let him move much more gracefully than he could on the surface.

Sen crept forward slowly, getting closer the center. He could hear the vague mumblings of human voices now. He wanted to try and overhear their conversations before he showed himself.

"I don't think they can be right or left-handed," One man said. "They're animals, they walk on all fours."

"Right, but they use their claws for digging kind of like hands, yeah? Do they prefer their right or left paws for that?"

"I think it's more both of them, like this," The other man said. Sen could sense seismic vibrations that told him the man was waving his hands oddly.

"Heck if I know," His partner said with a shrug. "We should ask Old Lady Jinju."

Sen didn't know exactly what kind of conclusion he was supposed to draw from that. He stared blankly at the wall across from him. Clearly eavesdropping was not going to work. It was time to try the direct approach.

Sen turned the corner towards the fire and conversation, his hands clearly displayed so they would know he was not a threat. Gun and Hanjo rushed to catch up as the strangers in the tunnels rushed to take up arms.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a guest, I believe someone here summoned me," Sen said. "Did you all send an invitation recently?"

"I don't know anything about any invitation," One of the men said. He had grabbed a mining implement that he wielded as a makeshift weapon. Every man around him quickly did the same. Sen noticed two things about the motley crew, first being that there were no earthbenders, and second being there were no women or children.

Hanjo was first around the corner, and the armed force ahead tensed up noticeably when he approached. Sen was briefly worried they were about to attack, but then Gun likewise turned a corner. Some raised their weapons in fear, others lowered theirs in reverence.

"That's a badgermole!"

"It's got to be a trick, some decoy from the quarry."

"But look, there's no chains on it," Someone pointed out. "No scars either."

The group stopped paying attention to Sen entirely and started focusing purely on Gun. Sen and Hanjo looked between the poorly-armed militia and the badgermole. Gun did not seem bothered by the additional attention. In fact, he seemed oddly welcoming of the group ahead of him. He was usually hostile to strangers, but the crowd did not bother him in the slightest.

The aimless conversation of the militia came to a halt as someone cut through the crowd from behind. The men parted ways as someone walked through them towards the front of the crowd, towards Gun.

Much to Hanjo's surprise, an old woman stepped forward, dressed in the ragged remains of a once-fine dress. She stepped out of the crowd and looked up to Gun with an awestruck expression of wonder and melancholy on her face. She stepped forward slowly, he hands folded together.

"Oh my," She said in a feeble voice. "I never thought I'd see anyone quite as magnificent as you again."

Gun seemed to enjoy the compliment. The old woman turned to Sen respectfully.

"May I?" She asked, indicating towards Gun.

"Be careful, he can be a bit feisty," Sen said. These people, whoever they were, seemed to have a deep respect for badgermoles. Sen figured it couldn't hurt to indulge the old woman.

"I know, I've seen quite a few in my time," the old woman said knowingly. She stepped forward and held out her hands. Gun was surprisingly receptive to her touch as the old woman ran her fingers through his fur and stroked his massive jaws.

"Yes, I remember your kind," She said reverently. "Warriors, massive and strong, to protect your pack from any threats. My memories not what it used to be, but I think you might just be the biggest I've ever seen."

"Warrior, is that right," Hanjo said. "Definitely sounds like Gun."

"Gun, hmm? That's a fine name."

Gun's long, serpentine tail swayed idly as the old woman brushed his fur. Sen waited for a moment longer and then stepped forward. The gathered militia had lowered their weapons completely, so now was the time to introduce himself.

"Pardon me, ma'am, but someone from your group sent me an invitation," Sen began. The woman nodded in affirmation, though she didn't take her eyes off Gun.

"Yes, they've been arguing about it all week," The woman said. "You can follow me, Avatar."

Those among the crowd who had relaxed tensed up again. For a moment Sen thought he might have fallen into a trap after all, but they went no further than anger. They clenched their makeshift weapons tightly as Sen began to walk past them. A rare few tried to calm their brothers. Sen noticed it was mostly the younger among the group that seemed to support his presence here.

"My name is Jinju," The old woman said as she led them through the tunnels. "The two of you must be Sen and Hanjo. It's an honor to meet you both. We've heard so much."

"Not all of it good, apparently," Hanjo said. He looked briefly towards the scowling faces of the militia around them.

"Don't mind them," Jinju scoffed. "They just have a hard time separating one person from another."

Sen assumed he'd be getting an explanation for that later. At the moment, they were quickly approaching the center of the underground camp. Sen still found no earthbenders in the area, and very few women, most of them elderly or infirm. There were no children as well, of either gender.

The tunnels expanded into a massive, cavernous structure, a nexus of activity in the ancient badgermole tunnels. The expansive cave had been filled with shoddily built homes and barely-used storerooms. Racks of poorly maintained weaponry sat on the shelves all around, though it seemed there were far more weapons than those willing to use them.

Sen walked past one particular rack and took a moment to pause. The rusted helmets sitting on the shelf brought out a pang of memory from a previous life. A solid grey helmet, rusted slightly around the edges, from the uniform of Kuvira's Earth Empire. His eyes turned back to the center of the room.

On a raised platform, three men stood, of varying ages. The youngest, on the left, was an oddity: he was an earthbender. In the middle stood a stern-looking middle aged man, his hair grey around the temples, but otherwise in good shape. The man on the right was the oldest and harshest looking. He reminded Sen of Goto in the hard angles and cruel scowl on his face, and the effect was only enhanced by a broad scar covering his face. The old man's scowl only grew deeper as he saw Sen. The young man, on the other hand, smiled brightly.

"I told you he'd come," the youngest man said.

"Seven decades too late," The oldest man said.

"We've had enough of this argument," The middle man said. "Let's see what the Avatar has to say."

"I'm not entirely sure," Sen said with a shrug. "My invitation was rather vague."

"I sent it," The young man said. "We need your help."

"We needed help a long time ago, and the Avatar was nowhere to be found."

"Would you get over yourself, old man?" The younger said.

"What did I just say?" The middle man demanded harshly. The other two fell silent. The man in the middle stepped forward.

"Let me explain the situation calmly," He said. "I'll start at the beginning."

He sat down in a shoddy chair behind him. The other two followed suit. The middleman introduced himself and then the other two, pointing to each in turn.

"My name is Oren," He said. "The elder man is my father, Dalen, and this is my son, Tien. We lead the group of rebels here in the fight against the Hua-Long family's rule."

Sen nodded. It seemed he had some legitimate allies after all. Depending on Dalen's attitude, of course. The old man seemed to hold a grudge against Korra.

"We've been fighting for a long time," Oren said.

"More than a hundred years now," Dalen said bitterly. "It all started when that snake Hou-Ting came into power."

"The Hua-Long family were her closest allies," Oren continued. "With her on the throne, they started to get away with far more than they ever could under Kuei's reign. They started enslaving us, abducting all our earthbenders and enslaving the native badgermoles to strip mine the land, all our food and resources sold off to line the Hua-Long's pockets."

"Our ancestors tried to rebel, but they never had any success," Tien said guiltily. They were crushed, and the oppression only got worse."

"It was decades of suffering," Dalen said. "Until Kuvira came."

He could still remember the day. It had seemed so bright and hopeful. After years of fighting with picks and rakes, Kuvira came with armor, tanks, zeppelins, and trained metalbenders.

"Kuvira gave us the chance to finally reclaim our lives. We took it," Dalen said. "And then, just a few months later, your Coalition took it away."

"Seeing as the Hua-Longs were the enemies of Kuvira, General Iroh followed the old adage 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'," Oren said. "The Hua-Longs were put back in power, and the rebellion was crushed again."

"I led my wife and a handful of men to the old badgermole caves, and we've tried to survive ever since, freeing the slaves from Hua-Long when we can," Dalen said bitterly. "Hoping that someday we can take back what's ours. Again."

Sen could feel the all-too familiar pang of guilt that echoed across lifetimes. Korra knew they were telling the truth. The Avatar felt a pull from his spiritual side, a desire to speak. He ignored it. Maybe Korra was partially to blame for what happened here, or maybe the rebels just wanted a scapegoat. It hardly mattered to Sen. he was here to find Sarin, not dwell on the problems of the past.

"And that's where you come in," Tien said optimistically. "You were already going to fight Minister Hua-Long. You can help us, and we can finally be free."

Sen put a hand on his chin and smiled. It should have been a positive thing, but Hanjo saw that slight edge of bitter hatred to his smile. This wasn't about freeing the people for Sen. It was about getting to Hua-Long, and one step closer to Sarin.

"I don't see any reason to waste time," Sen said. "When do you want to start?"

"As soon as you can get your armies, we can-"

"I didn't bring an army," Sen said. "And going through couriers like Tien did could take weeks. We'll make do with what we have."

"What we have is a few dozen men and a badgermole," Dalen said, nodding at Gun. "It's a fools errand."

"So we'll get more," Sen said. "You said Minister Hua-Long was abducting your earthbenders and enslaving the badgermoles. So we go to one of his quarries, free them all, and then we have an army."

"We've only ever been able to free one or two at a time," Oren said hesitantly.

"You didn't have an Avatar on your side," Sen said. "Just tell me where to go."

Oren and Dalen looked at each other. Dalen seemed to have reservations about the idea, but they were mostly connected to a distrust of the Avatar. Oren shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll need information," He said awkwardly. "Time to plan. Something on this scale…We'd never even considered it."

"I understand perfectly," Sen said stiffly. "Planning is important. Take your time."

Hanjo could tell he didn't really mean that.

"We'll take care of everything," Oren said. "We already have the scouts in place. We should have everything planned out by tomorrow morning. In the meantime, please make yourselves comfortable."

Oren took a long look at Sen, a clear look of discomfort on his face.

"It's not much, but we do have some medicine, Avatar, it could help-"

"I'm fine," Sen insisted. He was still visibly injured from the many battles he'd fought recently, but he ignored all of his wounds without a care. "Let's just get to work."

Oren and Dalen went off to coordinate their revolution. Sen clenched his fist tightly. He had better things to do than wait on people. Hanjo looked at Sen's frustration worriedly. He'd been acting like this more often lately. Every delay was cause for more and more anger.

Hanjo just hoped they wouldn't delay too long.

***

Sen had found himself a peaceful corner of the tunnels to meditate and rest until the rebels were ready to move. Gun, as he had been for the past few hours, was surrounded by locals, some of whom were seeing a badgermole for the first time in their lives. That left a somewhat bored Hanjo to wander about the tunnels, though not too far for fear of getting lost. He'd already retrieved their supplies from the motorcycle, and now he was out of ideas for ways to entertain himself.

Oren had offered his hospitality to his guests, but Hanjo was hesitant to take it. He took one look at the supplies they had on hand and realized the rebellion had almost nothing in the way of food. There was no way he could feel comfortable taking from those who had so little.

"It's alright, help yourself," Someone behind him said. Hanjo pretended that hadn't caught him off guard and looked over his shoulder. Tien was standing around, his hands folded behind his back awkwardly.

"I know we don't have a lot right now, but you and the Avatar are here now," Tien said. "We shouldn't have to worry about food much longer."

"You're surprisingly confident in us," Hanjo said. "Not that you're wrong, mind you, but it's surprising given the way your grandpa talks."

"Oh, he's just being especially rude because the Avatar's actually here," Tien said dismissively. "He's usually more calm about it. He knows the Coalition was trying to do the right thing, they just messed up."

"Real bad. And we're going to fix it."

"I sure hope so, otherwise I'm going to have to do it," Tien said. It was meant to be a joke, but his nervousness was still apparent.

"You're not really kidding about that, are you?"

"Sort of…" Tien said, trailing off hesitantly. "I mean, my dad and grandpa and the other rebels would do a lot of work, of course. But my granddad keeps telling me that I've got to be an inspiration for people, because I'm the only free earthbender."

Hanjo nodded. That was a lot of pressure to put on one person. Being shoved into a destiny he didn't ask for could drive any young man crazy.

"I wouldn't mind it so much, you know, I really do want to help save my people," Tien said sadly. "I just – I'm no good at earthbending! Everyone I know can't bend, so they don't really help, no matter how hard they try, and I'm not good at experimenting…It's really stressful."

Hanjo looked over at Tien. Tien was deliberately not making eye contact. Hanjo allowed that to continue for a minute, seeing how Tien would let the situation play out. A long moment of awkward silence ensued as Hanjo gradually realized Tien wasn't going to make the first move.

"Okay, so, first lesson in this earthbending training you clearly want to ask for-"

"I wasn't!"

"-Be direct," Hanjo commanded. "You're an earthbender. You take the world head-on. Now, be direct."

After a deep breath and just one more moment of mental preparation, Tien planted his feet.

"Hanjo, I want you to teach me earthbending," He asked.

"Good, first step already out of the way," Hanjo said. He straightened his back and tried to act authoritative. He wasn't entirely sure how to train someone, but he wasn't going to disappoint Tien.

"Alright, a big part of any good bending style is having the right mindset," Hanjo said. "Complete amateurs can be great earthbenders because they have the right mentality. That's how me and Sen got started."

"Okay, yes," Tien said. He was excited to get underway. "What's the right mentality?"

"Well, a lot of people will say that Earthbending is about not moving. About being stubborn and motionless, not letting anything move you."

"Yeah, my grandpa says that," Tien said with a nod.

"Your grandpa's wrong," Hanjo said. Tien seemed a little shocked by that statement. Hanjo squared his shoulders and walked in a circle around Tien. His shoulders dropped slightly as he realized he was about to contradict himself.

"Well, half wrong," he said awkwardly. "Earthbending is about doing what you want. If you want to stay, stay, if you want to move, move. Shape the battlefield the way you want."

"Right, okay, how do I practice that?"

"How do you feel about bacon?"

"What's a bacon?"

Hanjo was quick to demonstrate. He and Sen had packed a great deal of food among their supplies for the journey here, among them a decent supply of breakfast foods. After getting a fire going, Tien was introduced to the wonders of a well-cooked and thoroughly greasy slice of bacon.

"There's a lot more meat in the world than I thought," Tien said.

"That's only the beginning," Hanjo said. "There's a lot of weird stuff out there. I should know. Some of my friends like to try…let's call it, esoteric stuff."

Miyani and Sen's experience with iguanadile meat had given Miyani an enterprising spirit when it came to meat. She was ever eager to find new and exotic animals and then eat them. Sen shared that same desire to an extent, but his obsession with finding and defeating Sarin often precluded any culinary curiosity.

"I'd give almost anything a try at this point," Tien said. His meat supply consisted mostly of small subterranean mammals. Not nearly as satisfying as bacon, for obvious reasons. With that in mind, he reached out for another piece.

The ground underneath Tien pulled him backwards, away from the bacon. Hanjo enjoyed another piece as Tien stared on and attempted to crawl forwards for more. The ground shifted ever further away as Tien came closer, making his efforts futile.

"You want it," Hanjo taunted. "Come get it."

Now that he understood the nature of the challenge, Tien tried that much harder. He got to his feet and dashed forward towards the delicious food. His forward charge was brought to a swift halt by a stone wall which he slammed into and bounced off of. After falling into the dirt gracelessly, Tien righted himself, shook off the dust, and looked at the wall.

"Come get it," Hanjo taunted again. He and the bacon were both hidden behind the stone wall.

Tien took another running start and jumped on top of the wall, attempting to climb over. The wall tilted and pushed Tien back to the ground.

"Not thinking like an earthbender," Hanjo said. "Airbenders go around their problems, not us."

Tien nodded and righted himself again. This time he charged directly at the wall, slamming his shoulder into it firmly. All he accomplished was hurting his shoulder. He struggled and pushed against the wall for a while, trying with all his might to move the stone aside.

"I could use a little more pep-talking," Tien grunted.

"Just focus on moving forward," Hanjo said. "It's not entirely about destroying what's in front of you. It's about you, focus on your own strength and use it to keep yourself going."

Tien stepped backwards and tried again, slamming into the wall once more. It had just as little effect as it had before, which is to say none at all. His hands clenched at the soil. He was not completely incompetent at earthbending, yet he still found himself unable to breach this wall. Hanjo was holding it together from the other side.

"You're not exactly making this easy," Tien shouted.

"Life isn't easy," Hanjo shouted back. "You learn to get through it anyway."

Tien struggled and experimented from the far side of the wall, trying new ways to go about tearing the wall down. Hanjo admired his spirit, if not his effectiveness.

"Think about your grandpa," Hanjo advised. "Think about how long he's lived, how much he's fought, and what he puts up with. Not enough food, not enough men, his only hope one little earthbending kid. But he keeps going."

Hanjo could hear Tien pause for a moment.

"It's never easy. But you survive. Hit the wall, and keep going."

The silence continued for a moment, and then Hanjo heard running footsteps from the other side of the wall. Hanjo nodded approvingly.

The wall broke open in a cloud of dust and shower of rubble. Tien shook off the dust and looked around, bewildered, as if he were actually surprised he had made it. Once he had realized what he'd done, he was actually quite excited.

"Good job, kid," Hanjo said. TIen shouted in triumph and then slumped down in exhaustion.

"Thanks," He said. "Can I have more bacon now?"

"No. You got dirt all over it."

Hanjo held up a pan of bacon that had been absolutely covered in dust from Tien's explosive entry.

"Admittedly I did not think this through," Hanjo said.

***

The bleak and rocky terrain of Hua-Long province was broken by the open maw of the quarry. Several guard towers surveyed the deep pit and the terrain around it. Dalen and Oren's occasional liberation of slaves had not gone unnoticed. The guards were especially vigilant now, and especially around this quarry. According to the rebels, it was both the closest to the capital, and held the largest body of earthbenders.

The bleak and rocky terrain was briefly broken up by the appearance of two heads popping out of the dirt. A grey haired head twisted slightly from side to side before vanishing. The slightly less grey head took a longer look around before disappearing into the earth.

"You know, I always thought my wife was a little too crazy about you animals, but you're pretty useful," Dalen said to Gun. The badgermole did not respond in the slightest.

Thanks to Gun, they had been able to breach the quarries perimeter with absolute ease. That had eliminated one of the major hazards of the assault plan. Now they would maintain the element of surprise.

"I'm going to tunnel around and find out how many slaves and guards are in the quarry," Sen said. "Oren, fill the rest of them in on the plan."

Oren nodded and firmly and turned to his men as Sen and Gun began to tunnel away.

"Alright men, this is going to have to be a lightning-quick operation," Oren said. "As most of you know, some distance outside the quarry there's a camp holding women and children –the families of those working in the quarry."

Hua-Long's guards made sure to keep the innocent bystanders close at hand in the event that the slaves revolted. It was part of the reason Dalen's rebellion had such a hard time finding recruits –they could only ever liberate slaves that had no friends or family. All others were unwilling to risk the safety of their loved ones for their own freedom.

"We're going to have to break out our men in the quarry and make a rush for the holding camps before any harm comes to the civilians," Oren explained. "Our top priority is freeing the slaves. The more men we have on our side, the faster we'll be able to get this done. Every second we waste puts people at risk, so keep that in mind."

The gathered rebels nodded firmly and gripped their weapons tightly. Most of them were entirely unprepared for this situation. For many years the rebellion had been a band of scattered people held together by desperation. The Avatar had turned it into an actual military movement literally overnight.

The other wall of the tunnel broke open, kicking up a small cloud of dust as Sen and Gun returned. He was quick to make his report.

"There's roughly two-hundred civilians in there, most of them earthbenders," Sen said. "Roughly ninety guards spread throughout. I couldn't get a good read on the ones in the towers, but I wouldn't estimate more than one or two soldiers to each of the ten towers. We're looking at between one-hundred to one-hundred and twenty."

"But there's only fifty of us," A nervous rebel shouted.

"Me, Hanjo, and Gun could take all of this on our own if we needed to," Sen said. Dalen gave him a bit of a dirty look.

"Mostly him, though," Hanjo said. Sen nodded.

"You can let us focus on the fighting, and you can take care of freeing the prisoners," Sen advised. "Now, if everyone's ready?"

"I think we could stand to learn a little more," Oren said. "But if you think we're ready-"

"I do. Let's go."

Without giving anyone any time for objections, Sen broke open the earth standing between them and the quarry and dove into the open sky. Hanjo and Tien followed behind him without hesitation. Dalen had enough time to give a grunt of indignation before jumping into the fray, while Oren paused to organize his troops before diving into action.

The moment Sen exited the tunnel, the quarry was thrown into chaos. The guards surged to arms and the prisoners, used to hiding at the first sign of trouble, put their heads down and waited for the chaos to end. They had seen escape attempts before, and it always ended in trouble.

Some heads raised as the sound of piercing screams split the sky, just before armed guards slammed into quarry walls and then rolled down to the ground. Two prisoners looked to one another as an unconscious guard landed between them.

Hanjo stuck to Tien's side as he eagerly joined the fray. He was slightly overconfident, given his one night of training, but with the element of surprise and a rampaging Avatar on his side, Tien would no doubt make it through this fight.

Excited to finally prove himself as a symbol of the revolution, Tien launched a small stone towards the helmet of the nearest guard. It was not a strong impact, but it was enough to knock the guard off his feet and to the ground. Tien pumped his fist in excitement as he saw his first target fall.

Just behind the falling guard, Sen went to work on the others. In a single sweeping blow he sent three of the guards flying. Some attempted to retaliate, and Sen avoided their attacks by leaping upwards onto a nearby stone wall. From there he sprang forward to land in the middle of a group of guards, sending six of them flying with a burst of airbending. Tien froze slightly as his first feat of violence was reduced to a miniscule effort in comparison to the Avatar's rampage.

"Yeah, you get used to it," Hanjo assured him. Nobody could really compare to the Avatar. It was better to just take pride in whatever (comparatively small) accomplishments one could manage.

Though they were taking down one or two compared to Sen's dozens at a time, it was still progress. Every guard they engaged was a guard not fighting the other rebels, or threatening the prisoners that Dalen and Oren were freeing.

The two older men were grabbing whatever they could get their hands on and breaking whatever chains they saw. A very small chunk of the prisoners were willing to fight right off the bat. A token few took up weapons, but most froze in confusion, and some outright cowered in fear.

"This isn't going as well as I expected," Oren admitted. They had been expecting the earthbender slaves to be more willing to fight. They were still vastly outnumbered.

"Maybe we should try giving a rousing speech," Dalen suggested.

"This is no time for sarcasm, dad," Oren shouted back.

"I was serious," Dalen protested. "These people need inspiration."

"Well then get started."

"I'm a cranky old man, I don't inspire anything but-"

Dalen's rant was interrupted by a rumble in the ground. Sen's fight paused briefly. He well recognized that kind of movement.

The ground burst open at the center of the quarry. From the newly formed hole swarmed a small army of badgermoles, their hides scarred and their limbs chained. At the center of the heavily abused pack stood a single human taskmaster, driving them forward with blows from a whip and tugs on their chains.

With a bit more painful goading from their beastmaster, the badgermoles spread outwards across the quarry. Their destruction was indiscriminate as they collapsed walls and shattered scaffolding. Guards and prisoners alike were consumed by their sudden burst of destruction.

A collapse under Orens feet knocked him to the ground, and he was swiftly pulled back to his feet by Dalen. The two steadied each other on the shifting ground, unable to find proper footing. Their attempt at balance was further complicated by the fact that one of the broken badgermoles was coming right at them.

The charge of the abused beast as interrupted by a shoulder check from an animal both more wild and more tame. Gun's broad shoulder slammed into the charging badgermole and pushed it off course, knocking it into a quarry wall.

Gun roared loudly and planted his claws firmly in the ground. The quarry shook as if suffering an earthquake as Gun spoke to his own kind. The rampage of the badgermoles ceased and they turned their blind-eyed heads towards Gun. For a moment, everything paused, but only for a moment. Sen was not here to waste time watching his badgermole shake the ground. He quickly resumed attacking the guards.

As Sen's attacks broke the moment of tension, the beastmaster cracked his whip once again, striking it against the hide of a nearby badgermole. Gun growled loudly and vanished into the earth briefly. He reappeared at the beastmaster's side, and the next time the soldier cracked his whip, Gun caught the leather cord in his jaws. He shook his prey slightly for a moment before tossing whip and wielder both into the air, slamming them hard into the ground.

The soldiers of Hua-Long province had put a great deal of work into "taming" the local badgermoles, but they had long underestimated the spirit of the beasts. These badgermoles had been raised from birth to fear the whip and obey the pull of chains, but it only took one example of defiance to set them over the edge. The earth trembled, and the beastmaster and his whip both vanished beneath the ground into the darkness of the tunnels below.

Under Gun's direction the horde of imprisoned badgermoles turned against their masters, the quarry exploding into clouds of dust and broken stone as badgermoles dove in and out of the earth. As the rampage went on, the terrified prisoners gradually realized that the army of badgermoles was now on their side. That rallied the frightened men to show a little bit of courage.

"Hate to say it, son, but I think that badgermole is more inspiring than you," Dalen said with a nod towards Gun.

"Whatever gets the job done," Oren said stiffly.

The vicious badgermoles carried on their work in the quarry. Sen finally allowed himself a moment to stop fighting and assess the situation. The bestial rampage would probably take care of the action in the quarry. Sen headed for Oren and Dalen.

"No time to waste," Sen said. "We should go free the civilians."

"Right," Dalen said firmly. "Come on boys! The women and children need our help!"

There was a resounding shout of support. Even the slaves that had hesitated to free themselves were eager to free their loved ones.

"We can use the shipping trucks," one helpful former slave pointed out. The newly roused militia marched towards a shed outlying the quarry. Several trucks laden with ore waited in the large shed. They were quickly emptied and repurposed into troop transports for the militia.

A swift sense of camaraderie had been built up between the rebels and the freed slaves. It was almost certainly the initial surge of adrenaline and freedom that filled them with such bravado, but for now what had once been meek slaves were ready to charge headlong into battle. The ironclad convoy rolled down the quarry hillside towards the nearby village, only slightly impeded by the fact that most of the drivers had no idea how to actually drive. For most this was the first time they'd been behind the wheel of a vehicle in their lives.

The stumbling convoy eventually reached their destination. They paused on the border of the town. The roads between buildings weren't wide enough for vehicles anyway. This was an old village, built long before satomobiles had been invented, and never allowed to adapt thanks to the Hua-Long families oppressive control.

Sen was not the first to leave his vehicle and head towards the village, but he was the first to notice something was wrong. He paused and pressed his hand against the ground.

"We're too late," He said to Oren. "There's nobody in these buildings."

"But it's only been a few minutes," Oren said worriedly.

"They can't have gone anywhere, we'd have seen them leaving," Sen said. "No time to wipe out a whole village either. If I had to guess I'd say they're waiting for us at the center of the village."

Oren nodded and signaled the rest of their impromptu army to follow as they proceeded through the empty streets of the village. Hanjo looked around at the squalid surroundings. Most of these buildings were held together with rusty nails and prayers. This was no way for people to live.

The former slaves looked around at empty homes nervously, fearing for their families safety. As they approached the center of the village, Sen made a point of reassuring them. A terrified army was useless.

"I feel a lot of heartbeats," Sen said. "They're gathered in the village square."

Sen's assurances proved true as they reached the center of the dilapidated village. A veritable horde of women and young children huddled fearfully near a long-broken fountain, watched over by a few dozen guards. Oren held his hand out to halt the march of the rebel army. The apparent leader of the Hua-Long guards stared Oren and Dalen down.

"I thought you two learned your lesson when the Captain took the old man's eye," The guard leader taunted. Dalen's one good eye narrowed angrily.

"You can wound a body, but not a spirit," Oren threatened. "Let the hostages go."

The guard, as expected, did not obey. Sen put his hand against the dirt again, feeling out the area around him, seeing where every guard and every civilian was.

"You all get back in your chains," the guard leader ordered. "Then we'll let the hostages go."

"You're outnumbered," Oren retorted. "The only way you get out of this is if you let the hostages go right now!"

Sen closed his eyes and ignored the negotiations. The guards were sporadically placed, aiming to threaten as many of the women and children as possible. That made this more difficult. Luckily they were tense, standing still and unmoving. Motionless targets were easier.

"You all stand down now," The guard said. He looked to a nearby young woman and grabbed her by the wrist. "Or this little lady gets-"

Sen stood up sharply and stepped forward, throwing the guard leader off his cadence slightly. Sen did not have the light of the Avatar in his eyes now, and the guard had no way of knowing just who Sen was, but he paused all the same. Even without the Avatar State, Sen had a naturally powerful figure that demanded both respect and fear.

"You," Sen said, pointing at the guardsman clutching the young woman. "What's your name?"

The guard leader hesitated slightly and looked to his hostage.

"My name is-"

"Is it Amon?" Sen asked. The guard was slightly confused now. Sen continued.

"Is it Ozai? Is your name Kuvira, or Zaheer? Or is it Sarin?"

Sen took a few steps forward. The guard grew visibly more nervous.

"Can you fly? Can you bloodbend? Are you a combustion bender?"

Now Sen let the light in his eyes shine. The scouring light caused the guard to flinch, releasing the girl, who likewise collapsed in fear of the Avatar's sudden show of power.

"Because all those monsters, with all their power, still couldn't beat me," Sen thundered. "If you aren't them, what chance to do you think you have?"

Sen continued to walk forward until he was nearly face to face with the offending guard. He withered quickly under the Avatar's burning gaze.

"Drop your weapons. Surrender."

For several years after this incident there would be a persistent rumor that the Avatar was capable of mind-control, because every guard in the square simultaneously dropped their weapons and fell to their knees.

The light in Sen's eyes flickered slightly before fading entirely. Sen rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. As the guards surrendered unanimously, long-separated families rushed to reunite, crying tears of joy and clinging together so tightly one might think they would never let go.

"Good work, Avatar," Oren said.

"You need to practice negotiating," Sen said harshly. "Tense situations make people act on fear, not common sense. Appeal to emotion, not logic."

"I…see," Oren said hesitantly. Hanjo shook his head from the sidelines.

"Dalen, get the people organized, find out who's willing to head to the capital," Sen demanded.

"The capitals a long way off, Avatar," Dalen retorted.

"Actually it's about a day and a half of driving. We could be there tomorrow if we wanted."

"You can't seriously mean to make a straight run for the capital?" Oren said incredulously.

"Well, that depends," Sen said. He suddenly turned to one of the surrendering guards. "You!"

The guard jumped visibly as Sen called for his attention.

"When does the next shipment go to the capital?"

"In three days!"

Sen nodded and turned back to Oren and Dalen.

"Then we'll go in three days."

"That's still quite fast," Oren said.

"We took the quarry in less than an hour," Sen said. "With three days to prepare we can liberate at least two more camps of slaves and get them decently trained to fight. It'll work."

"I might have thought you were an idiot, yesterday," Dalen said. "But not today. Let's give it a shot, son."

Oren looked around at the reunited families, at the Avatar, and then west towards the capital. He shook his head.

"I think we should be focused on liberating the people first," Oren said. "Defeating Hua-Long can come once we've assured the safety of our people."

"It's a waste of time," Sen retorted. "Hua-Long's the sole authority in this province, he has no heirs and a miniscule chain of command. Take him out, and all his tyranny falls apart.

"The Avatar is right," Tien added. "We'll only have the element of surprise for a few days. If we liberate people quarry by quarry eventually they'll catch on and start defending the slaves more heavily. If we take out Hua-Long now we'll put his forces in chaos."

"I'm leaning more towards the young 'n's," Dalen said. "Hua-Long city controls the supply lines and the media. We control those, our revolution's going to have a much easier time."

"I suppose you're all right," Oren said with a sigh. "We'll start planning for an attack on the capital."

The group nodded in affirmation and parted ways. Oren began to interrogate guards for info on the capital, Dalen left to oversee their new recruits, and Tien followed behind as Hanjo strolled around the village. The Avatar made a beeline for a surprisingly well put together building among the shoddy village. Hanjo watched him walk through the door.

"I was thinking I could use another earthbending lesson," Tien said. "Now that I'm not the only free earthbender, I should probably be the best, right?"

"Not right now," Hanjo said absentmindedly. "I have to talk to the Avatar for a minute."

Hanjo walked off and followed Sen into the darkened building. The rows of weapons and armor on the shelves showed it was some kind of guard barracks. The rebellion could use this kind of hardware, but it was untouched. Hanjo followed the sound of shuffling papers deeper into the building.

He found Sen sitting at a desk, digging through various documents. He had a look of intensity on his face that could only mean one thing.

"You're looking for Sarin, aren't you?"

"Hua-Long is his main source of money and supplies," Sen said. He did not look up from his papers. "There should be some kind of trail to find here. Metal shipments to his helicopter factory, financial records leading to certain bases, something."

Hanjo stepped forward and slammed a hand down on the desk, interrupting Sen's search.

"Do you even care about these people at all?"

Sen paused slightly and looked at the papers Hanjo had pinned under his hand, and then up at Hanjo himself.

"Of course I care," Sen said unconvincingly. "I just care much more about finding Sarin."

Sen put his handful of papers down and stood up to look Hanjo in the eyes. There had been a time when the two of them were practically mirror images, but that was long gone. Sen towered over Hanjo now, standing taller and stronger. The lenses of Sen's glasses caught the light and the reflection obscured his eyes as he stared Hanjo down.

"In case you've forgotten, Sarin's the one who kidnapped you and held you prisoner for two years," Sen said.

"I remember."

"He's the one who destroyed Shen's Post just because I stopped there for three hours. Who sent assassins to kill me in the Fire Nation and Spirit World. Sarin's the man who unleashed an army of bloodbenders on the world, the one who attacked Zaofu unprovoked, the one who tried to kill Ada!"

"I know!"

"Then why do you act like I'm the villain for trying to stop him?" Sen demanded. "Everything I do, I do to stop Sarin! Of course sometimes that means ignoring other problems."

"Does it mean ignoring every problem?" Hanjo retaliated. "You said it yourself, Sen. Everything you do, you do to stop Sarin. Everything. It's not about saving anyone, it's not about bringing balance, it's about how much you hate Sarin!"

Sen crossed his arms and stepped back.

"Defeating Sarin will save lives, and it will bring balance," He said defensively. "Any anger I feel is because of how he threatens the world. And the people I care about."

The two stared at each other in silence. Hanjo was the first to break eye contact, shaking his head in disgust. Sen looked at the desk full of papers.

"It's not as if I was going to leave if I found a trail to Sarin," Sen said apologetically. "We will see this through. We're just going to do it as efficiently as possible."

"I get it," Hanjo said stiffly. The greater good wasn't a numbers game. But if Sen could liberate Hua-Long province, and do it quickly, Hanjo supposed that was alright. Freedom was still freedom for the enslaved people. They wouldn't care much if their liberator moved on to other problems right away.

"I'm going outside," Hanjo said. Sen nodded and Hanjo left without another word. He needed to find someone, and he did so quickly.

"Ready for a lesson, Tien?"

The young earthbender jumped to his feet, eager to learn. In his current state, Sen might bring these people freedom, but he certainly wasn't going to give them hope. Hanjo would have to make that himself.

***

Three days later, a caravan of trucks pulled up to the western gate of Hua-Long provinces capital city. As home to Hua-Long and all of his wealthy cronies, the large city was spectacularly opulent. In a dark mirror of Ba Sing Se, the city had a broad wall surrounding it. This wall was no defense, however; the barred gates and spiked palisades marked it clearly as a prison wall, meant to control and contain those within and without. The trucks approached the wall in a slow procession.

Suspiciously large piles of rubble sat in the bed of every truck. The guards driving the vehicles eyed the stones behind them nervously. The Avatar had given these guards a chance at mercy if they played a role in his plans. In a classic gambit, the rebel army laid in wait under a layer of stones, ready to jump out as soon as they were past the city gates.

Classic gambits relied on classic circumstances, however, and the radio had not been around when this ploy had first been invented. A secret radio message to the waiting city guard had clued the capital guard into the entire scheme. A massive host of guards, nearly half the cities standing roster, waited behind the gate.

A tall, skinny man with a narrow moustache waited inside the gates. The trucks paused in a large unloading area, under the watchful eye of hundreds of guards. Those driving the trucks exited the vehicles and quickly put a large amount of distance between themselves and the trucks.

"Is everything in place?"

"Yes sir," The truck driver said. Then he took cover.

A large mining explosive was ignited and launched into the center of the formation of trucks. Hua-Long guards dove behind walls as the device detonated, filling the air with fire.

After a suitably long wait to allow the ash to settle, the guards stepped out to examine the carnage. As servants of Hua-Long they had often been witness to, or participants in, acts of extreme violence, but what they saw here was a surprise even to them. Because what they saw was absolutely nothing.

"Weren't there supposed to be people hiding in those rocks?" The mustachioed guard asked.

"There were," The driver said, clearly confused. "It was their whole plan, they told us everything."

A watchman from a nearby radio tower slammed open the door at that moment.

"Badgermoles at the palace," The guard said in a panic. "They tunneled under the walls!"

The driver swore under his breath. They'd been duped.

While the guards had been baited into gathering miles away at the wall, the rebellion had taken its badgermoles directly under the city and to the palace itself. The courtyard burst into dozens of tunnels as former slaves, human and badgermole alike, rushed out of the ground in a swarm.

Chaos reigned in the palace until Oren found his way to the top of a large pillar, waving his weapon and shouting to rally the horde.

"Control the gates," He shouted. "If we don't control the walls we'll be surrounded!"

Once more mirroring Ba Sing Se, Hua-Long private palace had a large wall around it. If the rebels seized control of the gates in the wall, they would have a fighting chance at defeating Hua-Long and his personal guard. Failing to control that wall, however, would lead to them being surrounded.

At his call, the rebels rushed to seize control over all the gates. The side gates were contested fairly easily, but the main gate presented a problem in the form of the Captain of the Guard.

"I should have taken both your eyes, old man," The heavily armored guardsman shouted. He swung a massive metal axe threateningly. The Captain and his metalbender guard, Hua-Long's most elite soldiers, controlled the main gate.

"Being blind wouldn't stop me," Dalen shouted back. "Doesn't seem to bother them much!"

At Dalen's cue the badgermoles began to charge the Main Gate. Some of the metalbender guard fell, but the Captain stood strong. He swung his axe into the side of a badgermole, knocking it away and frightening the beasts into a temporary retreat.

"Come on, Hanjo," Sen beckoned. "We're going after Hua-Long."

"But the gates," Hanjo said. The rebellion still ran the risk of being boxed in.

"I can move faster than the city guard can," Sen said. "We'll have Hua-Long captured before anyone gets hurt."

A sharp scream punctuated the fact that someone had already gotten hurt. The Captain had gone on the offensive. His vicious axe was seeking its foes with deadly precision.

Sen disregarded the violence around them and headed for the palace interior. Hanjo looked back and forth between the chaos and Sen for a moment, unable to make up his mind. Helping the rebels was supposed to be the obvious choice, but he had the uncanny feeling Sen was going to do something he shouldn't.

Mentally flipping a coin, Hanjo decided to help the rebels. Sen might do something stupid, but not harmful. The Captain was a more lethal and immediate concern.

As Hanjo arrived the battle seemed to have found itself in a stalemate. The Captain was circling, flaring his axe threateningly. Tien stood his ground, fists aimed straight at the Captain, ready to strike. A few rebel earthbenders stood ready to back him up. With only a few days combat training, they were hardly prepared to take on a metalbending master.

Hanjo made up the difference with a swift boulder aimed for the head. Cranial trauma had a way of weakening even the best benders. To Hanjo's surprise, however, the Captain ducked and retaliated in kind. Hanjo avoided the blow from an airborne blade of metal, but the Captain was quick to rearm and ready himself for another strike.

"I thought you'd be with the Avatar," Tien said. He launched a quick volley of stones at the Captain and took a step back.

"You needed my help more," Hanjo said.

"Much appreciated, but-" Tien paused slightly to sidestep the Captain's retaliation. "We've got to take this part on our own."

"Not really," Hanjo said.

"We do, Hanjo," Tien continued. "This rebellion doesn't mean anything if you and the Avatar hand us every victory. We've got to fight and win on our own."

Hanjo bit his lip. That explained his feeling of unease about Sen. The Avatar was going to waltz into the palace and claim a victory that people like Dalen had been working towards for decades. It may still leave them with a free province, but it was an important ideological victory. Having an ideological victory, was however, slightly less important than making sure they were all alive to see.

"Tien, you've got a few hours of training under your belt," Hanjo said. "You can't take this guy on alone."

To emphasize his point, the Captain swung his axe again, crushing the earth below it and nearly bisecting a frightened rebel.

"You said great earthbenders just have the right mentality," Tien said. "Well my mentality is that I can beat him, so I can. Just trust me."

Tien looked to Hanjo for a second and gave him a confident nod. There was a courageous spark in Tien's eyes that made Hanjo believe every word he said. Hanjo nodded back and gave Tien a solid pat on the back.

"Remember your training," Hanjo said. With that last piece of advice, Hanjo ran off after the Avatar. Tien looked back at the massive Captain and was filled with a very small sense of regret. It was a very big axe, after all.

Big axe or small axe, Tien knew he had to defeat the Captain. His whole life had been leading up to a moment like this.

With thoughts of his family, his people, and his entire province filling his head, Tien charged forward. The Captain raised his axe high, and TIen prepared to dodge. As the mighty weapon fell, Tien stepped aside and readied a weapon of his own. A large stone was a far less terrifying weapon than a giant axe, but it could get the job done.

The stone crashed against the Captains armor and knocked him aside, but only slightly. He held his ground and raised his axe again. Tien did not have much in the way of schooling, but he knew that something that heavy held so high could put its wielder off balance. Tien quickly raised another stone and launched it at the Captains ankles.

Like a true earthbender, though, the Captain would not be so easily moved. The axe wobbled unsteadily, but still fell. Tien moved away, but this rather than pulling the blade back up for another heavy strike, the captain swung it to the side, smacking the flat edge against Tien's arm. Tien was bounced backwards by the heavy blow, landing awkwardly on the ground.

The Captain moved to close the distance between himself and his prey, but a blow from behind gave him pause. Dalen stood behind his old enemy, wielding a heavy club.

"Don't you lay a hand on my grandson," Dalen shouted. He raised the club again, only to have the Captain swat it aside. The mighty axe rose once more, this time swinging for Dalen, but never found its mark. A swift-flying boulder knocked it off course.

"Don't you lay a hand on my grandpa," Tien echoed. Dalen chuckled and swung his club into the Captain's gut, but the armor absorbed most of the blow. The Captain kicked out, sending Dalen flying back. He was saved from a dangerous landing by Oren, who caught him just before he hit the ground. Oren set his father standing upright and then shouldered a large spear he'd snatched from a fallen guard.

"I'm not much of a warrior myself," He said meekly. "But I'll fight against your kind to the end."

"How very saccharine of you all," The Captain taunted. "I shall feel slightly more regret when you're all dead."

His axe swung in a broad arc towards Dalen and Oren, who jumped back. Tien was quick to strike out. His family, bold as they were, were no match for the Captain and his metalbending. Tien was the only one who stood a real chance.

The battle dragged on, Tien barely managing to stay abreast of the Captain's swings as he fought. With every blow that landed to no effect, Tien got more and more frustrated.

Remember your training, he repeated to himself, remember your training. Don't move when you don't want to move, move when you want to move. An earthbender shapes the battlefield the way they want to.

That was an idea. Shape the battlefield.

Tien slammed his foot down. The Captain guarded himself against a strike that never came. Instead, the ground around him rose up in rocky pillars and uneven lumps. As the shifting earth quickly settled, Tien rushed through the new forest of pillars. The captain raised his axe and swung.

The heavy blade caught one of the pillars and though it quickly crushed the pillar, the axe swung that much slower for the impact. Before the blow ever reached him Tien had struck the Captains chest with a boulder and moved out of harms way.

As the duel continued the Captain made sure to only use overhead strikes. They were still potentially lethal, but as Tien now only had to worry about one specific kind of swing, they were that much easier to dodge. Now less concerned about his defense, Tien focused on his offense.

The armor of the Captain was not indestructible, but it was far more durable than anything Tien had fought as of yet. His various strikes bounced off the armor almost completely harmlessly. Tien poked and prodded the armor for weak points or areas of stress, but found none.

"It's not about destroying what's in front of you," he recalled. "It's about you."

Hanjo's words echoed in his ears. It didn't matter how hard the Captain's armor could get hit. It was about how hard TIen could hit it.

He called up a stone and rather than letting it fly immediately, Tien grabbed it in his hands. He held it tight, feeling out every inch of it, feeling the connection he had to it. He closed his eyes and focused on the way his chi naturally flowed into the earth.

The Captain seized on this moment of pause to raise his axe again. Tien opened his eyes and glared at the Captain for but a moment. He then let the stone fly.

The air whistled for a moment as the stone flew like an arrow towards its mark. Though small, it hit with all the force of a massive hammer, striking the Captain's chestplate hard enough to knock him off his feet. The mighty axe fell unsteadily from his grip as he was put off balance and thrown backwards.

Tien planted his feet firmly and called up another stone, letting it fly rapidly towards the Captain. This one struck his gut, knocking him further backwards. The nest stone struck his feet, forcing him to his knees. Then a final climactic blow struck his head, knocking him to the ground.

The fallen axe thudded heavily into the ground as its master fell. The crowd of rebels cheered loudly as he fell to the ground. Tien stopped, breathing heavily, and stared at the Captain's unconscious form. For some reason, all he could think about was bacon.

His reverie on pork products was brought to an end by a firm hand on his shoulder. Dalen gripped his grandson tightly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Now that's the kind of payback that eye-taking twit deserved," Dalen said. "Good work, boy."

"Excellent work, Tien," Oren said. He likewise put a hand on Tien's shoulder. "I always knew you'd grow up to be the hero we needed."

"Ahem, yes, right," Tien said. He was actually somewhat uncomfortable with all this attention. Being a hero was slightly awkward. "We should catch up with the Avatar, see about Hua-Long now."

Hanjo had only barely caught up with the Avatar himself. Though Hanjo possessed no seismic sense to trace the Avatar's footsteps, it was easy enough to follow Sen. He was leaving a trail of unconscious bodies behind him.

Hanjo finally caught up to Sen in a long hallway. Ornate paintings of the Hua-Long dynasties long line of tyrants lined the halls, as did an increasingly long line of brutalized guardsmen. As Hanjo watched, Sen felled the last of them with a hammering blow of a boulder, sending the unfortunate guard crashing into a nearby wall hard enough to splinter the wooden frame he impacted.

Sen took a few steps away before he heard a quiet groan from an injured guard behind him. Swiftly he spun, sending another disc of earth flying through the air at lightning speeds. The stone cracked loudly against the pained soldiers face, silencing him quite decisively. Sen turned back to his mission, but hesitated, clutching his head as if he were in pain. When Hanjo caught up to him, the light of the Avatar State had left his eyes.

"Sen, wait, hold up," Hanjo pleaded. "We should wait on the rebels."

"I hardly think I need reinforcements," Sen grunted. There was a long trail of vanquished enemies that could attest to that.

"It's not about that," Hanjo said. "It's just, Dalen –Oren and Tien, even, all of them, they've been fighting their entire lives for this. I know we –you- have done a lot of the work, but those guys, they deserve to be the ones to take Hua-Long down. It's their war, Sen. It should be their victory."

Sen raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the long walls of Hua-Long tyrants.

"No."

"What?"

"No," Sen repeated. He turned and started walking down the hall again. "It's a good sentiment, Hanjo, but victory is the important part. They'll be free whether they come to Hua-Long or I drag him to them."

"Sen, this is their life's work," Hanjo protested. "Imagine how it will feel for them-"

"I could care less about their feelings," Sen shouted. "I let Ariak put his emotions before his mission, and he let Kida escape! I am not wasting any more time or missing any more opportunities!"

The Avatar stormed down the halls towards the Hua-Long throne room. Hanjo was quick on his heels, arguing all the while, but Sen was not interested in any further debate. After a few frustrating attempts at an argument, Hanjo stopped Sen by grabbing his arm and holding him in place forcibly. Sen whipped his head back to look at Hanjo as if he was deeply offended by the slight touch.

"How would you feel if someone beat you to Sarin?" Hanjo asked. Sen shook his head slightly.

"I wouldn't care," Sen said without hesitation. "It doesn't matter to me how it happens, as long as Sarin-"

Sen paused suddenly as he sensed footsteps not far away. Footsteps in hostile territory usually meant trouble. He pulled his hand out of Hanjo's grip and readied himself for a strike.

He tensed up in a mere moment, and then relaxed as he recognized who was approaching. Tien, Dalen and Oren rounded the corner quickly, clearly exhausted from their attempts to catch up to the Avatar. Hanjo gave Sen a knowing look, and Sen sighed reluctantly and shrugged his shoulders. If they were already here, he might as well let them take the lead.

"Oh, good," Dalen gasped. "We caught you. I was worried you'd have at the fat one without me."

"No," Hanjo said stiffly. He cast an accusatory glare at Sen. "We wouldn't dream of taking your life's work from you."

"Come on," Sen said, ignoring the jab. "He could be escaping for all we know. We shouldn't waste time."

Luckily they were already most of the way to the throne room. Sen led them towards the center of the palace. As they grew closer, his pace quickened, and the other four struggled to keep up.

"I don't feel any heartbeats," Sen growled. The throne room was deathly quiet, apparently empty of life. Sen charged forward and slammed the doors open to see if Hua-Long had escaped.

The corpulent form of the tyrant minister Hua-Long still sat in his throne, unmoving as the door shot open with a thunderous slam. Dalen breathed a sigh of relief to see their target was still awaiting them. Sen's eyes narrowed. He still didn't feel heartbeats.

Oren looked around the room for guards and found none. Hesitantly he stepped forward, at first uncertain, but then he squared his shoulders and pointed an accusing finger at Minister Hua-Long.

"Your tyranny ends now, Hua-Long!"

Dalen nodded approvingly. It was a fine start to a speech. Sen examined the throne room further. It was possible Hua-Long's throne was made of wood that blocked his heartbeat. He looked for further information.

"You've enslaved us, imprisoned us, tortured us, but you have never broken the spirit of the people," Oren continued. He stepped forwards towards Hua-Long, who stared lazily at him. "We've endured, and we've grown strong! Strong enough to overthrow you once and for all!"

While the others stopped to admire Oren's speechcraft, Sen looked into Hua-Long's blankly staring eyes. After just a brief moment of examination, Sen rolled his eyes and sighed quietly.

"Your days of abusing this land and its people are over," Oren threatened. Sen stepped forward. "From now on this province belongs to-"

"I can't believe this," Sen interrupted. He stepped forward further, walking towards Hua-Long while rubbing his temples.

"Sen, seriously?" Hanjo asked. He had completely ruined the moment.

"Yes yes, I know, it was a lovely speech, Oren, very good," Sen said. He was visibly angry now, as he got closer and closer to Hua-Long's throne. "I'm sure our friend here would be terrified, except for one small thing."

Sen stopped by Hua-Long's side and examined him for a second. He then poked Hua-Long in the temple, causing his head to roll lazily onto his opposite shoulder. Sen turned to look at his allies as Hua-Long shifted to the side.

"He's dead."

Tien covered his mouth in shock as Dalen and Oren scowled. A complete and utter lack of motion from Hua-Long's body revealed Sen to be telling the truth. Sen put his hands on his hips and examined the body more closely.

"Has been for about a week, from the looks of things," Sen said. Dalen growled.

"A week? We've spent this entire week rebelling against a dead guy?"

"Now, now, dad, we did seize the capital and free all those slaves," Oren said calmingly.

"Boy am I glad we came here right away," Tien said. "We would've felt really stupid coming here a month from now."

"How'd he go, anyway?" Hanjo asked.

"Can't tell," Sen said. "Guy in his condition, could've been a lot of things. Heart problems, most likely."

Oren paused and looked around the throne room. He nodded to himself.

"Well, regardless of the circumstances, Hua-Long is still out of the picture," Oren said. "I need to go spread the word. This should bring an end to the fighting."

Oren went to spread the news of Hua-Long's defeat while Tien and Hanjo shared a brief moment.

"So, you're alive and you've got all your limbs," Hanj observed. "You must've done a decent job against that Captain guy."

"All because of your training, of course," Tien said.

"Not at all," Hanjo said. "Like I told you, it's all about mentality. The best master can't make anything out of a bad student. You keep it up, Tien, and one day you'll be an amazing earthbender."

"That day is today," Tien said confidently. "You should've seen me in the courtyard, I was incredible!"

Tien started proudly demonstrating some of his incredible moves to a highly amused Hanjo. While those two indulged themselves in their shenanigans, Dalen approached Sen.

"Avatar, listen," Dalen said, almost, but not quite, apologetically. "I'm still convinced this is half your fault, and you don't get a thank you for cleaning up your own mess-"

Sen glared at Dalen quite harshly. Dalen got to the point.

"But we're square," Dalen said, holding out his hand. "You did good work, and I'm grateful for all you did."

"I was glad to help," Sen said. He took Dalen's hand and shook it firmly. The two quickly released one another. There was a certain warmth in Sen's heart he couldn't quite place. Probably Korra, satisfied that her assumed wrongs had been made right. Sen continued on.

"I've got my own war to fight now, and I can't say how long it'll take me," Sen continued. "But when I'm done, I want you to know- whenever you need me, I'll be here. I know the Avatar's failed you in the past, but I'll do what I can to make it right."

"I might take you up on that offer," Dalen said with a smile. He looked sidelong at Hanjo and Tien, and that smile turned to a frown.

"And, uhh, about that war of yours," Dalen said. "Take an old man's advice. Do it quick, and be done with it. Being like me, a whole lifetime at war, is no way to live."

"Oh believe me," Sen growled. "I intend to make it quick."

There was a terrifying echo of rage in Sen's voice that made Dalen quite certain it would be quick indeed. Quick and merciless.

"Hanjo!" Sen shouted. "Come with me. Hua-Long might be a literal dead end, but he has to have some documents that point us in the right direction."

Tien and Hanjo bid each other a hasty goodbye, and a promise to see one another again soon, and then Hanjo quickly fell into step with the Avatar. He tagged along as Sen searched the palace for some kind of office or records room.

"This whole thing with Hua-Long being dead before we got here," Hanjo said idly. "It's kind of weird, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Sen agreed. "Something feels off about this whole place. My ears are ringing."

It was no coincidence that Sen's ears rang. The hall still echoed with the sounds of a harsh howling.

**ONE WEEK AGO**

"I hope I don't impose, Minister," Sarin said. It was odd for him to be so formal, but Sensheng insisted they keep Minister Hua-Long on their good side. It was a miracle he'd stuck with them for so long, given the circumstances.

"Nonsense," The corpulent minister blubbered. "I'd rather have you show up than one of your filthy errand boys."

"My presence here is a gesture of appreciation for your loyalty," Sarin said. "I worried it might seem rude to ask for more materials without so much as a thank you."

Their Engineer had recently designed an upgrade to their helicopters, and Sarin would need the raw materials from Hua-Long's mines to build the new airships. Sarin had originally planned to merely requisition the needed materials, but Sensheng insisted on formality to keep their alliance strong.

"You'll have as much as you need," Minister Hua-Long said. "Slave labor only gets you so far with money. I am an investor, Sarin, and I have made an investment in you."

The bloated Hua-Long pointed a sausage-like finger at Sarin. He resisted the urge to sneer in disgust at Hua-Long's blubbery appendages. He had always hated Hua-Long, and many others, for their disgusting appearances. Kalden had always taught Sarin that those who could not take care of their bodies could not take care of their souls.

"I intend to see it through to the end," Hua-Long said. "Expecting a return on my investment when all is done, naturally. The new Earth King would be suitable, I think."

"There will be no kings when my work is done," Sarin said flatly. Hua-Long laughed.

"Come, Sarin, you need have no pretenses with me," Hua-Long chided.

"I have a mission, Hua-Long, a destiny," Sarin said. "I will create a world without a need for kings, a world without chaos or order."

"Please, Sarin, I know better," Hua-Long laughed. "Men who want peace do not profit off slaves or sick bloodbenders on their enemies."

Sarins grey-ringed eyes narrowed. Hua-Long continued to laugh, with every chuckle sending a visible ripple through his fattened flesh. His throne trembled unsteadily under the sudden shifts of weight.

"Tell me, is it some vendetta you have against the Avatar personally, or is it for your own power? A man like you could be an emperor of the world."

Hua-Long continued to laugh, and the sound of it grated in Sarin's ears. He growled lightly under his breath.

"I would seek the same if I had your kind of power," Hua-Long continued. "You and I are much the same, Sarin."

Sarin planted his palm firmly on Hua-Long's chest.

"We are nothing alike."

The halls of the capital rang with furious howling.


	90. Book 5 Ch18: Nameless Renegade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a penultimate step to secure victory over the Energybender, Sen tasks Whistler and three renegade airbenders with a dangerous mission to retrieve the architect of Sarin's flying machine.

**SEVEN YEARS AGO**

The streets of Republic City paid little heed to the two men walking down the road. To the innocent bystander they appeared to be nothing more than an old grandfather walking a grandson down the sidewalk. Few would have guessed they were brothers, their births separated by just short of a decade.

The duo enjoyed their incognito walk to a seemingly innocuous street corner. A small group of men had been waiting there for several hours. Kalden had trusted only his best to escort them through the Spirit World.

"Kalden," A handsome young man said. A necklace of bird skulls clattered slightly as he turned to greet his master. He nodded towards Sarin.

"I assume this is your brother?"

"You are correct," Kalden said. "Sarin, this is the Harrier. I have spoken of him before."

Sarin nodded. Kalden had often spoken of the men he trusted the most. The Harrier was far and away one of his favorite followers, though many vied for the same position. A few such men likewise lingered by the street corner.

"Lock, keep an eye on the road ahead of us," Kalden commanded. A large, bearded man nodded and set out down the street. He kept a length of coiled chain concealed beneath a heavy coat. His trademark weapon was not so inconspicuous as Harrier's necklace.

"And you," Kalden said, turning to a figure lurking deep in the shadows of a nearby alley. "Make us unseen."

The figure in the back alleys shifted wordlessly. From the cities canals and beaches, a slow chill began to rise, filling what had been a pleasant sunny day with grim, chilling shadows. It took some time, but the fog began to rise and spread throughout the city streets. Harrier nodded forwards and led them through the fog-laden streets. Sarin looked over his shoulder as the grey silhouette of their mysterious follower haunted them through the fog.

"You haven't told me about that one," Sarin said.

"They don't appreciate being made to leave the Spirit World," Kalden said. The Fogbender had made a home for itself in the other world, and mastered an art few would consider as possible, much less be able to practice. Kalden was lucky to have recruited them.

"What's their name?"

"If you must address them, call them the Fogbender," Kalden advised. The strange bender wore a mask for a reason.

"Harrier, Lock, Fogbender," Sarin listed out, frustrated. "Do we work with anyone who actually has a name?"

The Harrier and Kalden shared a glance. At a subtle command from Kalden, the Harrier advanced a few steps to allow Sarin and Kalden to speak more privately.

"We walk a dangerous path, Sarin," Kalden explained. "Everyone who chooses to follow us takes on a great risk, and they naturally seek ways to lessen that risk. Taking on a false name, a false identity, creates a sense of separation, a way to dissociate themselves from risk."

Sarin nodded. Kalden continued on, offering a further explanation.

"I recruited these men personally. I trust them, they trust me, and that mutual respect we share makes them feel safer around me," Kalden said. "I know their names. When the time comes, and you have proven yourself as a leader, they will come to trust you as well."

Kalden noticed that Sarin lagged behind. He gave his brother an impatient tap on the shoulder to get him up to speed, and they continued onwards towards the Spirit World.

***

It had been several hours since Whistler had woken up, and she was still not quite awake. She had grown quite accustomed to sleeping on her schedule, and any interruption to that schedule was not easily handled. Had there been a fight, it might have been enough to get her adrenaline pumping and wake her up, but at the moment she was just being escorted to a meeting.

This interruption to her routine might have made her incredibly angry under different circumstances. Even good friends like Miyani risked a solid whack to the head when waking Whistler up. The only reason the unfortunate messenger who had roused Whistler from her slumber had gotten off without physical violence was the source of the message he carried. It was a summons from Sen, and it was urgent.

The Avatar did not make social calls, nor did he make any decisions lightly. If he was calling Whistler, he absolutely needed Whistler, and it was for something important. The war was on its downward slope now, and every move brought them closer to victory. It was entirely possible whatever mission Whistler was being summoned for could be the decisive moment of their war.

The vehicle ground to a halt and Whistler groggily stepped out. She recognized the city of Xian, though the activity in the streets was much different these days. The hustle and bustle of their early war efforts was gone. Sen's grim energy had overtaken the Coalition from top to bottom. Xian ran rigid and regular as a machine now. Whistler didn't much like the new atmosphere, but she kept her mouth shut about it.

Whistler was a disruption to the system, which she was a bit used to, but it was for vastly different reasons when it came to the Coalition. People here only partially avoided here because of her abrasive nature. The soldiers here actually had some kind of odd respect for her. They parted ways and bowed or saluted as she passed as if she was actually in charge of them. Whistler scowled and kept moving.

The rigid structure of Xian grew less and less active as Whistler approached the center of the city. Once upon a time the central command building had been swarming with activity, but that had faded with time as the nature of the war had changed. He was no longer fighting a war on ten fronts at once, tracking down dozens of bases and reacting to potential threats. Now his sole focus, his sole purpose, was finding Sarin.

The office of the Avatar was thick with a harsh, foreboding atmosphere. The intensity of Sen's hatred for Sarin radiated outwards and infected the very air around him, warping everything with his anger.

Sen was shuffling no papers and reviewing no documents as Whistler arrived. She couldn't decide if that was good or bad. She nodded as the Avatar ceased staring blankly forward and looked to her. His face did not brighten at all when he saw her.

"Whistler," He said. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

As angry and demanding as Sen could be nowadays, he still remembered a few basic facts. He knew Whistler didn't appreciate being pulled away from her own desires, and it was hardly productive to order her around when she was unwilling to listen.

"I wasn't doing anything important," Whistler said. Like most of the Coalition's activities nowadays, the leads she had been following were dead ends.

"Do you feel like doing something important?"

"Depends what it is," She said. Whistler sat down and crossed her legs. "Give me the details."

Sen nodded and pushed a page of documents forward. They weren't Coalition, Whistler knew that much from sight. They were poorly organized, and heavily encrypted. Luckily for Whistler, each encrypted page was also paired with a matching translation.

"The documents we seized from Hua-Long's palace," Sen said, nodding to the papers. "Shipping manifests, some dealing with food, equipment, but mostly heavy metals, all going to one location."

Whistler looked at the page. Durable materials, but relatively light. Perfect for an airborne mechanism.

"You think you found out where Sarin's helicopters are coming from," Whistler concluded.

"I know I've found out," Sen said firmly. "The problem is our enemies will likely know too. With Hua-Long's documents in our hands they'll know we have the intel to track them down, and they'll be on guard. If I tried to lead an army to that factory they'd know before I was even halfway there, and they'd clean house before I arrived."

"So what's your plan? Stealth mission?"

Whistler's years as a pickpocket had left her well-versed in the art of stealth. Even Ada, the secret agent who'd been trained by one of the most duplicitous men in history, couldn't match Whistler's ability to move unseen.

"Exactly that," Sen said with a nod. "You have a habit of vanishing for days at a time already. They won't suspect anything if you don't appear on the battlefield for a few days."

Whistler nodded again. As usual, Sen had thought this through exceptionally well.

"I'm going to make a show of preparing my forces to move, while you sneak across the backlines to the factory. While they prepare to retreat, their security will be more lax. Should give you the opportunity to sneak in and out unseen."

"Alright, this sounds like a plan," Whistler said, satisfied. "What's my objective, though? I can't do much against an entire factory all by my lonesome."

"You don't need to do anything to the factory itself. The rest of our intelligence," Sen began offering the papers once again. "Says there's a man working there, one they call 'The Engineer'. The man responsible for designing the helicopters in the first place. You get him, we get our own helicopters, and we level the playing field."

"Infiltrate and extract," Whistler said. "Sounds a bit military for my tastes, but I'll live."

"There is…one more thing," Sen said hesitantly. "This mission, it's going to be a tipping point. I don't want to take any risks I don't have to."

Sen stood up and crossed his arms. He walked a few steps away from his desk and then turned back to look at Whistler.

"You won't be going alone."

"You say that like I'm not going to like it," Whistler said. She didn't inherently dislike company. She'd be willing to partner up with Ada, Hanjo, or Miyani, and even tolerate Ariak or Suda for a mission. Something about Sen's tone, though, said it wasn't going to be any of these people.

"I've been holding some recruits in reserve, people he won't be expecting," Sen said. Whistler interrupted.

"Recruits? As in new? As in they don't know what they're doing?"

"As in precisely that," Sen said with a sigh. "I had a feeling you'd object to that."

"I'm barely okay with following orders, Sen," Whistler groaned. "What makes you think I'd be okay with giving them?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't absolutely need this, Whistler," Sen pleaded. "If all goes well, you'll barely have to give any orders. They'll just follow you in and out, fighting a few people along the way."

"You and I both know nothing's ever that easy," Whistler moaned. She slouched back in her seat, a classic complaining pose.

"I can't force you to do anything," Sen said. "But I hope I'm stressing how important this is-"

"Yeah, okay, I never said I wouldn't do it," Whistler said quickly. "I'm just going to be a grump about it."

"Thank you, Whistler," Sen said. He handed over a folder with a few more details on the mission, and Whistler set out.

***

The first stopping point was in a diner in a podunk town on the far eastern side of the Earth Kingdom. Whistler felt right at home in the distinctly lower-class surroundings. She arrived a bit earlier than intended, so she settled into a street corner alongside a napping hobo and relaxed.

She was not happy to be here. She was not happy to being dong this. She did not want to follow orders nor did she want to give them. But Sen needed her, far more than he knew.

Whistler had easily noticed the change in his behavior. The slowly rising anger, the rage that bubbled just beneath the surface. Sen was not the same as once had been. His war with Sarin had driven him to unfortunate extremes. He was no longer the inspiring, hopeful Avatar he had once been.

It was all because of Sarin, Whistler knew. As cruel and as dangerous as Sen had become, Sarin was still far worse. Sen's rage all came back to the Energybender. So, for the sake of her friend, and getting him back to the person he had once been, Whistler was willing to go to great lengths, even to do something she truly despised.

Whistler checked the time. Her spare time to squat alongside the napping hobo was just about up. She headed down the street, trying to keep a low profile. This town was far-removed from the problems of the world, so there was a low chance of anyone recognizing the famous Whistler, but it was always good to keep your head down when on a stealth mission.

A bell above the diner door chimed slightly as she entered. Whistler took a quick look around the restaurant to spot any suspicious figures, and found none. A hostess quickly jumped up to greet her.

"Hi! What can I do for you?"

"Yeah, hi," Whistler said flatly. "I'm here to meet the flute club, I guess?"

It wasn't the codename Whistler would have chosen, but she was working with what she'd been given.

"Oh, yes, over there," the hostess said, pointing to a small group in an isolated corner booth. "Better hurry, one of them ordered without you already."

Whistler nodded and walked across the diner, jumping into the booth. True to the hostess' word, a rather chunky fellow was already eating his fill of a very large sandwich, paying little attention to Whistler's arrival. The other two were slightly more reactive. Another young man, decidedly scrawnier than his counterpoint, smiled wickedly when he saw Whistler. The third member of the group, a girl far younger than the other two, practically burst with excitement when she saw Whistler sit down. She kept staring, her eyes practically sparkling with glee, as Whistler nodded to them all.

"So, you're my company for this outing," Whistler said. She was not particularly impressed. When you were used to having a combustion bender for backup, anything seemed lackluster in comparison.

"Like it or not," The scrawny young man said.

"Alright then, let's hear it," Whistler said disdainfully. "What am I working with? You look like a firebender."

The scrawny one chuckled. He had the sharp angles and frenzied, busy eyes of a firebender, and the burn scar on his cheek was also a good clue. Apparently he found the idea that he was a firebender amusing, however.

"My old masters used to say that," He chuckled. "But, no. There's only one element sitting at this table."

Whistler looked back and forth between the chunky one and the girl who wouldn't stop staring at Whistler in a highly uncomfortable manner. Her sparkly eyes were going to shrivel up like raisins if she didn't blink soon.

"You're all airbenders?"

"Yup, all of us," The skinny one said. "Some of the first to leave when you got the Nomad Masters to open the door."

Although all airbenders were now free to leave the stewardship of the Air Nation and live however they pleased, few had taken them up on that offer, and even fewer had sought out the Coalition. The few sitting here were the sum total of defectors from the Air Nation under the Avatar's command.

"Name's Noto," The skinny one said. "Never quite meshed with the old airbenders. Bit like you in that sense. Always had more of a firebender style to me. Fella with the sandwich is Eurus."

"Let me guess," Whistler said. "You left because you had issues with the whole 'spiritual fasting' thing."

Eurus briefly stopped chewing on his sandwich.

"I like food," he said apologetically, gesturing to his very large sandwich before tearing back into it.

"And the girl is-"

"My name is Zephyr," The little one said energetically. "I mean that's not my name but it's what you can call me because I know how much you hate using peoples given names."

"Her name's Nia," Noto concluded.

"Please call me Zephyr," Nia pleaded.

Whistler stared unblinkingly at Nia for a while, clearly disturbed by something she had said or done.

"She's a fan of yours," Noto explained.

"I'm not a fan I'm the fan," Nia said. "You're the greatest airbender ever and I learned everything about you! I know your favorite food is dumplings and you weigh one-hundred and forty-six pounds and you're actually the youngest member of Team Avatar-"

"Don't tell anybody that," Whistler demanded. She didn't need any teammates rubbing her nose in that. She was a whole two years younger than Sen.

"I asked all your old classmates and masters and the Coalition soldiers and they told me everything," Nia said. "The only thing I don't know about you is your real name!"

Whistler's eye twitched visibly. There was a palpable sense of aggravation from her that calmed even Nia's near-psychotic energy.

"My name is Whistler," She said firmly. She poked Nia in the forehead stiffly. "And you get to be Fangirl."

Nia nodded. She really had wanted to be Zephyr, but she would accept whatever nickname Whistler gave her. Whistler relaxed slightly and turned to Noto, pointing at him.

"Sparky."

Noto nodded. He'd been expecting a nickname, and there were far worse ones than Sparky. Whistler turned at last to Eurus and his sandwich.

"Chunk," She said. Noto's skinny eyebrows bounced upwards.

"Chunk? That's a bit offensive, eh?"

"I'm comfortable with my body," Eurus said, patting his large stomach contentedly. Noto nodded begrudgingly.

"Now that we've got that settled out, everybody get any questions out of your system, and make sure to head to the bathroom while you can," Whistler said sarcastically. "We're going to get this over with."

***

Chains rattled slightly as the foreman made his way through the halls.

The quiet sound of rattling metal was barely audible amidst the noise of the factory. Forges hissed as molten aluminum flowed into place, and metal scraped against metal as complex mechanisms were assembled. A fleet of helicopters took shape in rooms across the massive structure.

Lock cared little for the helicopters. While he was technically here to guard the growing fleet, his first responsibility was to watch over The Engineer.

The darkened chamber at the center of the structure was barred with iron and tightly locked. Lock double-checked the security one more time before heading back to his starting point.

The command center at the heart of the factory had been a hectic place lately. Messages had been rushing in and out with words of warning: the Avatar was preparing to move his armies, and all signs indicated that he would be marching on the factory. Panic had quickly set in.

Lieutenant Ahn-Li had come to oversee the evacuation personally, but as it stood now, there was no evacuation to oversee. Lock was refusing to move.

The chains he wore rattled again as he sat down, matching Ahn-Li's rattled nerves.

"The prisoner is secure and production is on schedule," Lock said. "We will remain for now."

"We're running needless risk," Ahn-Li said nervously.

"If we abandon our factory now, all these helicopters will be lost regardless," Lock said. "If we remain, there is a chance they will be finished and ready to assist our war effort."

Lock looked over the wall to his left, at the many cameras he had overseeing the facility. Production was going well for now. He had every intention of leaving, but not until the latest batch of helicopters was complete. The Engineer had recently designed improvements that would make their flying machines more efficient and more deadly than ever before. Lock would not abandon such a resource so easily. He kept a careful eye on the halls through his security cameras, ever vigilant for the slightest sign of trouble.

A quartet of shadows clung to the wall, sneaking just barely below the lens of one camera. Whistler kept a cautious eye on every angle and every corner. She had spent years lurking the crowded streets of Republic City, where the streets were crowded people. A few cameras in corners was no match for a hundred eyes watching you at all times. She could easily slip past the security.

Some of her companions were not so gifted.

"Suck it in, pal," Noto cautioned. Eurus inhaled deeply and tried to prevent his prodigious gut from hanging out far enough to alert the cameras.

Whistler led their slow-creeping movement down the halls. Nia was following her movements with almost eerie precision, but Eurus's size and Noto's slight twitchiness made it harder for the two of them to sneak around. Whistler grit her teeth and resolved to never work with amateurs again.

The hallways were quiet for now. This factory was sparsely populated, the only human presence being the workers on the floor and a handful of patrolling guards. Whenever they were about to round a corner, Whistler held up her hand, signaling the other three to stop breathing. Together they quieted their breaths and focused, watching for the breath of others. When they knew the coast was clear, they rounded the corner and proceeded further and further.

They had no real idea where they were going, but Whistler could easily assume that the massive iron door led to something important. She ran up to it and cautiously tested it for a lock. The door opened oddly easily for such a massive construction. She opened it just a crack and peered through. It was too dark to see anything, but she only felt one source of breath. She cautioned her temporary team to halt and then crept through the door while they stood guard.

She moved slowly and cautiously, feeling out the area in front of her. She was glad she did, because it was only a few feet before Whistler nearly ran into something. She gingerly stepped around it and stepped further forward, following the source of the breath. It was ragged and slow, heavily stressed by something. That ragged energy just made it all that much easier to track down.

In a swift lunge through the darkness, Whistler grabbed at the source of the breathing and clamped her hand down over it, muffling their voice. Arms flailed and legs scrambled for footing, but Whistler quickly pinned the stranger in the darkness to the ground. Her target continued to flail, but Whistler kept them pinned down. Their panic only increased the longer Whistler held them.

"Shut up," She whispered threateningly. "Listen, listen, shut up! You be quiet, you don't get hurt, got it?"

The sound of her voice was both oddly calming and confusing to the person she was grabbing. The flailing ceased and the panic calmed, though they were still clearly stressed. Whistler carefully removed her hands from the darkened figures mouth. They did not scream for help, but just went back to their ragged breathing.

"Good job not screaming," Whistler cracked. "You're off to a good start not getting yourself hurt."

"Who are you?" The stranger in the darkness pleaded. "You're not them, you're not it. You're not supposed to be here, who are you?"

"I'm looking for the Engineer," Whistler said. "Tell me where I can find him."

"Can't find him, you've found him," The strange voice said. "I'm here, he's me, I'm The Engineer. The Engineer. The Engineer."

Whistler raised an eyebrow. That was odd, to say the least.

"Why are you here in the dark?" She asked. The Engineer was one of the cornerstones of the Energybender's military success. That at least deserved a corner office.

"The thing likes the dark," The Engineer moaned. "Makes it easier, easier to make me forget, easier to make me make the things I don't want to make."

Whistler jumped quickly to her feet. She'd known since they'd broken into the facility that it had all been too easy. This explained everything. She swore loudly as she made a mad dash for the heavy iron door.

If The Engineer was an unwilling prisoner, then this structure wasn't designed to keep people out. It was designed to keep them in.

There was a loud slam followed by a swift click as the iron door closed and locked itself. Whistler heard pounding fists against the door and muffled shouts of confusion from her teammates as they tried to get her out. Whistler leaned on the door and swore again.

The lights in the room snapped on all at once. The Engineer, now finally revealed to be a nearly-skeletal man in ragged clothes, dove underneath a workshop table in fear as the lights came on. Whistler looked upwards. A large speaker flickered to life in a corner.

"You almost beat me to the door," Lock taunted. He was quite happy his decision to stay had paid off. "I'm impressed."

He could see Whistler on the camera now, staring out at his radio with hatred in her eyes. Her lips moved briefly while she stared at the radio. Probably asking whether Lock could hear her or not. He could not. There was no point having a two-way radio in this room. As Whistler gradually realized she could not be heard, she turned to the camera and made a rude gesture. Lock chuckled slightly.

"We have a captive," Lock said. "Maybe now we can make something of this mess of a war."

"We should radio Sarin," Ahn-Li suggested. "He'll need to know."

"Not just yet," Lock suggested. He would not make any promises he could not keep. He had to make sure he had the situation locked down. With that in mind, he leaned in to the radio receiver.

"All warriors head for the Engineer's room," Lock commanded. His voice echoed through every radio in the structure. "Keep the one inside the room alive. Terminate the others."

"Oh man, we're the others," Eurus whimpered.

"Keep your head on, mate," Noto said. He turned to face the hallway. "Least we've got a heads up that the bad guys are coming."

While Eurus panicked and Noto tried to find some way to set up a defense, Nia continued to pound her fists on the massive steel door and shout for Whistler's attention.

From her side, all Whistler could hear was a bit of thudding and muffled noise. It was clear she wasn't going to be communicating with her team. She vowed never to go on world-saving missions with strangers again and took a look around at what she had. It was mostly a bunch of scrap metal, some mechanical equipment, a few large piles of paper, and a whimpering Engineer cowering beneath a table. He clawed at his torn clothes with bony hands as absolute panic set in.

Whistler took a look at the raw materials. She wasn't a complete idiot when it came to mechanics, as she'd custom built her staff, but she doubted she was good enough to build anything that could punch through a solid steel door. That left her with one very unlikely option. She walked to the other side of the room and looked under the table.

"Hey, how's it going?"

From the look of the tightly-balled fetal curl the Engineer had wrapped himself in, it was not going well. This was not exactly what Whistler had been expecting from The Engineer. Most of Sarin's lackeys were very scary looking brutes with uncanny superpowers. This guy didn't even want to be here. Luckily, Whistler didn't want to be here either, so they had a common goal.

"Hey, I get that you're having a rough time, but I think we both want to get out of here," Whistler said. "You're an engineer, right? Why don't you get out from under the table and engineer us something to get out of here?"

"No no no no no," The Engineer repeated. "No. They don't let me think things like that, I can't think things like that, or else it'll come and it'll take the thoughts away again."

In other situations Whistler might have thought he was crazy, but vanishing memories had been a longstanding concern of the Coalition. Enemy soldiers never remembered any important details and intelligence mysteriously vanished. Sarin had some way to erase memories, and only Sen had any inkling of what. Whistler bit her lip. Maybe it was time to change that.

"So, hey, this thing that takes away your thoughts-"

"No!"

The Engineer shouted once and then rolled to face away from Whistler. Clearly he didn't want to talk about it. At least not right away. Whistler nodded slowly. The Engineer's plight was touching one of the few threads of actual goodness in her heart. Whistler, for all her flaws, cared deeply about imprisonment and believed everyone deserved to be free. The fact that The Engineer had been imprisoned both physically and within his own mind was inexcusable to her.

"Hi, I'm Whistler. What's your name?"

It was always a good idea to start with the basics. People were more likely to trust you after you made introductions. Barging into someone's workshop and asking them to help you escape a deathtrap slash prison didn't usually go so well.

"I don't have a name they took my name," The Engineer chittered. Whistler shook her head.

"That sucks," She said.

The Engineer shivered a bit, but did not make any other response. Whistler turned towards the door. The pounding and muffled screaming had stopped. That was either very good or very bad. Whistler clenched her teeth and turned back to the spot under the table.

"You know, you can get a new name," Whistler advised. "I got a new one, you know. I didn't get mine taken from me, I mean, I'm a little different than you. The name I had…didn't fit, so I got a new one."

"What's it matter," The Engineer complained. "They'd take it away again. They always take it all away."

The Engineer clawed at his head for a minute.

"All they let me do is think about their weapons," He moaned. "There's nothing else, I can't remember anything else, but I- I remember remembering. There was more, I know there was, but that thing keeps taking it away."

He still had vague fragments of a life before. A house, a man, stacks of books piled to the ceiling, he could remember turning the pages in his hands to drink deep the knowledge within. Now all those pages had been ripped violently from his head. He could still feel the scars of the black beasts fangs sinking into his head.

Overexposure to the Hssk had warped The Engineer's mind in cruel and strange ways. It made him a fearful slave to the Energybender's will, but it also gave him a modicum of awareness of the beast itself, and the effects it was having on his mind. It was a vague awareness, but it was the only awareness possible when dealing with the Hssk.

"Okay, so, work with me, this thing you're talking about," Whistler said. Caged in such vague terms, anyone could discuss the Hssk. The Hssk could only naturally erase memories dealing directly with itself, not the concept of a similar creature. "I think I know how to get you away from it."

"No, that's impossible," The Engineer moaned. He started pounding his fists into his head in confused rage. "It's everywhere, it's everything!"

"Hey, hey, no, listen," Whistler continued. "It's having you build weapons, right? Why would it need weapons if it was all powerful? It needs weapons because there's something out there it's afraid of, buddy."

The Engineer ceased his self-harming behavior. There was a faraway look in his sunken eyes, a clear sign that Whistler's words made sense to him.

"Do you remember the Avatar?"

"I don't," The Engineer said.

"Because that's what it's afraid of," Whistler said. "The Avatar is stronger than whatever's haunting you. I guarantee it. You help me get out of here, and I'll make sure the Avatar keeps you safe, alright? You'll never forget anything again."

Whistler extended her hand, reaching out under the table. The Engineer eyed it cautiously. After a long period of hesitation, he extended a bony, pale hand and grabbed on to Whistler.

The trio of renegade airbenders caught outside were facing a challenge of their own, though it was a more literal one than Whistler's.

"Where do all these people keep coming from?" Eurus shouted. They were currently facing the fourth or fifth wave of enemy soldiers trying to charge down the hallway.

"It's a big building," Noto said. He reached out and spun both his hands in a quick spiral, sending out a spinning drill of air that slammed his enemies against the walls. The unconscious bodies of the previous waves of opponents also trembled in the forceful breeze.

Their opponents retaliated, launching a barrage of the four elements down the hallway in a single concerted strike. Noto and Eurus took cover behind small outcroppings in the fortified hallway. Nia took a more acrobatic approach, leaping and dodging and spiraling to avoid every strike. It was a risky play, but she felt it necessary. Every blow that sailed down the hallway eventually struck the door, and that had a chance at weakening it enough for Whistler to escape.

A very small chance, as it was. Nia was not exactly a genius, but at least she was trying. Luckily for her there was an actual genius working on the other end of the door. His efforts were still in progress.

With the retaliatory volley ended, Eurus took some time to strike back. He waved his arms in slow, sweeping motions, pushing out walls of air before him. The strikes were slow, and not altogether damaging, but very forceful, pushing the horde back and away from their barely-fortified position. It gave them some room to think, at any rate.

"Nia, we could use an extra hand up here," Noto called.

"I'm trying to get Whistler out," She shouted back.

"The lady can handle herself, we, on the other hand, are kind of facing imminent death," Noto said. They were boxed into a very small hallway and vastly outnumbered, not a good situation for anyone to be in. At this rate defeat was a matter of when, not if.

Nia groaned and relented. Her only plan wasn't making much progress anyway. She moved away from the sealed iron door and dashed slightly closer to the horde of enemies, striking out at them with swiftly thrown bolts of air. The approaching enemies were knocked off their feet by the rapid barrage of force.

Had Whistler been around to watch the display, she would have been impressed. The renegades of the Air Nation had all developed their own styles and their own techniques, exactly as Whistler had always wanted. The Air Nation had only ever taught one school of thought and one set of techniques, and though it was powerful, it didn't represent the full potential of the art of Airbending. With freedom to experiment and grow, young airbenders could accomplish so much more.

The display of wild and prolific airbending was brought to a sudden halt by an astonishingly loud slam that filled the narrow hall with a wave of noise. The wall behind them rumbled loudly. The airbenders and the Grey-Face soldiers paused in unison.

A second slam echoed through the building, and a large cloud of dust shot out of the door and down the hallway. The upper hinges on the steel door ripped from the wall, raining down small chunks of rubble on the ground below. Soon after, a third loud slam rang out, likewise displacing the hinges on the bottom of the door.

A cloud of dust and the sound of groaning metal filled the hallway as the heavy door leaned forward and collapsed down to the ground. Just as the noise of collapsing steel halted, there was a slight click of metal as a staff unfolded.

The cloud of dust flew forward like a sandstorm, flying into the eyes of the enemy and blinding them. Just behind the swift racing cloud of dust and debris ran Whistler, her staff spinning to drive the wall of air in front of her forward. She slammed into the ranks of the enemy like a charging bull, knocking the front line backwards . The dual impacts of the dust and Whistler's charge sent the grey-masked soldiers into disarray. Whistler spared a moment to look over her shoulder.

"You guys planning on letting me do this all alone?"

The three rogue airbenders ceased cowering and charged forward, their courage bolstered by Whistler's return. The four finally reunited in a massive brawl. The four rogues threw everything they could at the enemy, but their best efforts were always a few steps behind Whistler. While the fighting style of the three Air Nation defectors were unique, they were also experimental and unrefined. Only Whistler had truly mastered her art.

Her swinging staff flowed seamlessly between physical blows and airbending strikes, leaving her opponents always guessing which was going to come next. One soldier fell from a metallic blow to the head, the next to a swift cyclonic strike. Whistler circled her way through the battlefield, spiraling away from enemy attacks but towards the enemies themselves, always moving into position for her next brutal attack.

Led by Whistler's dynamic assault, the group quickly reached the end of the hall, where it branched off into three different paths. They found themselves surrounded from all three sides, but this was no problem now. Whistler had a broad smile on her face as she looked around at her enemies.

"That's enough," The voice over the intercom shouted. "Stop throwing yourselves at the children. Fall back and defend the exits."

The Grey-Faces hesitantly backed away from their enemies, retreating on all sides. Whistler took a few potshots as they retreated, but resisted the urge to charge after them. Noto attempted to chase them down himself, but Whistler held him back.

The hallways emptied, leaving them alone, and the four finally stopped to take a breath and rest. Whistler let out a heavy sigh and took a look over her shoulder.

"Coast is clear, buddy," She called out.

The Engineer cautiously peeked out of the room and looked around at the hallway. He wandered out slowly, dragging a large metal object behind him. The metal mechanism made a very loud noise as it scraped along the ground. Whistler covered her ears.

"Chunk, would you help him carry that hammer thingy around?" Whistler asked. Eurus was quick to his feet to help the considerably scrawnier Engineer haul his prize around.

"Do be careful, this is a pneumatic hammer with enough crushing power to bend steel," The Engineer cautioned. Eurus very gingerly took hold of the hammer and helped move it down the hall.

"Why are you even bringing that thing?" Whistler asked.

"We're locked in, big heavy doors all around, all locked and sealed," The Engineer rambled. "Need something to knock down the doors, break us out, break us free."

There was a curiously twisted smile on his face as The Engineer contemplated freedom. For so long he'd forgotten even the concept of freedom, and now it seemed possible. He was more than eager to get out of this infernal prison, and his pneumatic hammer could help.

"Who is this guy, Whistler?"

"That, Sparky, is The Engineer," Whistler said. "We were here to get him out anyway. I think it's a good thing that he actually wants to leave."

"Does make our job easier," Noto said with a nod. "What's the next step in your plan?"

"My plan? I don't make plans," Whistler said. "Sen had a plan, I'm just following his ideas."

"The Avatar thought this place would be a fortress, not a prison," Eurus objected. "Our plan was made for getting in, not getting out. We don't know what to do next."

"Well, come on, I mean, we leave," Whistler said. "All we have to do is find an exit, right?"

She turned to The Engineer.

"You live here, right? Where's the way out?"

"I've never been outside my room before," The Engineer stated. "I have no idea."

"Okay then, let's just…go…" Whistler looked around at the three hallways that branched off into unknown directions. "Does anybody remember which way we came in?"

All three airbenders shook their heads. The labyrinthine construction of the prison-factory and their battle with the enemies had gotten their sense of direction quite fogged up.

"Alright, let's go that way then," Whistler said, pointing down a random hallway. "We're bound to find a way out sooner or later, right?"

The small troop set out in their randomly chosen direction, watched over carefully by Lock and Ahn-Li.

"And that, Lieutenant, is why we didn't radio Sarin right away," Lock growled. The Engineer turning on them was an unexpected problem. Sarin had assured them all the mental torture he put The Engineer through would ensure his cooperation. It seemed Sarin had been wrong –again.

"They haven't escaped just yet," Ahn-Li said. "You have something else in place, don't you?"

"Yes, I'm already locking the facility down," Lock said. "But we're not equipped to deal with airbenders."

"How are airbenders a problem? They can't do anything to break through metal and stone walls."

"There are other problems," Lock grumbled.

***

"That looks like a very big problem," Noto said.

He had his face plastered against a large pane of glass, staring at the frightful display on the other side.

Arrayed in front of them were more than a hundred helicopters, some fresh off the line, some just a few steps away from completion. The hangar was practically bursting at the seams to contain them all.

"That's a lot of helicopters," Eurus said, stating the obvious. Nia shook her head.

"It's not a problem right? You guys beat helicopters all the time," She said. "You can handle this, can't you Whistler?"

Whistler said nothing in response but a loud "Umm". It had taken less helicopters than this to take out the Fire Nation zeppelin fleet and crash most of the Iron Dragons squadron. Sen was running out of ways to control the skies. Letting this many helicopters take to the battlefield might not turn the tide of the war completely, but it would make for a lot more Coalition losses than necessary.

"I remember those," The Engineer said hesitantly. "They're my latest designs. They're faster and more durable than any that I designed before."

"That settles it. New plan, boys and girl, we have to take out the fleet here," Whistler said, pointing at the field of helicopters.

"We haven't even figured out how we're going to leave yet," Eurus moaned.

"I just did," Whistler said. She then pointed upwards. "The hangar doors."

The helicopters had to get out of the building somehow. Massive hangar doors made up the roof of the building. They were highly elevated, but nothing an airbender with a running head start couldn't glide over.

"We destroy the helicopters, we open those, then we make a run for freedom, that sound like a decent plan?"

"It sounds like the start of a plan," Noto said. "We don't know how we're going to do any of those things."

"Just trust me, okay?"

"I trust you, Whistler."

"Thank you, Fangirl. Now, let's start with opening the doors."

Whistler pressed her face against the glass and looked around the hangar. She saw what looked to be a viewing area overhanging the hangar. It was as good a place as any to start looking for the bay door controls. She led her group down the hallways towards the presumed hangar controls.

"We should start thinking about how we're going to crush all those helicopters," Whistler said. "I'm leaning towards that self-destruct feature they've all got."

Every helicopter in Sarin's fleet was strapped with bombs on both rotors and the engine, which annoyed Sen to no end. It was impossible for him to reverse-engineer the tech used to build the helicopters from the wreckage if they all exploded when they crashed. Hopefully they could turn that unfortunate self-sabotage in their favor. Noto crossed his arms across his chest and thought deeply. Even with the bombs already included, blowing up the helicopters without blowing themselves up in the process was a conundrum.

Whistler found a door which she presumed would lead them to the hangar controls, but to no ones surprise, it was locked.

"Alright buddy, time to use your weird super-hammer thingy again," Whistler said.

"Is my name Buddy?"

The Engineer paused and stared forward blankly. Whistler turned to look at him.

"You said I could get a new name," He said. "You keep calling me Buddy. Is it my new name Buddy?"

"I mean, it could be," Whistler said. "It's up to you. You could probably come up with a better name than Buddy if you waited a bit."

"I don't want to wait," He said impatiently. "I want to be somebody again."

"Well then you can be some-Buddy if you want," Eurus said. He began to laugh heartily to himself while everyone else glared angrily at him. Even The Engineer, who had no concept of puns, found it offensive.

"I don't want to be The Engineer anymore," He continued. "I want to be more than the machines I make."

"Well then you're Buddy," Whistler said flatly. "But we still got to knock this door down, so maybe you take over, Eurus."

Eurus took the pneumatic hammer out of the newly-christened Buddy's hands and, after a brief rundown on how it worked, held it against the fortified doors handle. With a loud thud and a crash, the locked door snapped in two.

"You missed slightly," Noto said, staring at the broken chunks of the door.

"I'm hungry, I lose focus," Eurus said defensively.

"Doors open, mouths shut," Whistler commanded. She broke down what was left of the ruined doors and stepped through. There didn't seem to be much to the room. It had been abandoned in favor of defending the exits from the structure.

"There's nothing for you here," The prisonkeeper taunted, his voice crackling through the intercom. "If you want control, you'll have to find me."

Whistler looked around at the small viewing room. There was a large panel of controls, and in the midst of it all, a microphone next to a few buttons. She looked up at the security camera that watched over the room. She then sat down at one of many empty chairs and pressed a button next to the microphone.

"If this room is so unimportant, why does it have a way to talk to you?"

Dead silence. Whistler had spent a good chunk of her life lying. She knew deception when she saw it, reverse psychology included. She turned to her teammates.

"Start pushing buttons, one of them has to do something useful."

As one, they hunched over the controls panels. Noto went one by one down the rows quite methodically, Eurus pressed every button that looked important, and Nia mashed everything. Whistler took a long look at the panel in front of her before pressing one button quite deliberately.

"-no risk of them finding the opening sequences," the intercom blared suddenly. Whistler had managed to turn on the two-way radio, apparently, letting them eavesdrop on the command center. The room fell quiet as they stopped to listen.

"It's a four-number sequence, there's hundreds of possibilities, far too many for them to guess," the first voice said. It was the voice of the man who'd been taunting them so far, though he was sounding much more casual now.

"Did you set the code yourself?"

The other speaker was a woman Whistler had never heard before. She sounded peculiarly authoritative.

"No, I let the men set it," The controller said. "Why?"

The five people in the hangar control room shared a look. Eurus was the one sitting closest to the number keypad. He slowly extended one finger and began pressing out a sequence of four buttons, speaking each number aloud as he did.

"One, two, three," He said. He slammed his finger down for a final press. "Four."

Nothing happened.

"Try four ones," Whistler suggested.

"One one one one," Eurus said as he pushed buttons.

A loud claxon blared and metal gears began to groan as the hangar doors started to open. Eurus looked around at the room with a broad smile on his chubby face. Whistler just groaned.

"Oh man, I didn't know there was going to be an alarm," She whined. "We still don't know how to blow up the helicopters."

"You won't get any further," Lock shouted over the intercom. "You've had your fun but it ends-"

"Quiet quiet quiet, be quiet!"

The intercom speaker shook slightly as Buddy hurled himself at it and grabbed it with both hands. He struggled for a brief second to pull it free from the wall but found himself unable. He struggled for a few more seconds before acknowledging that his bony arms probably weren't suited for this job.

"Please help," He said, turning to Eurus. The large airbender walked over and very easily ripped the intercom off of its wall mount.

"Thank you," Buddy said. Then he bent over the intercom and started pulling it to pieces.

"Hey, good for you taking out your anger like that," Noto said encouragingly.

"I thought it was bad to let off steam that way," Eurus said.

"It's bad if you take it out on people, big guy," Noto said. "It's actually quite therapeutic to damage inanimate objects."

Eurus nodded in understanding. Whistler shook her head and stepped forward.

"I'm glad you're standing up for yourself, Buddy, but we're on a tight schedule," Whistler said. "We have to blow those choppers before-"

"I'm helping!"

Buddy suddenly stopped tearing the radio apart and started to reassemble a seemingly random collection of parts. As he worked, he looked up, and for the first time since Whistler had met him he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

"I remembered something about the helicopters," Buddy said. He spoke with surprising clarity for someone in his mental state. The Hssk had left the inventive, engineering-oriented portion of his mind intact, that he could better serve to create weapons of destruction. He was almost a whole person when dealing with machinery.

"The explosives on the rotors aren't wired to the detonator," Buddy continued. "They use a remote transmitter. I can use the parts from the radio and some from the detonators inside the helicopters to create a universal remote that will trigger all the explosives at once!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Whistler said. "Let's go disassemble a helicopter, kids."

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Nia picked up a nearby chair and hurled it through the glass viewing window, shattering it to pieces. They watched the glass fall down to the hangar floor. A few of the shards bounced further into the room, scraping against the still-active microphone.

"As your leader I think I'm supposed to criticize you but that was actually a good idea," Whistler said. Nia smiled broadly at any amount of praise from her idol. Whistler carefully blew away the last dangerous shards of broken glass and then leapt downwards into the hangar. The four airbenders made the descent quite gracefully. Their last party member was more hesitant.

"I don't remember, can I fly?"

"No, you can't Buddy," Whistler reminded him. "I'll catch you, though. But while you're up there throw down the smashy-hammer thingy. We'll probably need to break more stuff."

There was a short moment of silence followed by a swift fall and a loud clang as the pneumatic hammer slammed down into the ground. The scrawny body of buddy followed shortly thereafter, buoyed to a more gentle landing by a spiral cushion of air from Whistler.

"Okay, let's grab the universal whatever components and start blowing things up," She commanded. She strolled over to the nearest helicopter and examined the dashboard. There were a lot of buttons and levers to be manipulated, but she could ignore those. Whistler stuck her staff in a loose spot in the panel and pulled for a second.

"Whistler, don't!"

Whistler summarily did not. Buddy ran over to the panel and forced her staff away.

"There are high explosives in there, you could accidentally trigger them!"

"That is a very good point," Whistler said, taking a step away from the helicopter. Buddy sat down in the chair and started fiddling with the dashboard in front of him.

"As leader I am appointing you our official helicopter disassembler person," Whistler said. "You can take care of all that business, and we will stand over here and hopefully do nothing."

Whistler stepped further away from the helicopter to join the other three airbenders, fulfilling half of her plan. The other half, to do nothing, actually went surprisingly well. Almost too well. As Buddy continued to disassemble and fiddle with the mechanisms of the helicopter, Whistler started to look around suspiciously. Her hands weren't quite shaking yet, but there was definitely something wrong here.

"Stay on guard, all of you," Whistler said suspiciously. The other three airbenders tensed visibly and looked around the room. Eurus took a quick glance at a security camera and then looked away quickly.

"Don't make it obvious, Chunk," Whistler scolded.

"I still don't feel comfortable with that," Noto said.

"I told you it doesn't bother me," Eurus said.

"I'll call him what I call him," Whistler said with a shrug. Nia ceased kicking her feet aimlessly and looked up at Whistler, struck by sudden curiosity.

"Why don't you call anyone by their names?"

In all her obsessive investigations of Whistler, Nia had never thought to ask that question. Whistler used a nickname for almost everyone, never referring to them by their given names. Everyone except Sen. Nia wanted to know why.

"Because I do," Whistler said.

"Is that it?"

"Yup."

Nia sighed in disappointment. Whistler crossed her arms across her chest and looked away from the young airbender. There were, of course, other reasons, but none that she would be telling to Nia. She didn't want anyone getting too chummy. She had enough friends.

From far above and far away, Lock watched them, his fists clenched in frustration.

"They're mocking us," He grunted.

"They're not doing anything, Lock," Ahn-Li cautioned.

"They nearly have us beat," He shot back. "I've had enough of this. I'll handle them myself."

"Lock, that's an unnecessary risk," Ahn-Li said. "We need you-"

"Yes, you need everything you can get," Lock said mockingly. "This organization is a sinking ship. I'll plug this hole or I'll jump ship."

Whichever way this battle went, Lock would see an end to his war. A defeat here would be the last straw. If he could not even rely on himself to defeat his enemies, there was no point, because he certainly could not rely on his leaders. He had watched Sarin fail over and over again, far too many times for Lock to have any hope left.

Great chains dragged across the ground as Lock proceeded through the halls. His signature weapon trailed behind, making it clear to all that he was on the warpath.

The loud rattle of chains echoed through empty halls and into the empty space of the hangar. Whistler's keen hearing was quick to pick up the sound.

"Figured there'd be some kind of trouble," Whistler said. He staff unfolded with a sharp clicking noise and she swung it in a circle as the clatter of chains grew louder. She stood firm, her stance tense, her hands clenched tight around her staff. Sarin's forces were by and large a bunch of rubes, but he had a few freaks who were not to be underestimated. Whistler still got chills whenever she thought of the Fogbender. They had only just barely chased that one off.

The hangar doors were shut and barred, but that was no obstacle to Lock. His chains gripped the metal sheets and pried them apart, cracking the cement that held them in place. He stepped through the ruined doorway as Whistler appraised the new threat.

"Okay, so you got some chains, that's your gimmick," Whistler said mockingly.

"They're not a gimmick any more than that stick of yours is," Lock retorted.

"Ah, good, you talk. One of your friends didn't talk, kind of freaked me out," Whistler said. She shouldered her staff, putting on a confident façade. She hadn't quite made up her mind about the new guy yet. He could still turn out to be a threat.

As he walked forward, Lock reeled in his chains, gathering them tight around his arms. Whistler wondered just how much chain a single guy could carry. He had to be wearing at least two-hundred pounds of metal wrapped around his arms and waist.

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed a pattern by now," Whistler taunted. "But these things usually don't end well for you guys. Especially not when you're outnumbered."

Lock raised an eyebrow questioningly. Whistler took a quick look over her shoulder. Her back up was backed way up, hiding behind a helicopter far behind her. Eurus' head vanished as Whistler looked, though the other two still peered around the side of the vehicle.

"Come on people, seriously? It's four against one."

"Yeah, but you're the toughest one," Eurus said.

"I like to watch," Nia said excitedly.

"Get out here and help me fight this dude," Whistler ordered. The trio looked at one another, shared a nod, and then dashed to Whistler's side. Aside and slightly back, to be more specific. They still didn't want to be on the front lines.

"Good," Whistler said, turning to look at them all. "Now we can get back to beating this guy."

Whistler tried to turn back to her target, but the first thing to take a beating was her sternum. Noto jumped backwards as the length of chain struck swift as lightning, hitting Whistler in the chest and pushing her back. Whistler went flying backwards and slammed into the metal side of a helicopter hard enough that the flying machine wobbled slightly to the side.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Nia protested. Lock roared and lashed out with his chains in a snakelike strike. With a little more warning than her idol and her natural swiftness, Nia managed to sidestep the blow. The rattling chains hit the ground and veered to the side. Eurus and Noto did not possess such swiftness. He two soaring chains wrapped around them lifted them into the air, and then threw them down hard.

Whistler got to her feet with a loud, groan, nursing several bruises, and surveyed the situation. Noto was getting back on his feet as well, though Eurus was staying down, and Nia was still skittering around like a frightened rabbit.

"Any chance that detonator of yours is about done?" Whistler asked. She usually liked fighting, but this was not exactly her type of fight.

"I need more time," Buddy said in a panic. The presence of his prison keeper was not doing anything to improve his nerves.

"Fine, we do this the hard way," Whistler grunted. She readied her staff once more.

Rolling forward in broad, sweeping spins, Whistler moved forward while hurling massive blades of air at Lock. The prisonkeeper threw a chain into the ground to anchor himself in place and let the forceful wind roll over him. The hurricane force wind pushed him backwards, but he did not lose his footing, nor his chance to strike in retaliation.

A snakelike chain struck once again, but this time Whistler was ready. A burst of forceful wind slowed the chains momentum enough for Whistler to dodge the strike. The blow still hit the ground hard. Air wasn't a good defense when dealing with something as heavy and solid as metal.

A one-on-one battle might well have been unwinnable due to those circumstances, but a four on one had slightly more favorable odds. While Lock focused on striking Whistler, Eurus and Noto struck from either side, and Nia was always releasing an endless barrage of smaller, weaker blows for distraction. Lock wrapped his chains around him in a shield against the aerial barrage and bunkered down for a moment.

When he noticed a slight pause in the onslaught, Lock struck back, spreading his circular shield of chains outwards. The wall of coiled metal expanded outwards in a bubble of steel, forcing the airbenders to retreat as it moved.

The slowest of them all, Eurus, did not retreat quite fast enough. The metal wall reached him, and Lock commanded the chains to coil around. Eurus grabbed at the chains as they encircled him, holding them tight. He struggled against their grip for a moment, but found himself unable to break free.

Eurus stopped trying to free himself with physical force and remembered he was an airbender. He watched the way the coils tightened around him, seeing them spin counterclockwise, and nodded his head. Eurus jumped off the ground slightly and spun clockwise, against the encircling chains, using airbending to spin more rapidly. The forceful spin unwound the chains and freed Eurus.

Whistler watched this happen, and her face split into a broad grin. She had an idea. Whistler retreated from the battlefield and found Buddy.

"Hey, Buddy, which of these buttons turns the spinny bits of the helicopter on?"

"This one," Buddy said, indicating a certain lever. "I hope you don't plan on flying one of these out. Even I don't know how to fly one."

"Nope, nothing like that," Whistler said. She went back to the battlefield and found Nia. Her skillset was best suited for assisting Whistler's plan, and she'd be the most likely to do anything and everything Whistler said. The two boys distracted Lock while Nia nodded enthusiastically and agreed to do anything and everything Whistler said.

Eurus and Noto took hits hard enough to knock them back, and Whistler chose that moment to put her plan into action. Demonstrating the talent that had become her name, Whistler whistled loudly, drawing Lock's attention. From the other side, Nia stuck her tongue out, likewise drawing Lock's ire.

Two chains shot out in either direction, chasing after Nia and Whistler. The two women danced amidst the helicopters for a moment, drawing the chains out and around –and through the rotors of the waiting helicopters.

After stretching the chains out just far enough that Lock wouldn't be able to retract them in time, Whistler and Nia dove into the cockpits of nearby helicopters and pulled the switches. Lock realized his mistake one second too late.

The rotors started to spin, pulling the tangled chains with them. The metal chains were pulled both ways, tightening around Lock's arms and waist, and then lifting him upwards as the chain ran out of length. Whistler and Nia stopped the rotors before anything unpleasant happened, but they left Lock dangling in midair. With his wrists bound tightly by his own chains, he was unable to bend, and let out a resigned sigh of defeat.

"Told you, you should've seen this coming," Whistler taunted. She walked in front of the airborne Lock and smiled smugly. Lock did not look her in the eyes.

"I know," He said quietly. "I've seen defeat coming for a long time. I suppose I just wanted to go out fighting."

Buddy strolled up to the scene of the victory and handed Whistler a motley assortment of plastic and wires with a large button on top of it. Whistler made certain to avoid touching anywhere near the button as Buddy examined his former captor angrily.

"You kept me prisoner," He growled.

"We do many unpleasant things for our beliefs," Lock said. "For what it's worth, I regret what was done to you. I had hoped it would turn out to be worth it."

"I'm going to enjoy watching you blow up," Buddy said.

"Uhh, that's not going to happen," Whistler said. "We're the good guys, remember?"

"Well what else are we going to do with him?" Noto questioned. "He might try to attack us if we let him go."

"Don't worry about that," Whistler said. She raised her staff high. "I'm not that good."

Whistler swung her staff downwards, and the loud bonk of metal on his skull was the last thing Lock heard before falling unconscious.

***

"I'm afraid there's not much I can do to repair the damage that's been done, or restore your memories," Sen said. "But I can make good on Whistler's promise. The beast will never take your memories again."

Sen removed his fingertips from Buddy's temples, and the slight harmonic ringing of Energybending faded. Buddy nodded slowly, somewhat disappointed, but overall satisfied. He quietly stared over Sen's shoulder at the blue sky, and the pillar of smoke that marked the location of his former prison. Whistler had blown the building sky-high as soon as they were all clear.

"We're going to get you somewhere safe now," Sen said. There was no way Sarin was going to let such an attack go unpunished. The helicopter was one of his only advantages in this war. Losing his engineer could lose him the war.

Buddy nodded and let himself be escorted away by Coalition soldiers. He looked back at Whistler and waved goodbye as he walked away. Whistler subtly returned the wave, making sure to cross her arms again by the time Sen stepped up to face her.

"The airbenders say you did a good job," Sen said.

"The airbenders are idiots," Whistler said. "I was making mistakes left and right. I'm leaving leadership to the professionals from now on."

"Professional leaders are usually the worst," Sen said sagely. "The best leaders act like themselves, and other people decide they're worth following."

Whistler tilted her head to the side wordlessly. She looked over Sen's shoulder at Buddy as he walked away, and bit her lip. Sen nodded professionally and turned his back on Whistler. She waited until his back was turned to show the concern she'd been feeling inside.

She thought about Nia's question. Why Sen was the only person she ever called by his real name. There was a great deal of complexity to that, far more than Whistler could ever adequately explain, but at its most fundamental level it was an issue of trust.

Sen noticed her hesitation and beckoned her forward.

"We should get moving, Whistler."

"Hey, wait," she said, stopping him in his tracks. "Sen, I, uh…"

She trailed off for a moment. Sen turned around and watched her as she fidgeted nervously. After a bit of twitching, she settled herself and placed a hand on her chest.

"Nimh."

Sen blinked twice. Whistler did not elaborate.

"What?"

"Nimh," she repeated.

"That's not a word, Whistler," Sen said blankly.

"It's not supposed to be a word, Sen," Whistler said. She was aggravated for a moment, and then switched back to her awkward, quiet tone. "It's a name. It's…mine. It's my name."

Whistler's shoulders drooped as she looked at the ground and sighed heavily.

"My name is Nimh."

It had been a long time since she had heard it, and much longer since she had spoken it. It was not a name she was proud of, it was not a name she wanted, but it was her name all the same. She trusted Sen enough to call him by his name. It was time he could trust her the same way. Sen paused for a moment to consider this expression of trust, and then responded.

"I'm still calling you Whistler."

Whistler let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness," She said with a slight chuckle. "Nimh is such a stupid name."

"It really is," Sen agreed. The two shared a nod and walked off side by side.

***

Ahn-Li had born the unfortunate responsibility of delivering the news to Sarin personally. The Engineer and Lock were both lost to the Avatar's forces, and their primary factory had been destroyed. They had only a handful of helicopters left, and no way of producing new ones. Sarin turned his grey eyes to the floor.

"We have to pursue them," Sensheng demanded. "We may not be able to create more helicopters, but we cannot let the Coalition make their own."

"We're running out of assets and opportunities," Ahn-Li said, backing up Sensheng's claims.

"Losing Mogar alone was a substantial blow," Sensheng continued.

"Mogar?" Sarin said questioningly.

Sensheng and Ahn-Li paused to look at one another for a moment.

"Mogar…Lock was only a pseudonym. His name is Mogar," Ahn-Li explained.

"He never told you his name, did he?" Sensheng questioned.

"It doesn't matter," Sarin said defensively. "You are both correct. We must move now."

Sensheng nodded. Finally the Energybender was seeing reason.

"The Avatar is on the run," Sarin said. "We will pursue."

Sarin turned his grey eyes to the rapidly darkening sky. A waxing moon rose. In only a few days time the moon would be at its fullest. The Energybender's army had lost its machines, but they still wielded older, far more devastating power. Kida sharpened her stolen spear. In just a few short days, there would be a blood moon rising.


	91. Book 5 Ch19: The Calm Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the war a hair's breath from it's end, Sen and Sarin put the pieces into play for a last, desperate struggle that will decide the course of lives -or end them.

"You were right, General," Colonel Cujo said. "We are being hunted."

Sen nodded. It had been inevitable. With such a valuable resource stolen and the full moon coming up, there had never been any doubt that Sarin would pursue. It had only been a few hours since their departure and Sarin was already hot on their heels. They had a long chase ahead of them.

"We have our escape route planned out well in advance," Sen assured the Colonel. They were beating a hasty retreat down the highways of the Earth Kingdom. Sen had prepared this escape route so thoroughly that they never even had to stop and resupply: at several checkpoints along the way, fresh vehicles were prepared, meaning they never had to stop any longer than the time it took for them to change vehicles.

Their ultimate destination was Fort Ganhwa, a coastal fortress nestled on the cliffs of the western Republic. From there they'd be airlifted to safety, travelling across the ocean to the Fire Nation, far beyond Sarin's reach. At the rate they were travelling they'd be aboard The Fang and over the ocean long before Sarin's forces had a chance to catch up to them.

The blue horizon to the west should have seemed clear, but Sen had a sickening feeling in his gut. There was a storm brewing.

"Radio ahead. Summon as many reinforcements as we can," Sen commanded. "I want backup when we reach Fort Ganhwa."

He already had Whistler on hand as a consequence of her recent rescue mission, but the rest of his team was scattered across the nation. He wanted them all focused on this one battle. The speeding convoy moved on as Sen crossed his arms across his chest. There was a chill down his spine that clung to him as he raced across the terrain, a foreboding terror that he could not escape.

***

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Ada said. A broad smile marked her face. "This is Suda we're talking about. He'll be ecstatic."

"I know, it just seems so, you know, poorly timed," Yoki Uehara sighed. She was pacing back and forth nervously. She'd come to Ada for advice on a dilemma she faced, seeing as Ada was the only other important woman in Suda's life. "Maybe if I wait, just a little bit, a little longer, it'll be better."

"I'm not sure Suda would agree," Ada said. "You're overthinking it. Suda's a simple guy."

"I'm not that simple," Suda's booming voice protested. Yoki jumped slightly in surprise.

A swift-flying line of metal caught on the ceiling as Suda swung downwards from a higher level. He landed heavily between his two favorite women and put a hand on each ones shoulder, turning to Ada first.

"We just got the old heroes-call-to-action," Suda said. "Big important mission, save the world, you know the drill."

"This isn't good, is it?" Yoki asked. Suda always tried to cover up his concern with positivity. If he sounded excited, there was a fifty-fifty chance it was awful. Or he actually was excited. Suda was kind of hard to read, but Yoki had mostly mastered it. A slight frown on Suda's face told Yoki her intuition was correct.

"Okay, yeah, it's a little bit really dangerous," Suda said. "But it's nothing we can't handle. Sen's getting the whole team together. We can take anything they can throw at us."

"What exactly is going on, Suda?" Ada asked. She hadn't been on hand to hear the radio report.

"Sen's plan to get that engineer guy worked, and now he's being chased by all of Sarin's bloodbenders. We're going to meet up with him at a fort and then -and this is the good part- we're going to leave before they even catch up to us."

That did nothing to ease Yoki's nervousness. Suda noticed the pout she always did when she was upset and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, don't be like that," Suda said reassuringly. "I'm going to be real careful this time, I promise. Pure defense, no stupid risks."

"I'll be watching his back," Ada said with a nod. "Now, we should get moving soon, but Yoki, didn't you have something to say?"

"Umm…"

Yoki turned red in the face and wrung her hands together. She considered speaking, but was interrupted as Suda bent over and kissed her passionately. He pulled away and stared into her eyes.

"I love you," He said, turning Yoki's face redder than before. "But you're a pretty big distraction for me. I have to focus on the fight, so maybe we can talk when I get back?"

"Yeah, yes, that works," Yoki stammered. "When you get back. I'll have it all figured out by then. Love you too, bye, have fun at war."

Suda smiled and embraced her one time before he grabbed Ada and ran off to join the fight. Ada spared one look over her shoulder at Yoki and sighed as she headed off for the mission. Yoki had never been very eloquent, but some things had to be said. Maybe there was no harm in waiting.

***

He ran his fingertips over every plate of the darkened metal. He had memorized the touch by now. The coarse surface of the unbreakable metal, the dents and scarring of a combustion bender's rage, the spiked knuckles that had crushed so many foes.

The Fist of Rahm rested on a pedestal. Temujin had examined it a thousand times over, and now he examined it again. It was more than his weapon: it was his ideal. His purpose in life, his one ambition, to wield the power, the rage that had made Rahm into a metalbender without peer.

Temujin knew where his failure lied. He knew why he could not control the Spirit Metal as Rahm could. It was an adage used by the great General himself: "An enemy struck down should never rise again."

Suda. Temujin had failed in his purpose. An enemy struck down had risen again. Temujin clenched his fist around the shaft of his mighty hammer.

He would not fail again.

***

In recent weeks, Ariak had become inordinately fond of fire.

For one accustomed to dwelling in a land of ice and snow, fire was always a welcome companion. It chased off the biting cold and provided life-giving warmth. Even so, some would argue that Ariak relied on it far too much.

His room held a fireplace that was burning almost constantly, and dozens of candles filled shelves and tabletops throughout the room. The scent of smoke and heat permeated everything. The red light of the fire danced along the tip of his spear as Ariak meditated.

He surrounded himself with fire, but it was never enough to chase off the chill he felt within. It had been this way ever since the first lesson with his estranged father, and it had grown ever colder with every passing day, until he had mastered an unwanted power.

Bloodbending. The power ran through his veins like ice, choking him with frost. He could feel it in every moment, in every heartbeat. It only grew worse the closer they came to the full moon, a day which was now fast approaching.

He dreaded it more and more every month. So far he had been lucky, he had never been forced to use the power he wielded. He had been to untrained, or there had been no targets to fight, not enough risk –a dozen and more excuses to not tap into bloodbending. But every passing month made it more and more likely that he would be forced to face Kida again.

His next confrontation, he knew, would have to be their last. There could be no other way.

The heat in his room shifted. An intruder, and a unique one. Miyani had a way of pulling the fire towards herself. Maybe it was why they were friends, the principle of opposites attracting. Miyani had fire in her heart. All Ariak had was ice.

"Ariak, Sen put out the call," Miyani said somberly. "He's being chased."

"Kida."

Miyani nodded wordlessly. Ariak brought his meditation to a swift end as he gripped his spear. He doused his warming fires and embraced the chill that sunk into his bones as he walked out of the room.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Miyani said. "I could still take care of her."

"I know that," Ariak said. "And I know that if I falter or fail, you will finish what I started. But I have to face her one last time."

Ariak steeled his resolve and let his blood be as ice.

***

Kida sat stone faced in one of many racing vehicles in the pursuit convoy. She had hardly spoken since Sarin had put out the call. Her hair hung loose and unkempt, hiding her face, but it took far more than a few loose strands of hair to cover the intensity in her eyes.

Staring out from under black shadows and tangled locks of hair, she glared blankly at the world ahead. There was an incredible anger in her gaze, but it was unfocused. The object of her anger was far away, not yet caught in her single-minded sight.

Her burning eyes twitched slightly just at the thought of him. The one who'd drawn first blood in this twisted family feud. Ariak.

Kida clenched the stolen spear tight in her fists, her fingers wringing with an equal measure of hatred and disgust. This spear that had pierced the heart of her oldest sister, without hesitation, without mercy. She would see it strike Ariak the same way.

The vehicle rattled, and Kida's grip on the spear loosened for a moment. She grabbed it with both hands and held it tight again. Her fingers practically splintered the wood as she clenched it tight in her grasp.

This had to be it. It had to be the last time, she knew. She would not go on playing this game any longer. Ariak and Kida, bound by blood. Only one would walk away from their next meeting.

Kida stared hatefully at Ariak's spear, ignoring the sight of her own reflection in the blade.

***

Hanjo was one of the last to get the call. He looked out the window, to the north, where the Fort was waiting for him. He was fairly close, he could get there in no time.

Yet his feet didn't move. He felt no compulsion to carry on or move forward. There was nothing driving him to follow Sen's orders. In fact, he was actively considering just staying where he was, and ignoring Sen's little war for the time being.

He didn't have a stake in this, not like so many others. There was no vengeance to be found, no nemesis to battle, no divine purpose making him play the part of savior. He had only ever fought because he believed it was the right thing to do.

Now he wasn't so sure. Now he looked into Sen's glowing eyes, and he saw fire, not light. He wasn't fighting to save lives, he wasn't fighting to make the world a better place. He was just fighting to fight. Fighting to destroy Sarin.

There had been a time when Hanjo had been willing to die for Sen. Now he wasn't even sure he was willing to leave his chair.

All the same, he couldn't shake a feeling in his gut, the unmistakable urge that something terrible was going to happen. Hanjo got up and walked out the door. Despite the things he'd done recently, Sen was at least still fighting the right battle. Hanjo owed it to the world to help defeat Sarin. For the sake of innocent people, not for Sen, Hanjo would keep on fighting.

***

The plan had gone flawlessly. Sen's fleeing forces had kept ahead of Sarin's pursuit at every step. All of his allies had reached Fort Ganhwa on time. The airship was ready and waiting to carry them to safety. Almost everything had gone just as Sen had planned. Almost.

As mighty as the Avatar was, he could neither predict nor control the skies.

"Storm of the century, they say," Goto said morosely. The skies were already darkening, and the winds howled. The sky flashed with lightning and roared with thunder as the offshore hurricane drew ever closer.

"No way we can fly in this weather," Goto said. "I doubt The Fang can survive these conditions even on the ground."

Sen slammed his fist into the wall. Of all things to be thwarted by, the weather was by far the most infuriating. A freak occurrence of the sky was going to ruin days of planning and preparation, and put hundreds of lives at risk.

"We still have vehicles," Colonel Kim suggested, gesturing to their idle convoy.

"With no gas to get us anywhere," Kujo added. They had never planned on driving any further than Fort Ganhwa. They had barely scraped by on what fuel they had.

Sen stood atop the ramparts of the fortress and looked out to sea. The waves were already churning, the winds already howling. The hurricane would make landfall about the same time Sarin caught up to them. Sen turned around at looked at the horizon behind them. He could feel them coming.

The black, soulless void of Sarin, darker than any stormy sky, was racing through the hills, hunting them down. It would not be long. The sun was already setting. Soon the full moon would rise.

"Siphon as much gas as you can and get a handful of vehicles ready to move," Sen said. They could manage a few more miles on the last few drops of gas, enough to get some people out of harm's way. "Get the noncombatants out of here."

His order was hastily obeyed by the many engineers, medics, and radio operators they had brought with them. Ada watched the fearful support network try and scrape together a means of escape for themselves.

"Suda, you should…maybe consider going with them," Ada suggested. "For Yoki's sake."

Suda was more focused on the soldiers preparing a defense. Sen had yet to formally give the order, but they all knew they were in for a fight. Caught between a storm and the enemy army, survival seemed unlikely.

"I think I'll stay," Suda said quietly. Ada bit her lip and looked away.

Sen overlooked the sudden buzz of activity in the fort as they all prepared for the storm to come. Ariak and Miyani took posts on the walls, watching for their approaching enemy. Whistler tried to relax and rest before the battle, tucking her hands into her pockets to calm their shaking. Hanjo walked into the crowd of soldiers and tried to calm their nerves and sooth their fears. The crowd of Coalition soldiers was slowly corralled back into an orderly army by the White Lotus commanders.

"Get some of the radios online, if we can," Sen requested.

"I don't see much point," Colonel Kujo retorted. "Any troops that could make it in time are already here."

"Not for the reinforcements," Sen said.

He removed his coat, exposing arms scorched and scarred by battle, and stared at the charred fabric. It had been falling to pieces anyway. He dropped the brown coat from the walls and let it be pulled into the distance by the racing winds of the storm. He straightened his shirt and started to patrol the wall.

"Open the radios to the men. Let them call their families," Sen said. "Not all of us are going to make it home."

***

**SEVEN YEARS AGO**

The walk through the fog was difficult and slow. The path to the Spirit Portal had been completely overtaken by the mist, leaving its guards and the citizens seeking passage in disarray. Through their blind confusion, the Energybender brothers and their escort moved deliberately and slowly towards their destination.

"Why go to all this trouble, brother?" Sarin asked. "There are barely any guards. We could easily fight our way through."

"Because it would attract attention, first and foremost," Kalden scolded. Sarin quickly backed down. "And secondly because we are not here to fight."

Kalden looked through the mist at a guardsman trying to guide innocent people out of the fog and into the safety of a building. He was just a man doing his duty, not an obstacle.

"We are architects of peace, violence is used only as a regrettable necessity," Kalden said. "We do not take lives without reason."

Sarin nodded and followed in his brothers footsteps once more.

***

Sarin and Dei Sensheng overlooked the fortress from far and above, standing atop a cliff-face. The rocky terrain here served to their advantage. They could see the fortress long before the inhabitants of the fortress could see them.

For this brief window of time, it seemed they might actually hold a real advantage. They had their enemy on the defensive, and they had an army of bloodbenders ready to strike. There was only one problem.

"See there, a small convoy is on the move," Ahn-Li pointed out. She handed her telescope to Dei Sensheng, who confirmed her report.

"Likely the non-combatants, possibly a few VIP's," Sensheng concluded. "Almost certainly including our former Engineer, the reason we came all this way."

"Can we give chase?" Sarin asked.

"The roads go through the fortress and the storm will ground our helicopters," Sensheng said. "It seems he's out of reach. Our objective has been lost."

Sarin held his arms behind his back and stared long at the fortress in the distance. He could feel his prey amidst the fearful host of Coalition soldiers. The Avatar was there, waiting. Daring Sarin to attack.

"I know we're in position, Sarin, but an attack may be ill-advised," Sensheng suggested. "Even if we win, what do we accomplish? This battle would be pointless."

Sarin straightened his back and unfolded his hands before clenching them into a tight fist.

"We have a cause, Sensheng, and we will fight for it."

Sarin turned to his subordinates and stared at them with his grey-ringed eyes. He held out one hand towards the fortress.

"Kill them all."


	92. Book 5 Ch20: The Hurricane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caught between the wrath of a hurricane and an army of bloodbenders, the Avatar and his allies are forced to fight a battle that will change history and their lives.

The racing wind and pounding waves of water from below crashed into the cliffside with earth-shaking force. Hanjo rested impatiently on a layer of ground that was slowly becoming a lake of mud. He could feel the earth trembling beneath the force of the storm. Within the trembling were the pounding heartbeats of a thousand fearful soldiers.

They were terrified, all of them. The storm alone was a fearsome enemy to face. Dark clouds overhead obscured its silvery light, but they all knew that the blood moon lurked in the skies above. The enemy was coming. Despite the best assurances of their leaders, the soldiers still feared for their lives. Hanjo feared for them in turn, because he knew they were right.

The air was cold. Oppressively cold, a once in a lifetime kind of chill. Miyani had felt the bite of frost in her time at the South Pole, but nothing like this. She knew the weather was only a small part of it. They were all sitting here, waiting, enduring the storm while they waited for the second wave of nightmares to come crashing down. There was nothing for them to do but cower behind the presumed safety of their walls and wait for whatever end befell them.

Whistler had rarely felt a sky so furiously angry. Republic City had endured a hurricane once, years ago, before she had ever met Sen. The Slums in which she had taken shelter rattled and thundered all night, torn to pieces in the winds. At the time Whistler had thought it the worst a storm could be. Now she knew different. This was the real wrath of the skies. Nature was not just out of balance: it was angry. The destructive fury was evident in every roaring gust of wind.

The rain fell in a pounding wall of solid water. Every raindrop stung like an insects bite as the water made impact, driven by the power of hurricane force winds. Ariak had lived his life surrounded by ice and water, but to see it fill the sky and tear the wind was a whole different beast. He kept his mouth closed, feeling as if he might drown if he breathed in. The ocean seemed to have filled the sky with wrathful waves of water.

Above it all, seemingly oblivious to the fury of the storm and the mournful chill of his soldiers, stood Sen. He had his eyes locked on the horizon. His arms were crossed across his chest as he stood stalwart against the raging skies, unmoving as the winds and water crashed around him. He could not and would be moved. The storm that raged without was nothing compared to the storm that raged within.

Though he stood removed from them, all eyes were still upon the Avatar. Standing motionless like a statue against the wrath of the storm, he served as an icon to them all. Some saw hope, some saw fear, some saw anger.

Whatever the myriad troops saw changed rapidly as Sen's stoic stance finally broke, his head tilting slightly to adjust his view of the horizon. His eyes narrowed as he peered past the clawing winds of the storm.

"They're coming," Sen shouted. His voice carried over the roaring wind, letting all know that the long-dreaded moment would soon be upon them. The cold chill of fear turned to a palpable buzz of terrified tension as soldiers nervously fidgeted in place. Sen locked his eyes on their approach route, watching for the first real sign of his enemies.

He could feel the black cancer of Sarin crawling over the hills now. An empty void where a soul should be, dark even against the darkness of the storm and the black night. Sen clenched his fists tight as he leaned against the ramparts of the northern wall. There were steep hills to the east, and a cliffside drop into the sea on their west and south. Their enemies could only approach from a narrow pass to the North. The darkened abscess of Sarin's tainted soul crept slowly across the narrow path.

While Sen focused on his hated enemy, Hanjo turned his attention to the allies waiting fearfully behind him. They were terrified of the bloodbenders, and for good reason, but no one was truly invincible.

"Remember, keep moving," He warned them. "It's harder for them to control a moving target."

He walked through the ranks dispensing what little advice he had for fighting bloodbenders. They had their flaws, but very few.

"Try to flank them whenever possible," Hanjo shouted. "The storm will make you harder to hear, so they'll be easier to catch off guard. Always remember that any bloodbender is a waterbender too, so be on guard for conventional attacks."

His advice seemed to bolster a bit of morale, but not much. Hanjo frowned and dispensed the last bit of wisdom he possessed.

"We outnumber them. Use our numbers to our advantage. Even the best bloodbenders can only manipulate two or three at a time. Attack in groups of four and one of you will always be able to fight."

With that, Hanjo had nothing left. The oppressive fury of the storm once again filled the sky, as all eyes once again turned to the Avatar, their only means of tracking their enemies in the darkness. Occasional flashes of lightning provided the only illumination in the void of night. Sen peered through the darkness for any physical evidence of their enemies. He could feel their hurried footsteps, but he could not see them.

He traced their motions across the rocky terrain before them. The main bulk of the force travelled through the narrow space between the rocky hills and the cliffside drop into the sea, but a small group broke off and braved the uneven terrain of the stone hills, positioning themselves at the top of the cliffs that bordered the eastern wall of the fortress.

"Kim, keep an eye on your wall," Sen commanded. The Colonel was stationed in a tower along the eastern wall, a decent vantage point to track activity. Sen had no doubt they were up to something. Some kind of flanking strike or diversion. He would not fall for it.

The main host of their opponents paused their march, just around the hill from the fortress. A few more steps and they might have been in sight. Sen scanned the area between the eastern hills and the northern approach.

"Keep your guard-"

His words of caution were interrupted by a pulse through the earth, a tremor noticeable even to those who lacked seismic senses. The host of the Coalition looked around in confusion. Sen, ever more perceptive than the rest, turned his attention to the eastern hills, the source of the tremor.

Lightning flashed, and the sparking white light glistened off the shining black metal of a hammer-like fist, and the spiked armor of its master, Temujin. The flash of lightning faded, and the Fist of Rahm slammed the ground again, sending another shockwave through the earth. Sen's fist clenched in panicked tension as he recalled the pile of rubble that Zu-Shin mountain had been reduced to.

"Move!" He screamed into the night. His tense muscles exploded like a spring, dashing towards the eastern wall of Fort Ganhwa. "Get away from the east wall!"

His terrified commands cut the tension in the air like a blade, shattering the fearful calm that had crushed them all into motionless. Panicked soldiers fled to the west as Sen ran east. He was halfway there when the third and final shockwave rang out.

Weakened by the winds and rain of the mighty storm, and shattered by the blows of the Metal Men, the cliffside collapsed, turning into a hillside into a crashing wave of earth. The earth roared as it fell, louder than any thunderclap of the storm. The screams of the churning earth was met with the terrified scream of the soldiers who threatened to be crushed by its advance.

The dueling screams of terror and force were matched in kind by a roaring shout from the Avatar. He planted his feet and slammed his clenched fists outwards, forcing his will upon the collapsing hill, the force of his bending dueling directly with gravity as twin forces of nature collided. The falling wave of stone and rubble halted only briefly. The wrath of Temujin and his Metal Men would not be so easily halted.

They surged down the falling hillside as easily as the boulders, riding the wave of shattering stone to the fortress walls. Sen, his strength entirely devoted to holding the collapsing cliffs at bay, could only watch as they struck. The armored soldiers used the inertia of their charge to strengthen their impact, crumbling the walls and towers of the fortress with earthshaking blows. The stone cracked, crumbled, and then collapsed under their strikes.

"Kim," Sen said breathlessly. He watched as the eastern tower collapsed. The screams of its inhabitants, the Colonel included, were barely muffled by the stone as it crumbled and fell, crushing everything as it collapsed.

The walls and towers crushed to rubble by their onslaught, Temujin and his soldiers thundered forward. Some of the Coalition soldiers who had just barely escaped the collapse of the eastern wall found themselves the first victims of the Fist of Rahm's crushing blows. Temujin roared into the winds of the storm as the screams of his victims faded into the same hurricane gale.

Sen could no longer spare the effort to hold the falling cliffs back, nor was there any point. Nothing behind the Metal Men advance was left intact –or alive. Sen released his grip on the hillside and let the sheet of crushed stone and mud finish its collapse, burying what was left of the eastern wall in the landslide.

With his full power no longer focused on fighting the wrath of nature, Sen turned to the wrath of men. His burning eyes locked onto the nearest Metal Men soldier. Just before the armored soldier struck out against his Coalition rival with a bladed spear, Sen clenched his fists, crushing the soldiers armor into a useless heap of scrap. The Avatar shifted focus quickly striking out with lances of melting fire and crushing earth against every enemy he laid eyes on.

His sight was one of the only things eh could rely on at a time like this. The ground was still rumbling from the collapse, and the chilling wind made it impossible to sense any heat or hear any movement. Even with his senses so dulled, some things were impossible to miss. The footsteps of a giant were one such thing.

Temujin approached the Avatar, his hammer raised for a lethal strike. Hateful eyes stared out at the Avatar from behind the spiked mask he wore. Sen just smiled back. There were plenty of giants on this battlefield.

The rain hissed and boiled as the blade of white light cut through the hurricane. The blow struck true, knocking Temujin aside like a ragdoll. Even Rahm had just barely been able to resist the force of a combustion blast, and Temujin was a poor imitation of the deceased General. Sen was too preoccupied with the battle to show Miyani any appreciation for her intervention, but she apparently had something to say to him.

"North," she cried out, not wasting any time or words on meaningless details. "North!"

Sen growled quietly as he turned sharply. The bulk of the enemy was charging down the northern approach. The Metal Men were only a distraction for the main event. Bloodbenders.

Kida's legion swept across the fortress approach like serpents crawling through the night, and when they reached the walls they swarmed, their venomous art clawing at the veins of those who stood at the walls. Abominable power was met in kind as Miyani turned her own twisted abilities on the moon-empowered horde, but even her explosive blasts were of little use against the sheer number and unholy power of the horde.

The forces of the Coalition were in disarray, surrounded by enemies wielding powers they could not match. Little by little the circle closed in around them, pressuring the chaotic Coalition further and further. The walls were nearly gone already –a small bastion of lightning benders, and Miyani's arcs of destruction, were all that stood between the enemy and complete control of the fortress walls. Sen looked around the battlefield, striking down enemies as he went, seeking out the one place where he could change the tide of battle.

Then the blackness at the edge of the battlefield shifted. The Hssk was on the move, seeking its partner. Any thoughts of the larger battle vanished from Sen's mind in an instant as his glowing white eyes tracked the black emptiness. Sarin was the only thing that mattered.

As Sen turned his attention to his lifelong nemesis, Ariak was focused on a more defensive stance. Miyani was one of their most powerful weapons, and the enemy knew it. Bloodbenders swarmed towards her in a horde, intending to overtake her and put a stop to her destructive barrage. Miyani was powerful, but against bloodbenders even she could only do so much. Ariak used his own bloodbending to help keep the horde at bay.

It felt better this way, to turn bloodbending on those who would misuse it. Using it in defense of one of his closest friends also helped to ease the burden it placed upon his heart. There was still a cold chill in his blood every time he reached out and grabbed at the hearts of his foes, turned their own flesh and blood against them, twisting their bodies to his whims. He ignored the pain he felt, and the pain he impressed on others, and focused on defending Miyani.

A rolling peal of thunder of thunder shook the ground. The bloodbenders stopped coming. Ariak and Miyani did not take this as a good omen. The only thing such darkness feared was an even greater darkness.

"Ariak, Ariak, Ariak…" A low voice droned through the fury of the storm. The subtle scrape of a spear shaft through across the stone walls made it very clear who that voice belonged to.

Kida walked down the length of the wall, her ever-loyal bloodbenders parting to grant her passage. The rain drenched her, causing long locks of dark hair to cling to her face, obscuring her shadowy face even further as she regarded her prey.

"I'm almost proud of you. Learning Bloodbending," She chuckled quietly. "You're finally taking this seriously."

She ceased dragging her stolen spear across the walls and gripped it in both hands, aiming the blade towards Ariak's heart. Ariak held tight to his own spear. Miyani grabbed him by the shoulder cautiously.

"Don't let her get to you," Miyani cautioned. Ariak was not always himself when dealing with Kida. He was liable to do something stupid.

"You really want to see this done, Ariak? Come and get me," Kida taunted, before turning her back on them both. Miyani scowled as she realized Kida's gambit. She was trying to separate them. Kida had always known she was no match for Ariak if his friends were involved. She needed to isolate her quarry to stand a chance.

Intending to finish the fight before it started, Miyani sent a bolt of white light chasing after her. The bloodbenders twisted the rain into a wall of water to block the strike. The massive explosion tore out a chunk of the wall and scattered many of the bloodbending horde, but left Kida untouched. As the smoke and fire cleared, Miyani turned to Ariak –only to find him already missing.

As the horde closed in again, she cursed Ariak's stupidity, but her words were drowned in a loud clap of thunder.

The lightning of the storm flashed overhead as the lightning wielded by the Coalition raced across the battlefield. The few strikes of lightning were the only thing preventing the Coalition from being completely surrounded.

For all the trouble it caused, the storm was at least keeping them cool. Creating lightning was blazing hot work. Moldun might have been sweating in different circumstances. Maybe he was sweating, and he just couldn't tell because he was already completely drenched. Didn't bother him either way.

He was slacking a bit compared to some of the other soldiers. Moldun was used to big-game hunting, not shooting at slippery bloodbenders in pitch black storms. The Fire Lord was making a much more impressive showing of himself. Goto had been longing for an excuse to get his hands dirty for a long time. As royalty he was expected to keep above the battlefield, far from violence, but trapped in a fortress, well, he had to defend himself. Goto had a smile on his face and lightning on his fingertips as the battle carried on. It was not to last.

Tracking dangerous game had given Moldun bad aim on small targets, but it had given him an uncanny sense of awareness of when danger was on its way. Right now that sixth sense was screaming louder than any of the beasts he'd ever hunted. The light tap of an airbender landing on the fortress walls silenced the screaming and made the danger self-evident. Moldun froze for just a second, knowing any further hesitation would mean doom. Fire Lord Goto barely heard the cries of warning over the howling of the wind, and of the second, harsher howling that rose in the background.

The Fire Lord found himself abruptly pushed aside, nearly shoved off his feet as he stumbled a few steps to the side. He thought for a second that he'd been ambushed and turned quickly to face his attacker, but he found only Moldun, staring fearfully yet blankly into the sky past Goto's head.

Goto opened his mouth to question Moldun. He never spoke, and Moldun would never have heard it anyway. Before Goto had the chance to speak Moldun collapsed, falling to the ground and revealing the smoking hole in his back.

The others on the wall turned quickly towards their attacker. The howling grey light caught them mid-turn, burning them with the all-consuming light of Energybending. Sarin proceeded forward through their ranks, scorching them with unholy power or tearing at their souls with his Energybending. The dark night was filled with grey light and shimmering blue energy as Sarin tore them to pieces.

Goto's face was accustomed to a scowl, but he pushed it to new limits. He was not going to be made a fool, nor was he going to let Moldun's sacrifice be in vain. The Fire Lord set his footing firm and readied himself, body and soul. Contradictory forces met in the middle in a conflicting battle in his soul and a twisting dance of his body. Lightning sparked, and was unleashed.

Sarin's right hand outstretched, caught the bolt of lightning and tore it to shreds. Flying arcs of electricity scattered as Sarin unwound the energies that held the lightning bolt together, dissipating the power into the stormy night. Sarin's hand twitched restlessly: it was no easy effort to unwind lightning itself, but he would manage all the same.

The last of the sparking blue light vanished into the stormy sky, and Sarin was still standing. Goto froze. He was no Harrier. He could not manage another strike. Not in time. He could hear a familiar scream some distance behind him. It didn't phase Goto in the slightest. The raindrops falling before him seemed to slow down as Sarin's extended hand shifted slightly, aiming towards Goto's chest. The scowl dropped off of his face as Goto watched the gray light begin to shine.

The howling of Sarin's power, the shrieking wind, the scream of despair and frustration from behind him- Goto heard none of it. It all went quiet for a second, just long enough for Goto to enjoy one last moment of serenity before the piercing grey light struck him in the heart.

All the noise came rushing back at once, first and foremost Sen's scream as he lashed out at Sarin, forcing him back, away from Goto. The Avatar landed atop the wall, next to Goto's spot lying on the ground, and continued his barrage, forcing Sarin away. The moment Sarin had been pushed back enough, Sen bent down, kneeling on the ground by Goto's side.

The spark of life hadn't quite left him yet. Sen nodded to himself. That meant he had a chance. Goto was far too stubborn to die, and he had healed Ada from similar damage. Sen reached out towards Goto's scorched heart –only to find his hand stopped by the withered, angular hand of Goto. The Fire Lord turned to look Sen in the eyes as he gripped Sen's hand.

"Take care of my daughter," Goto asked quietly.

The hand gripping Sen's wrapped closed tightly, balling Sen's hand into a clenched fist. Goto's eyes narrowed into his more customary harsh glare.

"And make him pay," Goto demanded.

Lightning flashed, and the roar of thunder shook the ground. Sarin watched the scene unfold in silence as the thunder rumbled. He had always meant to break the Avatar this way –to destroy the people he cared about, to make him watch them suffer. Then he would understand the real source of suffering.

Sen understood perfectly. As Goto's grip weakened and slipped, Sen's hand remained balled into a fist, only clenching tighter and tighter as Goto faded further away.

Sarin let the cold rain fall and the thunder shake the ground as he watched Sen suffer. Then the thunder stopped, but the shaking of the ground did not. The rain stopped being cold. Sen crouched by Goto's motionless body, and around him the storm only grew more intense. Sarin looked at his arm. The rain was changing. It stung when it landed, but not because of the force of the hurricanes winds.

Sen stared quietly downwards at Goto, his muscles tense, his breathing heavy. His fist trembled slightly as the stinging rain washed over him. The rain was falling harder and faster now. The wind blew more forcefully. Every aspect of the storm, every element of nature, echoed one thing: Sen's rage.

In a sudden burst of force, so quickly it seemed impossible, Sen lunged forward, trailing white-hot fire behind him. The Avatar took a few steps forward and hurled his fist towards Sarin, focusing the inferno into a single lance of fire. Sarin hastily blocked the strike with a cyclonic shield of air, but the sheer speed and power of the blow knocked him off his footing.

Without hesitation, striking with speed and force unnatural for even the Avatar, Sen lunged again, this time driving the earth before him in massive spikes. Still unbalanced from the first strike, the crushing blow struck Sarin in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Sen did not let this put any distance between them. He chased after Sarin, with every intent never to give him the chance to recover.

The earthen blow had struck Sarin just barely soft enough to avoid breaking his ribcage open, and the pain was extreme but ultimately ignorable. Adrenaline pumped through Sarin's veins now, pushing him past agony and into a battle ready mindset. He cast his hands out, halting his backwards flight and setting himself on the ground firmly. Sen continued racing forward regardless as Sarin prepared himself for another strike.

The howling rose amidst the fury of the storm, and another lance of grey light struck out. Sen took the blow on the shoulder. It burned through his soaked shirt, evaporating the material, and burnt his skin bright crimson, but his forward charge never stopped. If he felt any pain, he did not show it. The grey light briefly illuminated a face etched in stone. Unmoving, unblinking, but written with a cold, inhuman rage.

Sen did not scream as the grey fire burnt his skin. He did not roar in anger as he gathered the boiling rain into a whip and struck Sarin with it, nor did he grunt in satisfaction as Sarin was knocked off his feet by the blow. The battle continued, blow against blow, power against power, and Sen was silent. He was uncaring, unfeeling, unstoppable, as inhuman as the storm around him. He had transcended rage and become a force of nature, a living hurricane with all its destructive power focused on a single target.

Sarin.

***

A loud scream of pain split the sky as a bloodbender found his prey. The Coalition soldier's body twisted in unnatural ways as the vile art gripped her body. Her fellows, likewise overwhelmed by the dark horde, could do little to help her.

With a defiant shout and a swift airborne lunge, Hanjo tackled the bloodbender and knocked him to the ground. He scooped up a handful of mud, hardened it into a rock, and slammed it down on the bloodbenders head, taking him out of the fight for now. The female soldier collapsed onto the ground as well, but Hanjo was quick to help her back to her feet.

"Come on, we have to do this together," he said breathlessly. He had been racing across the battlefield for what seemed liked hours now. Everywhere he went he found someone who needed help. He was already starting to feel the sting of exhaustion.

The soldier thanked him for his help and then joined him as they took on another bloodbender, then another. Bloodbending at the very least required intense concentration, so it was easy enough to blindside them with a swift tackle. Hanjo managed to knock down more than a few this way before he hit his first major obstacle.

When the bloodbending horde realized they were being outnumbered, they decided to take up numbers of their own. They began to move in proper formations, not disorganized hordes, watching each-other's backs and covering blind spots. With no means of ambush, Hanjo soon found himself in the grip of a bloodbender –and just as soon released.

The bloodbenders had attempted to organize, and there was no greater enemy of organization than the Avatar's primary agent of chaos, Whistler. She struck from above, the one spot they could never cover, and dove into the midst of their ranks, swinging wildly. While the bloodbenders were empowered by the moon, Whistler was empowered by the storm. She moved with the sweeping winds of the hurricane, letting them strengthen every movement and hit the bloodbenders that much harder.

With the miniature hurricane of Whistler's making leaving the bloodbenders in disarray, Hanjo and the other Coalition soldiers retaliated, surrounding the bloodbenders and overwhelming them with numbers. As the Coalition charged, Whistler snagged Hanjo and pointed him towards the walls.

"Explosions stopped," She said. "Big Bang's in trouble."

Hanjo had barely noticed the sudden absence of explosions. They were easy to miss in the lightning and thunder anyway. Whistler was right, though: the battlefield was bereft of Miyani's signature explosive power. That could not be a good sign.

Hanjo followed behind as Whistler led the way to the wall. They stopped to strike the enemy wherever they saw opportunity, but did not linger too long on any fight. It was slow going, having to slog through the muddy terrain and the chaotic mess of soldiers clashing wildly on the fortress grounds. There was only one force that had an easy time moving across the battlefield.

Soldiers on both sides dived out of the way as a burning blast of grey light cut through the battlefield. Avatar Sen stayed just one step ahead of the beam, leaping backwards and retaliating with a wave of water as he moved backwards, putting even more distance between himself and Sarin. The Energybender gave pursuit, and their duel moved further down the battlefield. Whistler shook her head and proceeded onwards.

They reached the wall and Whistler leapt upwards while Hanjo grumbled far behind, having to crawl up the wall with his bare hands. Whistler hit the top of the wall and looked around. She found Miyani pretty easily, not in half the trouble she might have thought. She'd only stopped using her combustion bending due to the close range. Miyani didn't need to risk blowing off any of her own limbs when said limbs were dangerous weapons in their own right.

Just as Whistler landed, an unfortunate bloodbender went up. An uppercut from Miyani caught him on the jaw and sent him flying skywards. Before the first had even landed Miyani turned and slammed a fist into the gut of another bloodbender, likewise sending him rocketing backwards.

"Guess I should've known better," Whistler grumbled. Since she was here, she swung her staff and knocked someone down. Hanjo managed to finish climbing the wall and echoed Whistler's actions.

"Everything's too mixed up," Miyani shouted. "I can't hit them without hitting our own troops."

Whistler sent a bloodbender flying. Miyani caught him out of the air and slammed him down on the ground hard.

"You seem to be doing fine," Whistler shouted back. Miyani barely had a scratch on her. As a combustion bender she was naturally more difficult to bloodbend, and the fact that she was violently beating anyone who came near her also made her hard to manipulate.

"You should move," Hanjo suggested. A chunk of broken from the blasted wall sailed through the air, hammering down a line of bloodbenders at Hanjo's command. "All the bloodbenders know where you are, they're going to keep coming at you."

"Let them come," Miyani growled. She grabbed a bloodbender's arm and swung him like a club, knocking down two others before throwing her unfortunate human club into a third.

"You're not helping anything distracting a few dozen out of hundreds," Hanjo shouted. "We've got to help each other out."

As she broke the face of another bloodbender, Miyani thought about Ariak. He was being an idiot, chasing Kida off into the distance, but he was still a good friend. She could hardly leave him alone with such a merciless beast.

"Whistler, make me some room," Miyani demanded. The airbender was more than happy to oblige. With a lash of air, the bloodbenders were forced backwards, and Miyani had some room to do what she did best. The flash of fire and force burst in the darkness of the night, shattering the bloodbender horde.

Miyani leapt down from the wall, using a bloodbender to soften her landing, and then charged off, throwing blows and tearing down whatever foe she came across, searching the battlefield for one specific target. Hanjo watched her run away.

"You know, when I said work together-"

"-You kind of meant work with us, right?"

Hanjo shrugged. Fighting an army of bloodbenders was just a bit stressful. With Sen being occupied in an earth-shattering duel with Sarin, there was only one other superpower he could trust to watch his back.

After a brief moment of shellshock, the bloodbenders started to pull their ranks back together. Whistler tugged on Hanjo's shoulder, deciding that now was a bad time to be standing in one place. Whistler and Hanjo took a few steps, trying to charge back to the heart of the battle, before finding their paths blocked. His muscles and his massive fangs bared, the bloodbender behemoth known as Shark stood before them.

"Nothing's ever easy, " Whistler groaned.

***

Time had become a superfluous concept on the battlefield. The storm and the battle erased any kind of marker one might use to measure time.

Still, Suda was aware that Temujin had been after him for a very long time.

His armor still pitted and scarred from Miyani's blast, Temujin had crushed his way through the battlefield, looking for a new target to focus his anger on. Suda had been the obvious choice. The Fist of Rahm sent a ripple through the mud as it impacted the ground once more. Suda took advantage of the moment it was stuck in the mud to close the gap and throw a few punches into Temujin's gut.

Metal pounded against metal as Suda's armored gauntlets slammed into Temujin's armor. With a grunt of exertion, Temujin pried his hammer from the mud and hefted it towards Suda. He caught the blow on his gauntlet and stepped back away from the hammers reach. Temujin raised it again for another heavy blow.

A few rapid footsteps were barely audible as they crossed the mud. Leaping high and grabbing onto the handle of the hammer like a gymnastics beam, Ada swung and threw her whole weight against Temujin's hammer. She didn't weigh much compared to the sheer bulk of the hammer itself, but it was enough to set Temujin off balance. As the lord of iron stumbled, Suda charged in to knock him to the ground.

Ada had been oddly defensive of Suda the entire night. She was continuously circling him, watching his back, making sure nothing came close to harming him. It was highly suspicious. Usually Ada was the one on the offensive while Suda played defense.

"Is there a reason you're after me so much?" Suda shouted into the night.

"Because you stand between me and power," Temujin roared. Suda interrupted him with a fist to the helmet.

"Wasn't talking to you," He spat. "Ada?"

Ada finished slashing apart the armor of a nearby Metal Man and returned to Suda's side.

"I'm just looking after my family," She said hastily. "Is that so strange?"

She flashed him a smile as lightning flashed above. Suda glared suspiciously. There was something mischievous in that smile. Suda wasn't sure he liked that very much.

Any suspicion on Ada's strange behavior was cast aside as Suda felt a metal-clad fist slam into his gut. Temujin was not exactly willing to pause for conversation. Suda put his guard up once again as Temujin resumed his hateful assault.

***

Spear clashed against spear as the two tore at one another.

Kida had led them away from the battlefield, putting the sounds of war far behind them. She didn't care about the battle, nor the war. She didn't care about Sen or Sarin, victory or defeat, any ideal or cause. She was here for Ariak and nothing else.

Ariak played defensive, as always. He used the shaft of his spear to block Kida's attacks as she launched strike after brutal, merciless strike. Kida threw herself into every blow, lunging at Ariak again and again like a predator seeking to disembowel her prey. With every strike she grew more and more frustrated.

"Fight," She demanded. She was not here to play games of give and take. She was here for blood.

"I don't want to hurt you," Ariak said. He had spent so long preparing for this, but one look at her and all his guilt came rushing back.

"Then lie down and die," Kida shouted, shoving her spear forward towards Ariak's chest. "There's only one way this ends."

She had been repeating it since their first meeting. She was unrelenting in her quest for Ariak's life. The only thing that would ever stop her was her own death. Ariak refused to accept it that way.

"There is always another way," Ariak pleaded. "Please, just talk to me, talk to someone."

"Shut up!"

Kida responded to his entreaties with nothing but a defiant shout and an especially furious strike with her spear. Ariak blocked the blow, and the unfortunate and seemingly endless dance continued.

***

Dei Sensheng and Lieutenant Ahn-Li watched over the battlefield from afar. There was hardly much to see at this distance: the darkness obscured the fortress almost entirely. The only thing visible were the lances of grey light and fire that Sen and Sarin traded between themselves. They might have made a spectacular sight, but the two spectators were aware of the deeper, more terrible nature of the display.

"Is this all worth it, Sensheng?"

Ahn-Li let the storm bury her. Sensheng had sought some kind of shelter under a rocky ledge, but it barely protected him at all. Ahn-Li didn't bother.

"We have lofty goals," Sensheng said. His voice shook, perhaps from the fury of the storm, perhaps from doubt. "Great risks must be taken."

A burning pillar of grey light tore open the sky. Ahn-Li could hear the horrific shrieking tone of Sarin's Energybending from here. The shrieking howl wounded her ears even from this distance.

The horrific howl continued as Sen sidestepped the beam of grey light. The fact that he avoided the destructive beams was the only sign of humanity he still showed. The blows of raw spiritual power were the only thing Sarin could do to cause Sen pain, and thus he avoided the strikes.

The rage that made Sen all but impervious to pain also drove him to a relentless offensive that Sarin found difficult to defend against. Any trace of his old fighting style, his old technique, was lost to sheer brutal power. The Avatar struck with tremendous and swift blows, indiscriminate and crushing in their fury. Each blow was only barely aimed at Sarin, focused more on simply crushing whatever was in front of him.

The earth rose up in an arc, swinging high and then hammering down towards Sarin. He held his hands high and threw out a wall of burning grey light, tearing apart the hammer of earth on a fundamental level. Not even dust was left behind as the heinous power of Sarin's energybending tore the stone asunder.

"You can't fight the inevitable, Avatar," Sarin taunted. Sen didn't even blink in acknowledgment, simply continuing on his onslaught. The rain above coalesced and froze into lances of ice that rained down on Sarin from above. He swept his hand and enhanced the winds of the hurricane, sweeping the ice aside.

With another sweeping motion, Sarin caught a second gust of air and strengthened it. Sen was caught by the hurricane's wind and thrown to the side, off his footing. He was hurled headfirst into a nearby wall, slamming into it with an oddly glassy crash. Sen recovered quickly, pushing off the wall. He shook his head slightly, grabbing at his face.

One lens of his glasses had broken. A single shard of glass had stabbed him in the cheek. Others fell to the ground, landing among the mud. He grabbed his glasses, looked at the bent frames, and then tossed them into the mud. A slight grunt of frustration at the loss of his glasses was the first sound he had made in hours.

He turned aside, ignoring the lost vision, and returned his full attention to Sarin. Barely able to see with his bare eyes, Sen was fored to close the distance and rely on smaller, more focused attacks. He sought the black void of Sarin's soul, ever seeking the abominable darkness.

***

The jaws of the Shark were ever bared in a vicious grin as he fought his way across the battlefield. At first it had been almost too easy to duel Kid'as silent second-in-command. Whistler was far too evasive for the slow and unwieldy Shark, and Hanjo provided a long-range barrage of earth. It had seemed like a sure fight for the first half hour. Then it had become an hour, and then another hour.

Shark showed no signs of fatigue or exhaustion, far different than Whistler and Hanjo. The long night was wearing them down, exhausting their strength. Whistler's evasiveness faded and Hanjo's strength waned as the weight of the night and the long hours bore down on them.

The bloodbender chased them down, as eager to use his bare hands as his bloodbending. His blows were slow and ponderous, yet dangerous, and they only grew more dangerous as fatigue slowed Whistler and Hanjo more and more.

"I'm starting to feel a lot stupider for sending Miyani away," Whistler grumbled.

Miyani had long since been lost in the crowd of battle, pursuing her own agendas. There was no way to track any target in the midst of the chaotic battle. It was a mob of tangled lives and battling soldiers, with the occasional guest appearance from a badgermole.

The battlefield was infrequently torn apart by the massive body of Gun breaching the mud. His appearances were random and unpredictable. The mud and the shaking earth muddled his seismic senses, rendering him functionally blind. In his rare moments of insight into the battlefield above, Gun was quick to action, striking from below in a devastating emergence.

"Hanjo! Get your furball to help," Whistler demanded.

"I've been trying," Hanjo snapped. "I'm not very good at it in the first place!"

"I don't want excuses," Whistler protested. She pointed at Shark. "I want a giant badgermole to eat that guy!"

Her hostility was interrupted by hostility in kind. Shark grabbed at her veins with his bloodbending temporarily freezing her in place and eliciting an agonized scream. Hanjo tossed a swift boulder towards Shark, breaking his hold on her as it impacted his chest. She offered a silent nod of thanks. All of this yelling and screaming was starting to hurt her throat.

Hanjo helped her to her feet and set her facing Shark again. Whistler leaned on him for support, and held tight to his shoulders for a moment.

"I had an idea," Whistler said hesitantly. "You're not going to like it."

"I already don't," Hanjo said. Whistler was not letting go of his shoulders.

With what little strength was left in her body, Whistler grabbed on to Hanjo and tossed him forward, towards Shark. He landed heavily in the mud in front of the bloodbending brute and got stuck in the muck and filth. Whistler, meanwhile, turned and ran away.

With Hanjo helpless and alone in the mud, the ever-sadistic Shark closed in on his prey. Hanjo felt his blood turn cold as Shark turned his full attention towards him. The behemoths hands extended and Hanjo's heart skipped a beat, and then froze completely. The mud around his limbs was that much colder as Shark's bloodbending held him.

Displaying his usual uncanny ability to sense any threat to his master, Gun was swift to action. The mud beneath the Shark rumbled for a moment before bursting open into a flurry of flying mud and soil. Gun's massive jaws flashed above the surface briefly, clamping down around Shark, and then vanished back underground.

Hanjo sat in silence for a moment as the battle raged around him, with only a crater left where Shark had once stood. Whistler quickly returned and helped Hanjo up.

"It worked, right?"

Hanjo stood up and brushed some of the mud off of him, still staring at the hole in the mud.

"You alright?" Whistler asked curiously.

"I think Gun actually ate him," Hanjo said quietly. He continued to gaze at the patch of ground, and Whistler slowly turned her head to join him in staring.

***

The night and the storm continued to rage, far beyond anyone's expectations. The battle continued in an unrelenting stalemate, a constant equilibrium of devastation. Neither side came any closer to claiming victory as the night went on. The longer the bloody stalemate continued, the more warriors on both sides began to wonder if victory was even possible –if they were not simply trapped in battle for the sake of battle.

There were some who despaired at the prospect of such pointless violence: others rejoiced in it.

Lightning flashed and the light caught the metal hides of spear and hammer. Kida and Temujin, both fueled by an unrelenting hate, were perfectly content in violence for its own sake. Their opponents found themselves far more exhausted.

Ariak deflected the strike, much to Kida's frustration. For hours they had struggled, exhausting one another but making no progress. Ariak adamantly refused to make a strike against Kida. As they struggled he pleaded with her repeatedly, but all of his entreaties were ignored.

"Please, Kida, I beg you," Ariak pleaded. His voice was hoarse from repeated pleas. "Think of Ori."

"You already tried that, Ariak," Kida taunted. "Didn't work out for you too well, or Ori, did it?"

"I know you let her go, Kida," Ariak shouted back. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about Ori's 'escape'?"

Kida's taunting paused as her lips pursed in a thin scowl. Ariak took a step away from the violence and held out his hand.

"You can end this, Kida," Ariak said. "I know there is more to you than this hate you feel."

Kida responded with supposed proof of her hatred. Her stolen spear raced outwards towards Ariak's heart as she lunged towards him. She howled wildly as she thrust, roaring above the screaming wind to properly express her rage.

"Just stop, Kida," Ariak begged. "Walk away from all of this!"

"Never," Kida roared. "You know how this ends, Ariak. You or me."

Kida's all-consuming anger carried the battle forward into the storm while her protégé in hatred did likewise across the battlefield. The Fist of Rahm slammed down upon the mud, becoming embedded for a moment before Temujin pulled it outwards for another swing.

The mud bogged down everything as much as the fatigue did. The heavy bodies of Suda and Temujin sank nearly knee-deep into the mud. Every footstep became a battle in its own right as the metal-clad warriors struck out at one another.

While Temujin held the advantage of his ceaseless rage and his heavy armor and weaponry, Suda had Ada's support. Lighter by nearly a hundred pounds than either of the two metalbenders, she could traverse the muck with relative ease. She used her speed and maneuverability to set Temujin greatly off balance, though her swords were of little use against his thick armor.

Ada leaped behind Temujin and grabbed on to the plates of his armor, pulling him backwards. While Temujin was put off balance, Suda grabbed the thick chestplate he wore and pulled the plates apart. They needed to remove his armor to really defeat him. Suda rested the plates apart, but as Temujin focused, the metallic armor fused back together again.

With a metallic roar of anger, Temujin struck Suda in the chest. The blow hit all the old wounds from their first meeting, wracking Suda with pain and knocking him backwards. Ada screamed in concern and rage, throwing all her weight into a massive pull that forced Temujin off his feet, if only briefly. The moment Temujin's armored hide began to sink into the mud, Ada leapt away and towards Suda's side.

"I'm fine, I'm alright," Suda insisted, getting back to his feet. "Just a rough hit, I'm good."

"And what about the next hit?" Ada pleaded. "Suda, just get out of here."

"What, and let you face the hammer?" Suda said half-jokingly. "You'd get squished like a bug."

"There's more at stake here, Suda," Ada said. Her attention turned away from Suda as she heard movement to her right.

"Enough talk," Temujin bellowed. His hammer came down, and Suda and Ada rolled in opposite directions to avoid the blow. Suda jumped to his feet and hurled a fist into Temujin's helmet, followed by another, and another.

"We were having a conversation," Suda shouted indignantly. "It's rude to interrupt."

Suda drew his fist back past his shoulder and then threw it forward like a battering ram. His armored knuckles clashed against Temujin's helmet hard enough to dent the metal and send Temujin reeling backwards. Ada sighed loudly as Suda jumped bravely back into the fray.

The sounds of metal ringing against metal joined the cacophony of battle. The roaring storm dominated all, but underneath the fury of the wind could be heard the screams of anger and of pain, the roar of fire, the massive clashes of earth, and above all else the ear-rending tones of Energybending. The chaotic noises bled together into an overpowering roar, the unmistakable sound of war.

Far removed from the center of the conflict, Kida and Ariak added their own tones to the cacophony. The dull thud of a spear blade against a wooden handle was barely audible in the chaos of the night, but it carried far more weight than many much louder impacts.

Kida retreated a few steps and clenched her spear tightly, her teeth bared in a vicious.

"Why come all this way?" She questioned. "Why learn bloodbending? Why do any of this if you won't just finish it?"

Even amidst the shadows of the night, there was a violent desperation visible on her face. Ariak's refusal to participate in her bloodthirsty game was a constant source of vexation for Kida.

"I don't know," Ariak admitted. "I don't know what I expect from you, Kida. But I know I can't give up on you."

Not everyone shared the sentiment.

The clash between spears of wood and steel was joined by a spear of light. Kida jumped backwards as the lance of power raced towards her, but not fast enough. Ariak was pushed back as the combustive blast exploded just far enough away to avoid injuring him. Kida on the other hand, was blasted backwards, her burnt body rolling towards the southern cliffs as the shockwave pushed.

Miyani lumbered forward, covered in her share of scrapes and bruises from having to search the battlefield for Ariak. Now that she had found her target, though, nothing would stop her. Especially not Ariak.

"Miyani, stay away," Ariak begged. Miyani grabbed him by the shoulder and tossed him aside all too easily.

"Not this time, Ariak," Miyani said. Her red eye glared towards Kida as she stumbled to her feet. Ariak lunged forward to place himself in Miyani's path, hoping to delay her just long enough for him to think of something.

Opportunity would present itself in strange and destructive ways this night. As Miyani paced towards Kida, Sen and Sarin clashed once again. A burst of fire barely grazed Sarin's chest, scorching his robes, and a beam of grey light clipped Sen's shoulder, causing him to twitch in pain. As he retaliated, he called up a hammer of earth and slammed it down. The entire cliffside fortress shook under the impact.

It was no simple tremor. Even those not possessed of a seismic sense could feel the sheer force of the shaking earth as the cliffside rumbled. A few loose stones broke from the cliff face and plummeted into the churning seas. Gun jumped out of the soil as the tremors continued. Hanjo looked at the mud beneath his feet. The forces of nature, wind, rain, and ocean waves had crushed the cliffside in a hundred different ways, and the battle above had likewise fractured it as earthbenders clashed and badgermoles tunneled. The cliff was falling apart.

Hanjo was not the only one to draw such a conclusion. The metal helmet of Temujin, crafted in the likeness of Rahm's merciless gaze, turned to the east, towards the ruins of the nearby cliff. His face was obscured, but Suda could feel the vicious smile form under Temujin's helmet as his mind birthed the wicked idea.

Gripping the Fist of Rahm with both hands, Temujin raised his hammer high.

"Temujin, no," Suda pleaded. "Your own men-"

"Better we all die than my enemy lives!"

With that heartless proclamation shouted to the heavens, the hammer fell.

The shockwave could be felt across the fortress. It was a slow rumble at first, barely different than the previous tremors. Then the shaking started in earnest, the ground trembling as it collapsed, and the ground below began to scream as it split. Slowly, surely, fractures formed, splitting the mud and the cliff as it all began to fall apart.

The southern wall began to sink downwards, the churning waves below only growing more chaotic as large stones dislodged from the cliffside and plummeted downwards. Hanjo took one look at the ground beside him as it split into a massive chasm. He turned upwards and raised his voice.

"Run!"

In an instant the battle ceased, both sides forgetting their hatred for one another and fleeing from the prospect of the fall. Even as they began to scatter in terror the fortress began to collapse upon itself, the first chunk of the cliffside breaking free in a thunderous crack. The southern wall broke free and hurled itself downwards into the abyssal depths of the sea below, carrying unfortunate occupants with it. A few desperate souls near the edge of the broken cliff hurled themselves outwards, a lucky few barely managing to grasp the intact cliffside, but far more falling short and plummeting downwards to join the south wall in the depths. Even those who landed found no guarantee of safety: the wall crumbled under their hands as the cliff continued to collapse.

Suda turned towards the collapse and slammed his hands against the ground, reaching out to the crumbling cliffs with his formidable power. For a brief moment the slow destruction halted, and the cliff stabilized, earning a few desperate souls some small seconds to run, but it was not to last. With the cliff still crumbling below them, Temujin turned his hammer to Suda.

The first blow struck him in the back, knocking him down and releasing his grip on the cliff. The fortress once again began to tremble and break under the weight of seismic forces. Slowly realizing that he could do nothing so long as Temujin stood over him, Suda turned back to the ironclad warlord, striking at him with a hammer fist.

Suda screamed aloud in rage as the collapse continued, and he beat Temujin with armored fists. Temujin only laughed.

"Finally," the monstrous Temujin chuckled. "I have your hatred."

The collapse continued as Suda rained heavy blows upon his enemy. The cliff collapsed into fractured chunks, slowly breaking off one by one as the earth tore itself apart. The massive fractures raced outwards, away from the fortress, towards a far different battlefield.

Miyani paused and turned away from Kida as the fracturing stone expanded outwards. She watched in shock as the fortress collapsed before her eyes, shock that turned to horror as she watched soldiers of the Coalition and the Energybender both be consumed by the collapse.

As the massive chasms in the stone raced towards her, Miyani's first instinct was to flee, an instinct which forcibly repressed itself when she remembered her situation. Ariak was still here –as was Kida. She turned her head, and saw, sure enough, that Ariak was running towards Kida. She growled quietly in anger and chased after him.

***

The ground shook and shuddered, and Whistler stumbled as the earth tilted to one side as the cliff broke to pieces. She was a safe distance from the collapse, far enough away that she had no fear of falling –though she felt some unmistakable urge to go to the cliffside, to try and help. She felt sick standing here and watching the chunks of stone fall, carrying friend and foe alike into the abyss below.

She looked at her staff and shook her head, trying to talk herself out of it. She couldn't glide in these conditions. At least not well. She'd be blown side to side by every breeze and gust. The wind changed directions every few seconds. She could do almost nothing.

But almost nothing was still better than nothing. She cursed the conscience she'd developed and ran towards the collapsing cliffs. She dashed across the battlefield, pushing against the horde fleeing the collapse, and found the high ground. She watched as the cliff continued to crumble, a few desperate souls still seeking to escape the collapse. They had been too far from safety when the break had begun. They would never reach solid ground in time.

Whistler scanned the fleeing crowd and recognized, at the far end of the break, their old host Master Yakkul. She grit her teeth, chose her target, and unfolded her glider. It was barely out before it caught the wind and pulled her skyward. It took a few seconds for her to regain even a tenuous sense of control, and when she did it was only barely. She was at the mercy of the storm, only hoping that the chaotic winds would carry her closer to her goal.

It took all the power and focus her weary mind could muster, but Whistler managed to ride out the winds of the storm, gliding towards Master Yakkul. A bolt of lightning in the air illuminated the metal frame of her glider, catching the swordsman's eye. He was a few steps short of safety and he knew it. Whistler's glider quickly became his hope for salvation. He changed course to meet her and held out his hand to the sky.

The wind clawed at Whistler's face and blew cold rain down upon her, but for now the sky seemed to show mercy. The storm twisted and turned unpredictably, but Whistler managed to ride the chaotic winds towards the falling cliff, and towards Yakkul's outstretched hand. She reached out in kind, hoping that she could reach him in time.

The storms mercy ended.

The fury of the storm reignited in fullness, and Whistler was caught in the suddenly changing winds. She screamed furiously into the storm as she was swept away, Yakkul and the collapsing cliff vanishing as the world started to spin out of control. She could feel herself moving upwards, left right, every which way, and she clung to her glider for dear life as the storm made her its plaything. Eventually she slammed into something, she wasn't sure what, her left arm bearing the brunt of the impact as she came to a violent halt.

After a moment to contemplate her pain, Whistler opened her eyes and tried to flex her arm. The agonizing pain she felt told her not to try that again. She tilted her head and tried to orient herself. She had been thrown to the collapsed ruins of the eastern cliffs, a fair distance from the battlefield. She turned towards the fortress, and saw that the cliff she had been heading towards –and everyone on it- had already fallen into the sea.

Whistler leaned back, pressed her wounded arm to chest, and stayed there. She was drained, body and soul. The storm and the battle had taken any will to keep fighting out of her. She laid in the ruin and rubble and let the exhaustion that had been chasing her finally catch up.

In the fortress, Hanjo found himself chased by the earth itself. With every footstep he could feel the earth collapsing just under his heel. He stayed one step ahead of the collapse at every step, just barely abreast of a deadly fall. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a chunk of cliff break free just a second too quickly, and a bloodbender fell into the darkness below.

The pace of the collapse was slowing now, as the broken earth collapsed bit by bit and approached more stable territory, but it was no less deadly in the meantime. The many soldiers in the fortress were exhausted by hours of fighting, hardly in good conditions for this sudden sprint. Few could keep ahead of the plummeting stones, with wave after wave of soldiers falling into the abyss below.

Breathless and afraid, exhausted in every way, Hanjo slowed pace by pace, until he could no longer keep running. He felt the earth sink out from under his heel and then his entire foot, and Hanjo slipped downwards. Gripped by panic, he threw his hands forward to grab the earthen cliff and sunk his fingertips into the muddy soil. His frantic earthbending took hold, barely holding the cliff in front of him intact, as the earth continued to crumble on either side.

Hanjo's eyes went wide and he turned from side to side, watching others plummet and fall while he clung to his lone outcropping of stable rock. He saw Suda, Ada, and Temujin clashing in the distance, among others still struggling or fleeing in the night.

"Help me," He called out desperately. His grasp on the earth ahead was tenuous at best. It would not last. Desperate, Hanjo turned his eyes towards a source of howling.

Whether out of simple ignorance or a deliberate attempt to ignore it, Sen had not acknowledged the collapse of the cliff. He still clashed with Sarin, heedless to the disaster unfolding behind him. Howling grey light clashed with strikes of earth, fire, air, and water, as their duel continued.

"Sen!" Hanjo called out. "Sen!"

Perhaps it was the distance. Perhaps it was the winds of the storm. Perhaps it was the howling of Sarin's Energybending. Or perhaps Sen was simply so absorbed in his hatred, so completely consumed by his rage, that he was deaf to anything else. Whatever the reason, Sen never acknowledged the cries of his friend.

Some loyalties never faltered, such as the loyalties of a pet to his master. Shaking the muddy ground with his footfalls, a heavily panicked Gun ran back towards the breaking earth. The tremors and the collapsing stone frightened Gun greatly, but no amount of fear would prevent him from helping his master. Reaching the last stable hold that Hanjo clung to, the badgermole gingerly clamped Hanjo in his jaws and pulled him upwards, away from the cliff.

When they were a far distance from the collapse, Gun released Hanjo from his jaws and let the exhausted earthbender cling to his fur instead. Gun lurched further forward, away from the chaos and trembling earth that confused and frightened him, before collapsing in a furry heap far from the battlefield. Hanjo released his grip in the badgermoles mud-splatted fur and slumped to the ground, joining his pet in rest.

***

As the distant cliffs of Kida's battlefield began to fall to pieces, the lunatic bloodbender lurched to her feet and limped forward. Wounded by Miyani's blast, she found herself unable to keep pace with the collapse of the earth below, and slowly began to feel herself sink downwards. The spear she had stolen from Ariak long ago was the first to fall into the blackness, followed not longer after by Kida herself. As the earth fell to pieces beneath her, she stopped moving entirely, staring forward with black eyes, expecting to see nothing but the cliff in front of her as she plummeted. Instead, she saw Ariak, and her eyes widened.

"No," he declared, shouting in defiance of the sky and earth. He grabbed Kida and pulled her forward, just ahead of the falling fracture, and pulled her further still. He attempted to race them both forwards to safety, but Kida dragged at him like an anchor, slowing his pace and holding him back. Ariak only pulled harder as his footing fell out from beneath him.

The last few chunks of earth broke free, and carried Ariak and Kida down with them. Miyani screamed and plunged to her knees at the cliffside, carefully but quickly leaning over. Her heart stopped in relief and surprise as she saw Ariak, dangling from the cliffside, barely clinging to his spear as it stood embedded in the rocky cliff face. One hand clung tightly to the shaft of his spear, the other wrapped desperately around Kida's wrist as she dangled below him.

Miyani reached downwards, pressing her chest to the ground to extend her long arms as far down the broken cliff as she could. She pushed herself as far as she could, until she could feel her shoulder stretching out of its socket, but her fingertips could not quite reach Ariak's spear.

"Ariak," She screamed aloud. The confused hunter, still shocked from his fall, looked up at her –then down at Kida. He could see Miyani's hand only a few inches from his face. It was out of reach of the hand that clung to his spear, the hand that kept both him and Kida from falling into the abyss, but it was not out of reach of his other hand –provided he dropped Kida.

Hurricane waves and jagged rocks waited beneath them. Kida looked down at the deadly abyss beneath them, and did not flinch. She looked back up at Ariak, as he looked at her in turn.

"Let her go, Ariak," Miyani pleaded. Rain washed over her face, as did her own tears, as she begged aloud. "She's not worth it!"

Ariak looked downwards wordlessly. Kida stared up at him, her eyes as black and hateful as ever. Her impartial face broke into a vicious scowl.

"Do it," She screamed up at him. "Finish it!"

Ariak looked at his hand wrapped around her arm. All it would take was to relax his grip for a moment, and she would slip away. He watched her dangle in his grip and remembered her words. You or me. Only one could walk away from their conflict.

He took another look at his hand and hers. Her hand, loose and aimless in his grip, not holding on to anything.

Ariak's eyes narrowed, and he set his jaw. He looked up at the cliff, and at Miyani's outstretched hand. Already exhausted, and still dangling from the cliffside, a normal man had no hope of climbing up with Kida still in his hands. But Ariak was not normal.

His teeth clenched and a low roar of pain escaped his lips as Ariak turned his bloodbending upon himself.

Playing puppetmaster with his own body, Ariak forced his arm upwards, with Kida still in tow. He screamed in pain as the forceful manipulation of his own muscles tore at his blood. Little by little he pushed himself upwards with the unholy power. His skin broke out in massive bruises as his veins strained against the pressure of bloodbending. Miyani stared onwards speechlessly as Ariak achieved the impossible through the most horrific of means.

After herculean effort and inconceivable suffering on Ariak's part, the two finally reached the top of the cliff. Ariak dragged them both upwards, standing on his feet for only a second before dropping his spear and collapsing into an exhausted heap in Miyani's arms. Kida fell forward as well, meeting only the earth as she fell. Her hands clung to the earth for a moment, unable to believe that it was actually beneath her. She was still alive.

But slowly, inevitably, the hands that clung to the earth snaked outwards, seeking the spear Ariak had dropped. Once again she stole Ariak's spear, clinging to it tightly and pulling herself to her feet. Miyani's face split in a heavy scowl and she stood to face Kida. Ariak stood in turn, holding Miyani back. Kida raised the spear as Ariak stepped forward.

"Novu," Ariak said. Kida froze as if her blood had turned to ice. Miyani stood still as well, though entirely out of confusion.

"Kalla," Ariak gasped weakly, holding his hand out calmingly. Kida lowered her spear and took a step back. Confusion was evident on her face, a confusion that slowly morphed back into her all-too familiar rage. She raised her spear again.

"How dare you," She roared in anguish, lunging forward with her spear. Miyani caught her and threw her aside, but Ariak soon pulled her away from any further violence and continued.

"Novu and Kalla," He repeated. "Those were your sister's names."

"Shut up," Kida cried out desperately. He rage was joined in equal measure by despair now, and she lashed out blindly with her stolen spear, cutting nothing but the air.

"They were your family," Ariak said desperately. "The only family you ever knew. They meant everything to you."

Kida screamed loudly and dove forward blindly. Ariak stepped aside and she lunged at nothing but empty air, falling to the ground and collapsing there for a moment, her body lurching unsteadily as she fell.

"And we- I- cut them down like they were nothing," Ariak said mournfully.

Kida rose, but did not turn to Ariak right away. She clutched the stolen spear tightly and let out a shrieking wail before turning and lunging blindly once again.

"They meant everything to you but nothing to us," Ariak said. "If their lives had no meaning, how could anyone's?"

Kida turned to face her opponents slowly and quietly, and again Miyani saw that hollow blackness hidden behind her rage.

"How could yours?"

Ariak stepped forward weakly, but found himself unable to stand. He collapsed to his knees on the ground in front of Kida. He stared up at her, mournful and pleading.

"All this time, you've been saying you or me," He said. He hesitated a moment, staring deep into Kida's eyes. "You wanted it to be you."

Kida stared back with eyes as black and empty as they had ever been. That hollow hopeless had always been there, hidden behind the veneer of rage, almost invisible –except to the one person who truly cared to look.

"Novu and Kalla. Their lives mattered, Kida," Ariak begged. "Your life matters. Don't throw it away."

Lightning cracked and thunder rolled, and Kida rose. She grabbed the spear in both hands, raising it high with a scream louder than any thunder. Miyani tensed and stepped forward just in time for the spear to fall.

There was a dull thud as the metal spearhead struck the mud. Embedded deep within the earth, the spear shifted slightly as Kida collapsed against it, pressing her face against the wooden handle. Her scream sank low into a mournful wail as she sank further and further with it, her body trembling with choking sobs of regret.

She rested there, her eyes cast at the ground, as her tears were buried by the rains of the storm.

***

The battlefield had settled, both literally and figuratively. The collapse had ceased, and with it much of the battle. Fatigue had turned into complete and utter exhaustion, and one by one the soldiers of both sides had begun to faint, unable to move their aching muscles any further. Bloodbenders and Coalition soldiers alike laid motionless against the crumbling walls of the fortress, ignoring their conflict out of sheer exhaustion.

A few of the brave, the determined, and the powerful still clung to conflict. Barely-conscious Coalition soldiers dragged bloodbenders through the mud as they wrestled. Temujin weakly swung his hammer at an increasingly exhausted Suda. Through it all, Sen and Sarin perservered.

Their duel continued at the ruined north wall of what was left of Fort Ganhwa. Grey light tore the sky and was met with retaliations of all four elements as the Avatar and the Energybender continued what seemed to be a never-ending duel.

"Where have your boasting and your threats been this evening, Avatar?" Sarin questioned hoarsely. His voice was giving out from repeated taunts towards the Avatar, all of which went unanswered. Sen was still as quiet and as cold as the grave, his only response an angry blow of air towards Sarin. The air faltered oddly under his control.

"Do you finally feel the proper fear of the inevitable?" Sarin asked. "Do you finally understand that defeat is your destiny?"

This taunt drew a small reaction from the Avatar. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared as Sarin once again boasted of his destiny. Sen despised the concept. There was no true inevitability. The world belonged to those who shaped it, as Sen did now.

He threw both fists upwards, calling up a stone to match each. Sen threw his left fist out in a swift punch, forcing Sarin to the side as he dodged, and then threw out another strike with his right. The second boulder caught Sarin in the side, knocking him against the wall, leaving him briefly exposed.

Sen's glowing eyes caught the moment of weakness and focused. His left hand reached out and sparked with the fire of rage, a white hot lance of heat that raced towards Sarin's heart. Sarin pressed himself against the wall as the burning lance raced towards him. Sen watched the fire soar towards Sarin's heart, and he smiled.

The fire faltered and Sen's hand twitched and contorted as if struck by lightning. Pain exploded outwards from Sen's eyes, twisting his body with agony as the burning surged outwards from his eyes and into the rest of his body. He forced his white eyes shut and clutched at his temples in agony as the pain wracked his every nerve.

Sarin, unburned and unharmed, rose slowly as the Avatar convulsed. The Energybender stepped forward curiously as Sen fell to his knees, still clutching at his head.

In a sudden burst, Sen let out a deep gasp for air and released his head, slamming his palms down on the ground. The Avatar panted breathlessly as he looked at his hands. His fingers twitched, and he looked upwards to see Sarin approaching.

There was no light, no power, in Sen's eyes. The Avatar State had faltered, faded, and finally vanished. Sarin stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, like a cat about to pounce on its prey.

"Even the Avatar State fails you," Sarin taunted. "Now do you see?"

Confusion vanished from Sen's face. Something inside of Sen had changed –but it was not his rage. He took one look at Sarin and felt the same anger he always had. Sen clenched his fists.

Lunging to his feet and throwing his fist forward, Sen struck Sarin with a solid punch to the gut, knocking the air out of Sarin's lungs. The Energybender reeled backwards from the blow, only stopping as he hit the bricks of the Northern Wall, and Sen chased. His next punch went high and powerful, towards Sarin's face.

Sen's bare knuckles cracked against the bridge of Sarin's nose. Caught between the hammer of Sen's fist and the stone of the northern wall, Sarin's skull gave in to the force of the blow. The pressure focused on the bridge of Sarin's nose, and the bone and cartilage separated in a vicious crack. Sen smiled as he felt Sarin's face crack under his knuckles.

Sarin threw his hand out in a panicked blow of air to send Sen flying backwards. With some distance from the Avatar, Sarin stopped to press his hands against his nose, and when he pulled them away, they were coated red. Sarin's broken nose continued to pour out blood as Sen came at him again, kicking Sarin's knees out from under him.

As Sarin collapsed, Sen grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the stony wall. Maybe the Avatar State had left him. It didn't matter. Nothing would stand between him and Sarin's defeat. If it had to be done with his bare hands, so be it.

Sen might even enjoy it.

***

Metal rang against metal like a bell striking noon. Suda caught the blow from Temujin's hammer on his gauntlets. The blow set him spinning, falling backwards and collapsing into the mud.

Suda's weary muscles begged for him to stop, but he knew he could not. Somehow, Temujin was still fighting fit. If Suda stopped now, there'd be nobody left to stop the warlord's rampage. So many others had already collapsed, making them helpless prey for the Fist of Rahm. Somebody needed to stand between Temujin and the helpless.

His metal gauntlets rattled as he got back to his feet. They were dented and cracked from blocking so many strikes. Suda look at his wrists, at the YU engraved upon the metal, and remembered Yoki. Thinking of her was the only thing that had kept him going for so many hours, but even that power had begun to fade. Love could only conquer nature for so long. His heart could not drive his weary muscles much longer.

Suda ran forward, fists swinging, and met his usual result. His knuckles bounced off of Temujin's metal hide, and Suda was answered with a strike from the Fist of Rahm. He was knocked backwards yet again.

Temujin roared in satisfaction as his blow connected. He had stopped talking long ago, succumbing entirely to his bestial anger. He lived and breathed to strike Suda, to cause pain, to vanquish his rivals. He gladly gave in to his anger.

The Fist of Rahm trembled as Temujin focused on it. He was so close, he could feel it. He was so close to becoming the apex of rage, to achieving the heights that Rahm had reached. Rage flowed through him as thick as blood. The last roadblock on his road to triumph was his one true enemy: Suda. As soon as Suda was defeated, Temujin would be able to do the impossible.

Suda raised his fists again. He would not just give in to Temujin's rage. He stepped forward and bore the hammer blow, striking out with a quick punch. Temujin growled and swept his free hand, striking Suda in the ribs. Suda screamed out in pain as he felt an old injury reopen. He staggered backwards, clutching his chest. Temujin chuckled in satisfaction.

Finally unable to bear the pain and exhaustion, Suda stepped backwards, backing away from Temujin. He wobbled unsteadily as he retreated, and finally collapsed in the mud. He struggled to find his footing again, barely able to move his arms, and almost resigned himself to lying in the mud and waiting for the inevitable to come. Then he felt two small arms grab on to him and pull him upwards.

"Get up," Ada pleaded, her voice so weak it was barely audible. She had overcome her own exhaustion just enough to try and help Suda to his feet. "You've got to get up."

For Ada's sake Suda struggled just a bit harder, managing to get to his feet. Ada helped pull him away from Temujin as Suda clutched his broken rib.

"Go home," Ada begged. "You have to get back to your family. Please, just go home."

Suda looked around, Saw Temujin slowly approaching, and sighed deeply. The simple act of breathing filled his chest with unbearable pain. He stopped moving.

"My family's right here," Suda said. He could not abandon Ada or anyone else. He had given up on too many things in his life. Suda would not give up on protecting the people he cared about.

"No, Suda," Ada said tearfully. She looked up at Suda, once a stranger, an enemy, now as close to her as her own flesh and blood, her brother. He deserved better than a shallow grave in the mud. He had so much more waiting for him.

"What Yoki was trying to tell you before she left," Ada gasped. "Your family. She's pregnant."

Suda did not look back at her. He froze, and his eyes drifted far, far away, as if he was trying to look all the way back to Republic City, to see Yoki.

"She's-" Suda started and then froze in disbelief. His tired face changed, shedding exhaustion. He looked forward towards the horizon, his eyes taking on an odd focus.

"I'm going to be a dad," He said, as if he didn't believe it.

"Yeah, you are," Ada said, taking up a tearful smile. She looked up at her brother, her eyes full of love. "You're going to be a great father. But you have to get home."

Ada's tearful smile turned to Temujin. Suda could hardly care about him or the rest of the world, awestruck as he was by the thought of family and fatherhood. Ada's smile faded. Temujin's hammer raised.

With the last scrap of strength left in her body, Ada tried to push Suda aside, out of the hammer's reach. It didn't work.

Metal rang against metal. Two ironclad fists struggled in midair, metal scraping against metal as the two hands dueled for supremacy. One side, the black fist of Rahm's gauntlet, on the other, Suda's gauntlet, the carved initials of Yoki Uehara flashing on the wrist. He stood firm, unflinching under the weight of the hammer's blow. Suda would not be moved.

Suda's prodigious muscles bulged as he struggled against the weight of Rahm's fist. Temujin pushed down on the handle of his hammer, trying to force Suda backwards. Suda would not be moved.

Temujin tried to pull his hammer back for another strike. The armored fingers of Suda's gauntlet held firm, and the hammer stayed in place, trapped in a forged grip stronger than Temujin had thought possible. Suda would not be moved.

Only a moment ago he had been on the brink of collapse, but Suda was no longer the man he had been a moment ago. He had been a warrior, a friend, a brother, a lover then. Now he was so much more than he had ever been, so much more than he had ever dreamed of being. Now he was a father.

His purpose and his very self renewed, Suda pushed against the hammer, bringing to bear all the purpose, all the responsibility, all of the love that his new role carried with it. He focused it all, and for a moment he was unstoppable. For a moment, he could do the impossible.

Suda clenched his fist, bending his fingers. The Fist of Rahm bent in kind. Temujin's eyes went wide as Suda clenched his fingertips, and the black metal of Rahm's gauntlet shattered.

The tension snapped as the metal reshaped. The hammer warped, and Temujin was thrown backwards by the sudden shift in balance. He fell back in shock, staring upwards as Suda held the handful of black metal high.

The Spirit Metal, the indestructible black iron, reshaped in Suda's hand. It shed the shape of the brutal spiked gauntlet, for a moment becoming an amorphous mass, and then it began to take a new form. In Suda's hands it became no weapon of destruction, no bladed armor, but a shield. A round disc of metal took shape in Suda's clenched fist, an unbreakable shield to hold back all the wrath the world might bring to bear. Suda held his new shield forward, placing a bulwark between himself and Temujin.

"No," The warlord roared. "No, impossible!"

Suda dashed forward and slammed the shield into Temujin's chest plate, proving just how possible it was. The metallic blow knocked Temujin off his feet and into a nearby wall. Suda ran after him, his shield held high, striking another blow with the edge of the black shield. The metal split open Temujin's chest piece and pushed him to his knees.

"It's mine," Temujin roared impotently. "It was my destiny, mine! You don't deserve it!"

"No, I don't," Suda said. He neither wanted nor deserved this kind of power. Suda raised his hand again, holding the shield high.

"But my kid deserves everything."

The shield surged out towards Temujin's helmet. The dark visor, crafted in the image of the brutal warlord Rahm, splintered under the blow. With his helmet shattered, Temujin absorbed the full force of the blow and fell backwards, unconscious. He fell, sinking into the mud, motionless. Suda didn't even spare a second to watch him fall.

He lurched through the mud, his old fatigue slowly returning as the adrenaline high wore off. He stayed on his feet long enough to find Ada, and then he fell into the mud by her side.

"Did she say anything else," Suda asked breathlessly. "Does she know if it's going to be-"

"No," Ada said. "Too early to know anything."

"Oh," Suda said. He grabbed Ada and held his shield over the two of them, just in case. Ada smiled, the only action she could manage.

"You're going to be the best dad ever," Ada sighed contentedly. She gladly relaxed in Suda's arm, eager to finally succumb to her exhaustion.

"And you're going to be a pretty great aunt," Suda mumbled. He closed his eyes and finally rested. The rain no longer fell quite as harsh, and the winds blew a bit more gently as the two fell asleep.

***

The storm was waning, and the night was fading. The wrath of the hurricane began to die as the moon began to sink towards the horizon. It had been a long night and a vicious storm, but it was almost over.

For most the night had ended long ago. Exhaustion or battle had claimed them all. Unmoving bodies laid scattered across the fortress, quiet, almost serene. The waning winds of the storm caused strands of hair or fabric to blow in the breeze, but there was no other motion. Every form on what had once been a battlefield was now frozen in time –all but two.

His muscles burned. His bones were broken. His skin was cut and bleeding. Every part of his body and mind screamed at him to stop, but he would not, could not. Where body and mind failed him, hate pushed him forward.

A weary arm swung wildly, striking his foe across the face. One fell, and the other fell atop them, trying to strike another blow. The first to fall kicked out into the gut of his foe, knocking them away, and the two rolled in the mud, buckled with pain and exhaustion.

The filth of battle coated them, erasing any distinguishing marks, any insignias. The emblems of the Coalition were ripped and torn, grey eyes were caked in blood and mud. Even their distinctive bending had been claimed by the fatigue of the long night. Causes and beliefs had become afterthoughts, symbols and allegiances had been discarded.

There was nothing between the two now but blood and spite. A fist struck a face in a slow punch, and was returned in kind. The pain of the blows were ignored, the fatigue that sought to collapse them was disregarded. Neither would fall unless their enemy fell first. They had battled all night, and they would battle for all eternity if necessary.

One tackled the other, knocking both to the ground, and they fell into the mud, striking blows all the while. The two rolled in the mud, striking and clawing at one another with wild abandon. Neither made any attempt to defend themselves. Each struck viciously, thoughtlessly, hoping to beat the other into submission first.

A brutal strike to the gut knocked them apart, each falling to the side, breathless and exhausted. They stayed separated for a moment, if only because their broken, tired bodies could barely move.

Sen rolled over onto his face and pushed himself upwards. Sarin stumbled to his feet a short distance away. The two staggered upwards, refusing to stay down, and faced one another once more.

Sarin lunged first, diving forward in a quick tackle. His arms wrapped around Sen's torso and pushed him to the ground. Sen slammed his elbow down on Sarin's back as they fell, and quickly pulled his arm back to throw a punch at Sarin's face mud-stained face. Sarin slammed his rival down into the mud and threw a punch into his gut, following it with another strike to the face.

The two traded blows, weak and wild, neither doing much damage to the other. Sen wrapped one hand around Sarin's throat and threw him aside, then rolled on to his belly to crawl through the mud after him. Sarin kicked out to fend Sen off, and Sen stopped as Sarin's boot struck his jaw. The interruption was only momentary: Sen was quickly on to his feet and after Sarin once again.

Sarin struggled to move backwards, but Sen chased after him just slightly faster. As the dueling duo reunited, Sarin kicked him in the knee. He fell, but he fell forward, his fist plunging towards Sarin as he collapsed.

His knuckles slammed into Sarin's gut. Sarin struck out at Sen's face, but half of his wild blows missed, and Sen powered through the few blows that did land. It was a struggle, but Sen eventually managed to wrap one hand around Sarin's throat, the other raised high and then falling down. Sen smiled in satisfaction as his fist cracked against Sarin's jaw.

He felt the blow shake his weary muscles and wrack his fractured bones with pain. He ignored all of the pain. It hurt a thousand different ways, but no single agony or a thousand sufferings combined could overpower the satisfaction of Sarin suffering for even a second. So Sen raised his hand, and he struck again. Then again.

The sound of Sen's fist against Sarin's skull was the only sound in the dark night. The dying rain of the storm fell gently as red rivulets poured out of Sarin's face and dripped into the mud. Sarin struggled and fought, striking at Sen's arms and face, but nothing deterred the beating. Sen continued in an almost rhythmic fashion, raising his fist and dropping it down, letting gravity add strength to his blows where his aching muscles could not.

Whether out of luck or desperation, Sarin eventually managed to catch Sen's fist as it fell. He grabbed Sen's wrist with both hands and held it in place, stopping the rain of blows. Sen pushed and pulled, seeking to free his arm, but Sarin held firm. Sen's fist stayed frozen above Sarin's left eye.

Locked briefly in a stalemate, unable to express their mutual hatred through physical violence, the two focused their rage into a staredown. Both could barely keep their eyes open, but still they found a way to glare at one another, as if they could cut their opponent with a sharp scowl. Sen stared down at the bloodstained, mud-caked face of his rival, and he felt an ember of hate burn that much brighter in his stomach. The fist dangling over Sarin's face unfolded.

Sen focused on Sarin's left eye as an ember became a spark, and spark became fire. The dark night flashed bright red as the fire lashed out.

For long hours Sensheng and Ahn-Li had kept an uneventful watch over the fortress. The night had grown long and tiring, but as they were not involved in the battle they had retained consciousness. They had, however, drifted off as they awaited any sign that the battle was one or lost. Their lazy watch over the battlefield was broken by the most chilling scream they had ever heard.

It was a high, shrieking noise that filled the air completely, a shrill and unrelenting note of agony. Ahn-Li and Sensheng jumped to their feet in shock. It was an all-too familiar tone. It was not the high-pitched howl of Sarin's Energybending, but it still came from the grey-eyed Energybender. Sarin's voice filled the air as he screamed in unimaginable pain.

"Sarin," Sensheng mumbled half-deliriously. "That was Sarin, we have to get him out of there."

Sensheng stumbled over the helicopter, one of the last they possessed, and roused their lone pilot. Ahn-Li followed behind more hesitantly.

"Sensheng, the storm," She cautioned. Though the hurricane had weakened, it was still dangerous to fly.

"We risk the storm or we lose the war," Sensheng said firmly.

"Then let it end," Ahn-Li pleaded. She held her hand out towards the fortress. "Look at this, Sensheng!"

Sensheng cast his eyes downwards. The fractured ruins of the fortress were easy to see, the scarred corpse of a battle that had broken the earth itself. Ahn-Li's body shuddered weakly, weighted by the fatigue of the long night and her own guilt.

"It's not worth it," She said meekly. Sensheng could not look her in the eyes. He listened to the rain bounce off the metal hide of the machine.

"Fly," Sensheng commanded. He could not argue the truth of Ahn-Li's words, but neither could he back down. He had committed himself to this course long ago. It would take more than this to make him back down.

The helicopter lifted off, pitching and rolling in the unsteady winds of the storm. It was only a short flight to the center of the battlefield, but it seemed an eternity. Sensheng was forced to see the battlefield up close now, to fly over all the unmoving bodies, wondering all the while if they were simply unconscious –or worse. He averted his gazed and focused on the search for Sarin. It would not be difficult.

The night still rang with the ragged screams of Sarin's agony. The Avatar was some distance away from his rival, perhaps launched into the distance by some panicked spasm of pain. He was crawling his way through the mud towards his nemesis. Sensheng beat him to their mutual target.

Sarin was clutching his left eye with both hands, his entire body squirming as the agony coursed through his every nerve like a poison. Sensheng could see little of the injury, but the blackened, scorched skin told him all he needed to know. He grabbed at Sarin and tried to pull him towards the helicopter, trying to calm him all the while. It was a difficult process, but some of Sensheng's words managed to reach Sarin's pain-addled mind, and he followed towards the helicopter.

Dei Sensheng glanced cautiously over his shoulder and saw the Avatar clawing his way towards the chopper frantically. Sensheng pushed them forward that much faster, reaching the chopper just ahead of the Avatar. He angrily demanded they take off, and the helicopter lifted off the ground, giving him a brief moment of hope.

The chopper wobbled unsteadily and lurched to the side. It was no fault of the hurricane.

Clawing forward on desperate dregs of rage, Sen pulled himself into the helicopter as it took off. The pilot panicked and sent them flying forwards quickly, nearly shaking the Avatar off. Sen's bloodstained fingertips dug into the metal hull and held tight, holding on long enough for him to regain his grip and pull himself further in.

He struggled to his feet and stood, muscles tensed, dripping filth and blood onto the metal floor of the helicopter. His eyes, bloodshot and frantic like those of a rabid beast, scanned the helicopter, focusing on Sarin with lethal intent. He took a single step forward.

Sensheng was no warrior, but he knew the Avatar had to be exhausted. He thought for a moment he might be able to stop or delay the Avatar, and stepped forward. He was swiftly proven wrong. The Avatar, long succumbed to bestial rage, swung his fist and sent Sensheng flying towards the cockpit, never glancing away from Sarin for a moment. With Dei Sensheng out of the way, Sen stepped forward, his red hand reaching out to take hold of Sarin.

Acting out of panic rather than logic, Sensheng reoriented himself in the cockpit, took a quick look back, and then grabbed the control stick, pulling it violently aside. The helicopter pitched to the side as it twisted sharply off course. Sen lunged forward and barely caught hold of Sarin before gravity took effect and pulled him downwards.

Avatar and Energybender both plummeted out of the side of the helicopter, their fall only halted by a quick grab from Sen. The winds of the hurricane caught them and pitched them the other way, rolling the helicopter to the other side, allowing Sen to regain his footing and tighten his grip on Sarin.

The hurricane seemed to have been saving it's fury for just such a moment, as another gust caught the helicopter and rolled it off course. All occupants tumbled and rolled through the shaking, spinning machine. He bounced off the walls, but Sen never released his grip on Sarin. Once again he nearly fell from the flying machine, but clung to the metal hull at the last minute.

He took a quick look around as the world spun out of control around him. When the helicopter finally stabilized, they were upside-down. They were plummeting downwards, with the spinning rotors of the helicopter beneath them. Sen and Sarin both dangled above the rotating blades of the helicopter, Sarin held aloft only by Sen's tight grip.

Sen looked down at the grey-eyed Energybender held in his hand. He took a long look at the blackened burn where there had once been an eye. It was a satisfying sight –but it wasn't enough.

With a smile, Sen let go of Sarin, sending him falling to the whirling blades below.

The helicopter hit the ground, crashing in a shriek of broken metal and fiery explosions. The metal tore and the fire burned, a violent but quick burst of noise and chaos. It faded quickly, buried by the storm.

Then the storm faded, and the sun rose on a deathly quiet battlefield.

***

The world bled back in slowly.

It took Sen a long time realize he was even alive. It might have been minutes or hours he spent, his mind adrift in a black void, before the first sensations of hid body started to return. They were dull, faraway things at first; the muffled thud of a heartbeat, the slight pressure of shallow breaths in his lungs.

It wasn't long after that the full sensations of his body started pouring in, though he began to wish they hadn't. There wasn't an inch of Sen's body that didn't burn with a low, searing pain. He let out a low groan through cracked lips as he became more aware of the pain.

Apparently his ears had begun to work as well, because he could now hear voices, and slight shuffling as someone took notice of his groan.

"I told you he needed more sedative," A harsh voice said. Sen might have panicked, but even in his half-delirious state he could recognize Tlun's impatient scolding. He was somewhere safe, and he allowed himself to relax.

Sen attempted to open his eyes, but found a blinding light staring down at him, and his eyes snapped shut again. He would work to that in time. For now he attempted to move his arms, only to find that they were securely strapped in place with thick bonds. Tlun approached his bedside and put his hands firmly on Sen's arms, holding him place even more securely.

"Can you hear me, Sen?"

"Yes," Sen croaked. The act of speaking was physically painful, but he could manage.

"Good. I know you're thinking about jumping out of bed and getting back to the hunt. Don't. You are exhausted, dehydrated, malnourished, and wounded in more ways than I can count. If you get out of this bed, your body will, and I do not exaggerate in the slightest, fall apart."

Sen could tell that Tlun was leaning closer and closer to his head, to drive the point home more firmly.

"Do I have your word that you will stay in this bed?"

"Yes," Sen repeated. He attempted to nod, but found his neck was stuck in place. Tlun nodded his own head and began to undo Sen's restraints. He had changed a lot lately, but Sen was still honest with his friends. For once he'd stay in bed and let a doctor look over him. It was long overdue.

"All your friends are alright, if you're worried," Tlun said. "They're barely in any better shape than you, though. Several sprains, dislocations, Whistler's left arm is broken, but nothing they can't recover from."

Tlun and the other noncombatants had returned the moment the storm had faded to pick up the broken pieces of the Coalition's armies. It had been a monumental task. For hours after they'd arrived, no one could tell whether the Coalition had won or lost the battle. Perhaps it had been neither.

Sen showed some signs of relief to hear that his friends were safe, but his morose expression remained mostly unchanged. Tlun sighed. Sen's six closest friends were fine, but many others couldn't say the same. No doubt that thought haunted Sen.

"You didn't find Sarin," Sen noted. That would have been the first thing he'd said otherwise.

"No, we didn't," Tlun admitted. He watched Sen cautiously. If anything was going to get him to leave bed, this would be it. "He got away."

Tlun expected some kind of outburst or expression of anger. Much to his surprise, Sen sighed deeply and smiled.

"Not all of him," The Avatar said cryptically, before returning to sleep.

***

Sarin woke with a start and a scream, his body shaking in a spasm as what little medication his forces had been able to scrape together wore off. The last medic they had left quickly quieted him, despite Sarin's struggling. He was still half-sedated, and his muscles were unreliable. Once he had calmed, he took a look around, and found himself half blind.

"My eye," He said aloud. Sensheng nodded coldly. He had been watching over Sarin. He had his own injuries as well, resulting from the violent helicopter crash, but he had managed to drag Sarin to safety none the less.

"Irreparable," Sensheng said. The flames of the Avatar had scorched Sarin's eye shut, leaving nothing but a broad red scar over his left eye. "We did what we could."

Sarin flexed his pained muscles, feeling out every ache and pain in his body. They were numerous –except for one suspicious absence.

"You need to speak to our medics," Sarin said, not yet aware they had only one doctor left in their entire army. "Their sedation is amateurish."

"How so?" Sensheng questioned.

"I can't feel my right arm," Sarin concluded. Sensheng's face soured, and he paused sullenly before speaking.

"You don't have a right arm, Sarin."


	93. Book 5 Ch21: Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The storm and the battle have ended, but their shadows still linger in the hearts of the battles participants.

It took some time for all those present at the Battle of Fort Ganhwa to recover, but as soon as they were on their feet again, they returned to Republic City. They all had quite a bit to attend to.

The first to step off the train and into action was the one who should have been still resting. Sen stepped down from the train car and lurched forward unsteadily, his injured legs lumbering forward with dogged determination. There were no cheers to celebrate his return. An uneasy chill crept over all who had come to watch the return of their soldiers, and they parted ways for him.

He paid the crowd no mind, staring forward with fiery eyes at an unknown destination. As he stalked an unseen prey deeper into the building, soldiers of all stripes began to pour out after him. The surviving soldiers threw themselves into the waiting arms of their friends and loved ones and celebrated their long-overdue reunion.

Few present moved quite as fast as Suda. Tracking down Yoki with an almost supernatural speed, Suda lumbered forward and took her, all too gently, in his arms, kissing her deeply. He released her just as fast, lightly resting his hands on her hips, just below her stomach. Yoki took the hint.

"I guess Ada told you, huh?"

"Yeah, she did, sorry," Suda said. "Kind of a little bit saved my life, though, so, hope you're not too mad."

"Oh, no, it's probably better this way, I'm really not that great with words," Yoki chuckled awkwardly. "But, umm, yes…this is happening. We are going to be parents. I take it you're pretty excited."

Suda answered that by kissing her again. Yoki had her fears and doubts about parenthood, but they were all pushed away by the overwhelming love that Suda radiated. She smiled warmly at his touch. The father was not completely without doubts of his own, though, and he pulled away, beginning to think out loud.

"What's the first thing I have to do, I mean, we should probably move to your place in the Fire Nation, if you want, we could probably get a house somewhere else, where's the best place to raise a kid right now? It's probably the Republic, should we get a house-"

"Suda," Yoki said firmly. She reached up and grabbed his face. "I'm fine. It'll be a few months before anything happens, and I have plenty of people to take care of me. All you need to do is keep being a hero."

"I think I can do that," Suda said. It was only going to get easier from now on, especially now that he was less worried about getting hurt. He had an indestructible shield now, after all. What could possibly hurt him?

Whistler answered that by whacking him on the back of the head.

"Come on, lovebird," Whistler scolded. "We've got an important war meeting to go to, remember?"

Whistler's scolding scowl dropped off her face as she turned to Yoki and smiled brightly.

"Congratulations," She said warmly. Yoki seemed oddly disturbed by the display of entirely legitimate affection from Whistler. Even Whistler wasn't mean enough to hate babies, though.

Suda lumbered forward reluctantly as he walked towards the meeting room. Gradually, the seven members of Team Avatar came together. They were given a wide berth as they walked through the railway depot. The only slight hesitation in their procession came as they passed another unloading railway car. This one bore no honored heroes of the past battle. This one carried one of its worst villains.

Thick chains rattled as Kida was led outwards, towards a waiting supermax security cell. Ariak hesitated a moment to look at her from afar. She was locked in enough chains to hold a badgermole in place, and yet none of them seemed necessary. She moved limply, practically being dragged by the guards that escorted her. She stared blankly at nothing in particular, unmoving.

Ariak's pause lasted only a second as Sen pulled at him, calling him back to attention. They proceeded onwards.

"You've spent enough time worry about her already," Sen said harshly. He disguised his words, but it was clear to all that when he said "spent" he really meant "wasted".

"She's hurt," Ariak said defensively. "Whatever you may think of her, she deserves at least some pity."

"No amount of pity excuses anything she's done," Sen said.

"She lost the people she loved," Ariak said. "People have extreme reactions-"

"I thought I lost someone I cared about once," Sen said. Hanjo looked at the ground. "I managed to get through it without causing hundreds of deaths."

Ariak looked away. Miyani stepped up.

"It doesn't matter. Ariak was right, and Kida's not a threat any more. There's no point in arguing about her now."

"She's an unpleasant memory now, as she should be," Ada said.

"Unpleasant things are worth remembering, sometimes," Hanjo said. "They remind you how you should act in the future. Teach you that even someone like Kida can be worth saving."

"Or teach you the price of not stopping them in time," Sen said bitterly.

"Do you have something to say, Sen?" Ariak questioned. Sen was barely hiding his contempt for Kida, and perhaps even Ariak.

"Ask Yakkul," Sen growled.

A chilling quiet descended on them all, and Sen's point became abundantly clear. The bloodbenders, Kida's students, had been the only reason the battle at Fort Ganhwa had been so devastating. Their dark power had made the battle possible. Without their bloodbending tipping the scales, the Coalition might have had an easy victory –and many of their allies might still be alive.

"You can just as easily blame Temujin for breaking the cliff, Sarin for starting the battle, Dei Sensheng for planning the whole thing," Hanjo said angrily. He wasn't going to stand by and let Sen place blame solely on Kida and Ariak's feud. "Nothing that happened is any one person's fault."

"Yes, it is," Sen retaliated. "Kida was a problem on her own, but this all comes back to Sarin."

Hanjo rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. This was going to be the end of that discussion. They could see the bloodthirsty twitch in Sen's eyes whenever he talked about Sarin. Sen's ability to think coherently stopped where Sarin's existence began. They continued onwards in silence, Sen's anger oppressing any desire to converse.

***

"He was an incorrigible old jerk," Dahaka said morosely. "But he had a good heart, and he did right by the world."

"Someone had to make the tough calls," Chief Kesuk sighed. "Many of us could only afford to be so moderate because Goto was willing to be extreme."

The gathered leaders of the world nodded and raised their drinks in a toast to their fallen friend. The untimely passing of Fire Lord Goto would be creating shockwaves across the world soon enough. For now his fellow leaders took a moment to pay tribute to a lost comrade. Despite their frequent disagreements, all here had considered him a dear friend and ally.

They would all give proper eulogies days from now at his state funeral. For now their mourning was cut short by the sudden and loud arrival of their newest guest.

The Avatar bashed open the door with all the subtlety of a platypus-bear, interrupting the reverent mood. He paused briefly; the act of opening the door stressed one of his injuries. After a second of recovery he lurched forward and sat down while his teammates waited behind him.

"You're up and about very quickly, given what Tlun said of your injuries," Chief Kesuk stated.

"I'm fine," Sen said. Kesuk raised an eyebrow. Sen was visibly anything but fine. He was wearing more bandages than clothing. Even the little bit of his skin that was exposed was clearly marked with bruises, abrasions, and cuts.

Even Sen knew he wasn't in good shape. He was keeping himself together with determination and just a touch of Energybending-enhanced healing. Kalden's journals had been quite illuminating on using the lost art to heal. One had to wonder why he hadn't used the power to heal himself.

"I'm not entirely sure you should be here," Chieftain Atana observed. "Perhaps resting would be better for you."

"The entire world, myself included, will sleep more soundly when Sarin is dealt with," Sen said firmly. "Until then, I don't stop."

The two chieftains of the water tribe shared a concerned glance. All the world leaders shared a similar feeling. Sen was a few blows away from falling apart.

"Did you have something to say?" Sen asked. "I assume I was summoned for a reason."

"Well, yes," Dahaka said. "We wanted to discuss the situation. The recent battle changes some things, obviously."

"With Sarin having lost so much, we'd like to begin de-escalating our military efforts," Chief Kesuk said. "The Fire Nation especially."

Kesuk nodded to Colonel Kujo, who was currently standing in for the Fire Nation leadership. Mika, obviously, was in no condition to discuss business so soon after the loss of her father.

"It's going to be a difficult transition of power," Kujo explained. "I'm reluctant to leave this war unfinished, but we have to think about the security of our nation."

Sen nodded. The Fire Nation had already been facing internal pressure to end the monarchy. As grim as it was, the anti-monarchist faction might see Goto's death as an opportunity. There would no doubt be protests or even open revolts.

"We're looking to shift our priorities," Dahaka elaborated. "After so many losses to his forces, his helicopters and bloodbenders especially, we no longer believe Sarin poses an active threat to the world."

That statement drew a very dark glare from Sen, and Dahaka hesitated nervously, but the Avatar said nothing. Dahaka gathered his wits and continued.

"Obviously, there would be a task force committed to continuing the hunt for Sarin, but most of our troops would-"

"All of them," Sen said, suddenly interrupting the president. "You can withdraw all of them so far as I'm concerned."

Sen leaned back and idly waved a hand over his shoulder, gesturing to his six teammates.

"The only task force I need is standing behind me. Sarin's working with table scraps, not an army. We can handle him."

The gathered world leaders nodded in affirmation. It was relieving to have Sen endorse their idea so readily. They had expected him to apply the entire weight of his armies to Sarin's destruction, given his recent behavior. They all wanted Sarin stopped, but there was such a thing as unnecessary force.

"I may also need Detective Zas and some other members of my intelligence network, naturally," Sen elaborated. "There's still the matter of finding Sarin."

"It may not be as hard as you think," Dahaka corrected. "Lieutenant Ahn-Li surrendered to our custody after the battle."

Sen nodded approvingly. The Lieutenant would no doubt hold a wealth of information about the highest level of Sarin's operation.

"I'll go see her in prison after our meeting ends," Sen said.

"She's not in prison. She's here, as a guest of state."

Sen's posture shifted noticeably, and Dahaka twitched nervously. The eyes of the Avatar burned down in a judgmental glare at the president of the United Republic.

"Why exactly is a war criminal a guest of honor in the capital of the United Republic?"

It was more of an accusation than a question, and they all knew it.

"She's hardly a guest, she's under armed guard and-"

"The point stands, mister President," Sen said, his voice dripping with hostility. "The Lieutenant had a hand in every major conflict of this war. Why is one of our worst enemies subject to any kind of preferential treatment?"

"Because she surrendered voluntarily, for one," Dahaka shot back. He was not entirely cowed by Sen's aggression. Only mostly. "And because I served with her during the Seventh Kingdom War. I know she's guilty, Avatar, but you have to understand what she saw, the trauma she-"

Sen stood up, taking them all by surprise, and slammed his fist down on the table.

"When did hurt feelings become an excuse for murder?"

Ariak stepped forward to rein Sen in, but that seemed to be the extent of his outburst. The Avatar clutched his side, nursing an aggravated injury, and slumped back into his seat. He breathed heavily. Even that small tantrum had been an exhausting outburst in his condition.

"We already have Temujin en route to maximum security. Why do we treat the woman who gave him orders any different?"

There was an awkward pause. The gathered world leaders turned to Dahaka slowly.

"The Avatar does have a point," Chief Kesuk admitted. "We can hardly discount Ahn-Li's crimes just because of her past."

"I'm not just going to throw her to the dogs," Dahaka said stubbornly. "She has every intention of cooperating and helping us. Surely that counts for something."

"That depends on how useful she is," Sen said grimly. He stood up and wobbled slightly as he did so. "You can continue your discussions on the Coalition without me. I'll abide by whatever decisions you make, so long as my provisions are kept."

Chief Kesuk nodded. Most of the people Sen was asking for would help him regardless of any choices the Coalition made. It wouldn't be hard for them to leave the Avatar with a token force of intelligence officers and supplies. There was no longer any need for a massive force. The conflict had ceased to be a war and had become a manhunt for the Energybender.

With that hunt occupying the entirety of his mind, the Avatar dismissed himself and followed the long halls towards the all-too comfortable room where Ahn-Li was waiting. He limped slightly as he moved. Suda bit his tongue. He wanted to offer some kind of help, but he knew Sen would reject it outright. His anger drove him to ignore his injuries, and wander off without any of his friends in tow.

"That went far better than I was expecting," Kesuk said nervously.

"Yes, the Avatar was surprisingly reasonable," Atana agreed. Ada glanced sideways at the two of them.

"Are you…scared? Of Sen?"

"Scared is definitely the wrong word," Kesuk said defensively. "But the Avatar is beginning to take actions we can't support. It is true that we wanted to downsize the Coalition-"

"But they also wanted Sen's hands off the reins of the military," Kujo snorted. Apparently he didn't approve. "Just in case he 'went too far'."

"Do you actually believe that Sen's a threat?" Suda asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Kesuk countered. "The Avatar is still acting in the best interests of the people, but you must know leaders with good intentions do not always produce good results. Isn't that right, Ariak?"

Ariak scowled. Of course Kesuk would bring that up.

"Sen is not my father," He retorted. It was a statement that became less and less true every day.

"The Avatar may have every intention of saving us," Chieftain Atana continued. "But his actions are going down a path we cannot follow. We hope you understand our position on this matter."

"And that if, not when, if, Sen should cross a line," Dahaka elaborated, stressing the hypothetical nature of this statement. "You will be there to stop him."

***

Sen slammed the door to Ahn-Li's "cell" open even more violently than he had the meeting rooms. He took a look around at the accommodations and sneered. An open and unguarded window let in a pleasant breeze. Ahn-Li wasn't even wearing handcuffs.

The Lieutenant took one look at Sen and cast her eyes downwards. She was sitting an empty table, staring at nothing. Sen walked over to her, noisily dragged a chair across the floor, and sat down across from her.

"Liuetenant," Sen said. "I'm not going to waste time on pleasantries you don't deserve. Tell me what I want to know."

"I'm sorry, Avatar, I-"

"I don't want your apologies," Sen interrupted. "I want Sarin."

Ahn-Li sobbed slightly and held out her hands pleadingly.

"Avatar, I know you must hate me-"

"I hold you personally responsible for the deaths of several of my friends," Sen said coldly. Ahn-Li froze. "Of course I hate you. The only reason I haven't expressed that hate is because you might help me find someone I hate even more."

Sen leaned forward and lowered his voice. Somehow the quieter tone only made him more frightening.

"Tell me where I can find Sarin."

He never said any real threats, but the sound of his voice made it quite clear that there would be consequences if Ahn-Li did not comply. The defector lieutenant wrung her hands nervously and tried to calm herself.

"I can't tell you where to find him, exactly," Ahn-Li admitted. She looked up at Sen to check his temperament. His truth-seeing abilities let him see that she was being honest, so he remained calm. He could tell she had more to say.

"There was a sort of 'panic room', a secure location we could retreat to in emergencies. It would be the only secure base we have left right now."

"But you can't tell me where it is," Sen said. Ahn-Li shook her head tensely.

"No, it was one of the things…After Gamon, they stopped trusting us all. They started to take things, memories from us."

Sen nodded. It made sense. Sarin had learned the hard way he couldn't trust his top brass after Gamon's attempted defection. He'd removed a chunk of the important information from their minds using the Hssk's power. It was a prudent decision given Ahn-Li's surrender.

"So why have a base that no one remembers where to find?" Sen wondered aloud.

"It's Sensheng. In an emergency we were all supposed to get in touch with Dei Sensheng, and he would tell us everything."

Sen rested his hand on his chin. That was an interesting lead.

"Dei Sensheng remembers things that you don't?"

"Always. He's Sarin's favorite. He decided what to make us forget, what was important for us to remember and what we could spare. Whatever it was Sarin was doing to erase our memories, Sensheng was a part of it."

Sen tapped his fingertips against the table in a slow, rolling motion. After a moment of contemplation, he leaned back in his chair. Dei Sensheng had conscious knowledge of the Hssk. Sarin must have chosen to reveal it to him. That was an opportunity Sen could not afford to pass up. With his memories intact, Sensheng would be the key to finding Sarin. But reaching Sensheng would be the first and hardest step.

"Sending a message to Dei Sensheng doesn't guarantee me anything," Sen said. "He's not certain or even likely to cooperate with me."

"Sensheng is no idiot, Avatar," Ahn-Li said. "By now he'll know there's no chance for victory. Offer him safety, and he'll take it."

Sen stared forward coldly. The last thing he wanted was to offer asylum to another of his enemies. They were already being far too forgiving to war criminals and killers.

"Tell me how to send the message," Sen demanded.

***

Sen had relayed his message to Sensheng in no uncertain terms. All he could do now was wait and hope that Dei Sensheng saw the same logic that Ahn-Li did. Sen was by no means patient in his wait for Sensheng's response, but he did at least have something to occupy his time.

The Avatar had left Republic City and his friends behind for now, limping into the mountains outside the massive city. Occasionally he was aided in his climb by Gun, but for the most part he proceeded in solitude.

A smooth, rocky outcropping just below the snowy peak provided what Sen was looking for. The noise and chaos of the city faded away here. Sen sat down and breathed in the cold mountain air.

Something had happened to him at the Battle of Fort Ganhwa. At a moment that could have meant his absolute victory, the end of the war and of Sarin, his power had faltered. The light in his eyes had faded and he'd lost the power of the Avatar State. That single loss of power had cost him his victory.

He needed to know why.

Sen closed his darkened eyes and focused on himself. He pushed the rest of the world away until all he could feel was his own heartbeat, his own breathing. The pain in his body tried to linger, tried to make him aware of every cut and bruise, but he pushed that away as well, until he was left isolated in his own mind.

That was all he found. Isolation. A void where the light of the Avatar was meant to be, where Korra should have been. He pushed ever deeper.

There was a connection still in his soul, but it was one-sided. He could feel the light of Raava in the distance but could not connect to it. A few flashing echoes of thought carried over to him. Chains, poison clinging to his veins, Korra staring at a wrathful image of herself.

Sen ignored the echoes of memory. He was not poisoned nor was he confused as Korra had once been. He knew exactly what he needed to do. The only question was whether he'd have the power to do it.

Despite the silence from the other end of his spiritual connection, Sen could still feel a call. A call that was just as dark and foreboding as the void that separated him from the light. A black tendril reaching out across the void, promising power and the destruction of his enemies.

Sen stood up and left all the darkness behind. He didn't need any of it. He didn't want any of it.

At the end of it all, the satisfaction of Sarin's defeat would be Sen's and Sen's alone. He would put an end to it all –with his bare hands if he had to.

***

"You find what you were looking for up on the mountain?" Suda asked.

"In a sense, yes," Sen said coldly. "Has there been any word back from Sesheng?"

"It's only been a couple hours, Sen," Hanjo said. "It'll be a while. Rest a bit. See Tlun. Maybe get yourself a new pair of glasses."

Sen had not bothered to replace his broken glasses after the Battle of Fort Ganhwa. He was more than capable of fighting without them at this point, and he had no desire to waste the time fetching a new pair.

"I'm going to be ready to move as soon as we get Sensheng's response," Sen said. "No more wasted time."

"Perhaps you should at least send Detective Zas out on the hunt," Ada suggested. "In case Sensheng doesn't respond at all."

"It's a good idea to keep your bases covered," Miyani said. "Maybe you should send me too. I'm pretty good at tailing the bad guys."

"I doubt there will be a trail to follow. It's not an army anymore, its a few scraps of men and broken wills. Sarin has nothing left. Sensheng and the Hssk are the only allies he has left in this world."

Sen felt a subtle chill gnaw the air as the mere mention of the Hssk clawed the thoughts from their minds. He sighed to himself. He couldn't help but mention the name aloud now and then, despite its uselessness. The conversation came to a pause as the mind-eater's power went to work, rending the minds of his allies from within. Miyani shook her head.

"Are you ever going to tell us anything about them? I think we deserve to know about our enemies, Sen."

"You already know everything about Sensheng, Miyani," Sen said. He was surprised to see her act so clueless.

"The other one. That Hssk guy you keep mentioning."

Sen froze for a moment, looked at Miyani, and then swiftly reconsidered who had been acting clueless. He placed his palm firmly upon his face and rested it there for a moment.

"Sen?"

Sen shook his head. "You could as easily give your friends an extra eye as show them the king of secrets." Warmth of the Witches of Winter had told him exactly what to look for, and he'd missed it completely. He sighed deeply at his own foolisheness.

"The third eye," Sen said, looking at the red mark on Miyani's forehead. "The Light chakra, the insight to pierce illusions."

"What are you even talking about, Sen?" Miyani asked.

"There's an evil thought-eating spirit that only you and me can see or remember," Sen said flatly. "It's a long story."

"I think that deserves some explanation," Miyani said, deeply confused.

Sen let the entire story unfold, from the first meeting in the Spirit World to the troubles that Hssk had been causing in the war. He even demonstrated the Hssk's mind-erasing powers by letting Miyani watch as all their other friends forget the story as it was told to them. Miyani's eyes narrowed as she watched them all stare blankly onwards as their memories were lost.

"So I guess that explains why I was always so good at tracking the bad guys down," Miyani said flatly. She was having a hard time digesting this very odd information.

"Something about your third eye must be able to dispel the Hssk's illusions for a short time," Sen said. They had tried re-interrogating soldiers Miyani had captured before, and found no results. Miyani acted like a torch in the darkness, whatever she revealed was lost again the moment she left.

The discussion paused briefly as Sen crossed his arms contemplatively. Miyani waited for him to continue the conversation: she was still a bit lost on her own, unsure of what to do next.

After some time to think, Sen knew exactly what would come next, and he smiled. Miyani felt some brief happiness at this, but it was quickly dispelled. She had been waiting a long time to see Sen smile again, but this was no smile of joy. It was a vicious smile, the bared fangs of a predator.

"If we could take Sarin by surprise, you might be able to keep him and the Hssk separated," Sen said. The mind-eater spirit did not keep itself permanently attached to Sarin. With Miyani facing the Hssk and Sen fighting Sarin, the two could be kept divided and, therefore, significantly weakened.

"Without the Hssk, Sarin won't be able to energybend without destroying himself," Sen said. "I'll crush him."

Miyani wanted to share in Sen's excitement, but there was a vicious edge to his words that made her hesitate. The way Sen's fists clenched as he spoke was just one of many signs of hatred boiling deep inside him. That tension and hatred rose in Sen for a moment before settling.

"But all we can do for now is wait," Sen muttered. His impatience was still evident. He grunted in frustration.

"I should have found this out earlier," Sen said angrily. "I missed such obvious signs."

"You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you'd been more focused on your friends than your enemies," Miyani said. There was just a slight hint of scolding to her voice.

Sen glared at Miyani, and she shrunk back. The Avatar shook his head dismissively and left without another word, leaving his confused friends behind.


	94. Book 5 Ch22: Loyalties Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the final battle draws closer, Sen and Sarin find the loyalties of their closest allies in question.

SEVEN YEARS AGO

The forest of glowing trees stretched out before them. Sarin did not know what to make of the forest. The Harrier was equally wary. Only Kalden nodded in approval. The brilliant lights of the Undying Bloom were exactly what the Hssk had described.

"We go alone from here," Kalden said to The Harrier. Lock had stayed behind in Republic City, and the Fogbender had drifted off to his own devices as soon as it was no longer needed to provide shelter with its fog. Only Harrier had remained to escort them to the Undying Bloom.

"I'll wait for your return here," Harrier said. "And escort you back to Republic City."

Kalden looked to the young man who had followed them across two worlds and shook his head slightly.

"It is likely I will not return, Harrier," Kalden said. He placed one wrinkled hand on Harrier's shoulder. "If it is so, I wish for you to know this; your skills, your loyalty, and your friendship have been among my greatest assets."

Harrier likewise extended his hand out to Kalden's shoulder and nodded firmly, if regretfully. Kalden was an inspiring leader to all his men, Harrier especially. The cult he led would be greatly weakened by his loss.

"Sarin will be succeed me, and hopefully, wield powers far greater than I ever could," Kalden said. "I hope you will serve him as loyally as you have served me."

Harrier turned to Sarin and bowed slightly.

"If you are half the man your brother is, I will follow you to the ends of the earth," Harrier said. Sarin nodded awkwardly in return.

Kalden and the Harrier bid each other a sincere but brief goodbye, knowing full well it might be their last, and then the Energybender brothers vanished amidst the blinding brilliance of the Undying Bloom. The darkened shadow of the Hssk led them through the searing luminescence of the forest, towards its heart. Sarin followed on his brother's footsteps, shielding his eyes from the searing leaves of light.

"What do you do to make your men so loyal to you?" Sarin asked. Kalden had a way of inspiring fervent devotion among his men. It would be a hard standard to live up to.

"Loyalty is not gained by any single action," Kalden said. "You must live your life to a standard. Embody an ideal for your men to follow, become their dream in fullness, and they will believe in you as strongly as they do the dream."

Kalden did not turn his eyes away from the heart of the forest.

"Now come. Your destiny awaits. We must see it through at any cost."

***

Sensheng waited in his chambers. He had not been here in months. When last he'd sat at this desk, it had been stacked high with papers, rosters, duty reports, plans of attack. Now it was as bare as the land around them. There was nothing left to report on. Every soldier they possessed, the few dozen of them, was gathered in this single structure. They had no scouts and no spies, no armies to command. Sensheng felt useless.

A long range radio crackled in the silence. Sensheng quickly rolled his chair towards it, hopeful for a brief moment that some lingering remnant of their army still held loyalty. It took only a second for that hope to be dashed.

"Dei Sensheng," The voice of the Avatar growled. Sensheng recoiled from the radio, but did nothing to silence the message.

"I have an offer for you," The Avatar promised. "Come to the Mount Erika in one week. Surrender peacefully, and we can negotiate."

Sensheng waited in silence. There was a brief pause in the message, perhaps to give him time to consider.

"This is the last mercy I'll offer," The Avatar threatened. "Bring anyone else willing to surrender. Anyone who remains loyal to Sarin after this week will face severe consequences."

The radio fell dead and silent. The room echoed with his threat all the same. Sensheng gripped the arm of his chair tightly. The fact that the Avatar had managed to reach this radio was an ill omen on its own.

Dei Sensheng listened to the silence around him. This facility had been built to sustain a few hundred, if necessary. It was occupied by a fraction of that. There was dead silence all around him.

The quiet closed in around him, and Sensheng fled from it. He walked the halls, seeking the answer to his dilemma. The offer of surrender was beyond tempting. It seemed the only intelligent choice. He couldn't look at his current situation and not see defeat in every possible future. There was no hope in this place.

It was painful to admit such an absolute defeat. He truly believed in the cause he was fighting for, after all. He was no opportunist trying to ride Sarin's coattails to power. Sensheng wanted nothing more than for this conflict to end and peace to reign for all eternity. Sadly, it now seemed impossible. The future promised only a hopeless darkness.

At the center of all that darkness and hopelessness, as always, he found Sarin.

The Energybender was fitfully attempting to meditate. The Avatar's viciousness had cost him greatly. Sarin was still coping with the loss of his eye and arm, struggling to relearn basic attempts now that he was short a limb. His robes were clearly disheveled, as he had struggled to even put them on. Sensheng took a deep breath and stepped forward, interrupting Sarin's rest.

"Sarin, I have been thinking about the future of our efforts," Sensheng said. He had to make an attempt to salvage all this. He had to believe, just one more time.

"As have I," Sarin said, surprising Sensheng greatly. "Our situation is obvious, Sensheng. There is little chance of overcoming the Avatar as we planned."

"Yes, I agree, I agree completely," Sensheng said. He was pleasantly surprised to see Sarin finally acknowledging the threat they faced. "What did you have in mind, so far as changes?"

"We'll have to reprioritize," Sarin said. "It's obvious that we cannot take the Avatar alive as I had hoped."

There had been a slight smile on Sensheng's face, and it quickly vanished.

"Kalden had always planned to strike and capture the Avatar when he was untrained and weak," Sarin said. "That should be our approach."

"The Avatar is already fully trained, Sarin, we'd have to-"

"Kill him."

Sensheng stepped back quietly.

"Yes, trying to take him alive was my only mistake," Sarin continued. "We'll start over. Reallocate our forces to the Fire Nation. When I strike Avatar Sen down, we'll have to track his successor quickly."

Sensheng said nothing. It was the most foolish idea he'd ever heard. There was absolutely no chance Sarin could defeat Sen under any circumstances. Even if some lethal impossibility occurred to claim Sen's life, he still had a waiting army of some of the most powerful people on earth. They would be swift to avenge him and to prevent Sarin making any progress towards the future Avatar. It was a completely ill-conceived and hopeless plan.

"It's a fine idea," Sensheng said. "I had a few interesting recruits in mind. May I take a helicopter to go meet with them?"

"Of course, Sensheng," Sarin said. "I was going to go on a recruitment mission myself. Re-recruitment, you might call it. An old friend, who has some expertise on the Fire Nation."

"Best of luck to you then, Sarin," Sensheng said, feigning good intentions.

"And to you, Sensheng," Sarin said with a nod. Dei Sensheng turned his back on his "master" and went swiftly about his work. He only had a week to meet the Avatar. Best not to waste any time.

One week after sending his message to Dei Sensheng, Sen stood at the base of the mountain, arms crossed impatiently. The carved doors of the temple loomed overhead, watching Sen fume while he waited for Sensheng. His teammates, as had become their habit, waited some distance away, leaving him to stew in his own anger from afar.

"He's going to go ballistic if Sensheng doesn't show," Hanjo said quietly.

"He'll just move on to Plan B, he won't waste time throwing tantrums," Ada said.

"He's got to snap eventually," Hanjo continued.

"I think he saves all his 'snapping' for Sarin," Whistler retaliated. "He's not going to go off on any of us."

"We'll see," Hanjo muttered.

Silence resumed as the wait continued. It was several hours past noon when Sen perked up slightly, focusing on a distant noise. Whistler heard it shortly afterwards, and soon they all did. The distant blades of a helicopter. Sen smiled with grim satisfaction.

They all watched in silence as the flying machine crested the hills and descended upon them. The spinning blades kicked up dust and debris, and all but Sen shielded their faces. He kept glaring at the helicopter and the rotors stopped turning. Sensheng stepped out, and hesitated slightly when he saw the Avatar. He quickly regained his composure. Seeming weak would only make him vulnerable in the coming negotiations.

"Avatar," He said cordially.

As Sen was backed up by his team, Sensheng was soon backed up by his three white-clad bodyguards. Sen watched them carefully, but they did not carry any of their usual weapons. Sensheng walked forward, feigning calm. Sen was almost impressed by the persuasiveness of Sensheng's performance. Less perceptive people might not have seen the terror he was trying to hide. The three women in white were less eager to keep up appearances.

Jan, Ken, and Po proceeded towards the White Lotus guards waiting nearby and promptly surrendered. Hanjo looked at them and sneered. He remembered his long-time captors well.

"Shame you don't want to put up a fight," He said. "Wouldn't mind another crack at you sisters."

The nearest of the three looked over at him with her blank mask, and then removed it, exposing a length of wavy black hair. The other two joined in shedding their masks, exposing their wildly different faces.

"We're not even related," The nearest one said. Hanjo shrugged broadly as the White Lotus guards led the three into custody. Sensheng watched his bodyguards be led away with a slight frown.

"Old friends of mine," He said idly. "It always helps to have people you can trust, yes?"

Sen did not respond. The cutting glare Sensheng received said quite enough.

"Yes, I suppose you're not here for small talk," Sensheng said awkwardly. "On to negotiations, then?"

"Negotiations, yes," Sen said. "Walk with me."

Sen turned and began walking up the steps to the temple structure. Sensheng followed behind.

"Are you familiar with Mount Erika, Sensheng?" Sen asked. Dei took it as a good sign that Sen was making small talk.

"In passing, but it was never very important to me," Sensheng said.

"It used to be a temple, no one's sure what for," Sen said. They reached the mighty doors of the former temple and Sen stopped to look at them.

"Later on, the White Lotus reclaimed and retrofitted it into a prison," Sen said. That was not such a good sign. "For Zaheer."

In a flash of movement and force, Sen's hand closed around Sensheng's throat, holding him tight and lifting him off the ground. Any semblance of control in Sen's behavior was quickly shed as his hatred was made evident –and focused entirely on Dei Sensheng.

"This is the deepest, darkest, most inescapable pit I could find," Sen roared. "Tell me everything I want to know, and maybe I won't throw you in it. That is our 'negotiation', Sensheng!"

Sensheng grabbed on to Sen's arm and kicked his feet, trying to reach the ground and find footing as Sen's grip closed off his lungs and robbed him of breath. The tightness of the Avatar's grip made it quite clear he was not in the mood for discussion.

"I'll talk," Sensheng choked out in breathless gasps. "I'll tell you everything!"

The Avatar dropped Sensheng just as Hanjo arrived to try and grab his arm and pull him away from his choking grip on Sensheng's throat. Sen shook Hanjo away and stepped towards Sensheng. The former right hand of Sarin gasped for breath and clutched his bruised throat. Sen could hear protests about his behavior from behind him. He ignored them and knelt down next to Dei Sensheng.

"Hope for your sake that what you can tell me outweighs the war crimes you've committed," Sen growled. Sensheng had been responsible for planning some of Sarin's most brutal attacks. He was second only to Sarin in the sheer hatred Sen bore for him.

"Anything you want," Sensheng gasped. "Anything I can."

Sen stood, leering at Sensheng as he remained knelt on the ground. The stone statues of the temple prison were the only things that stood taller and darker in that place.

"What do you know about the Hssk?" Sen demanded.

"I know that it exists," Sensheng said, not hesitating in the slightest to answer. He was still breathless but he did not dare to keep Sen waiting for an answer. "I know that it can erase memories, more than that, I can't tell you."

Sen nodded. Sensheng was cooperating nicely.

"What about his other ally?" Sen continued. "The tiger called Ta Jide Shui?"

"I know even less," Sensheng quickly admitted. "Only Sarin and Kalden ever went into the Undying Bloom."

Sen's eyes narrowed. He had wondered long about Kalden and his eventual fate. He might as well satisfy his personal curiosity now.

"What happened to Kalden? How did Sarin take control of his brother's cult?"

"Sarin never spoke of it. All we know is that Kalden and Sarin went to the Bloom, and only Sarin returned," Sensheng said. "There's no one who would-"

"Don't lie to me!"

There had been just the slightest flicker of untruth in Sensheng's words, enough to draw Sen's ire. Sensheng quickly recoiled and admitted his fault.

"There's one! One person who might know, I'm not sure," He shouted nervously. "The Harrier. The Harrier was their escort into the Spirit World. Kalden and Sarin went into the Bloom together, but only Sarin came out. The Harrier might know more."

That answer seemed to displease Sen, but his anger was not directed towards Sensheng for the moment.

"You have him locked away at the Boiling Rock, don't you? The Harrier?"

"It doesn't matter," Sen said bleakly. "You haven't been worth the trouble you caused just yet. I only want to know one more thing, Sensheng."

Sen leaned down to look Sensheng in the eyes. The light of the Avatar State did not, could not burn in his eyes, yet there was a fire in them all the same.

"Where is Sarin?"

***

Several days before Sensheng would surrender to Sen, the guards of the Boiling Rock scattered as the first of them fell. As they had laid eyes on Sarin there had been a moment of bravado, seeing him bereft and arm and an eye. One brave guard had even made a move to strike the Energybender down.

His body was broken, but his dark power was not. The energy provided by the Hssk coursed through Sarin, empowering him to tear at the soul of his would-be opponent. Discordant howling, so low as to be almost inaudible, ripped through the metal halls of the Boiling Rock as the guard fell. The guards fled from the sound, their temporary courage shattered.

As the lifeless body of the guard collapsed, so did Sarin. He leaned breathlessly against a nearby wall, struggling to recover. He blamed his recent injuries, and thought little of the struggle it had been to take the guards life. He soon caught his breath and continued onwards.

The halls rang with shouts and cries from within prison cells. They were not clamoring to be released. The prisoners did not seek salvation through Sarin's presence. From behind bars they hurled mockery and insults at him, deriding him and spitting at his feet as he limped forwards. Sarin paid them no mind. These lowlife degenerates were not why he was here.

Sarin found his way to The Cooler, the highest security wing of the Boiling Rock, and soon identified his real target. A specialized cell, maximum security among maximum security, impervious to any known form of conventional bending. Sarin, luckily, wielded unconventional and dangerous powers.

A weak beam of grey light lanced through the metal briefly, shattering the locks and melting the door. Sarin reached out to grab the door with his right hand before catching himself. He shifted to his left hand –the only one he still possessed, and opened the door.

The cell's lone occupant sat huddled in the corner, his limbs wrapped close around him to conserve heat. He had not moved when he'd heard the start of the chaos, nor when the door had begun to break. The only movement he made was to look up at his new visitor.

"Harrier," Sarin beckoned. "It's time for a second chance."

The once-handsome Harrier now looked ragged and unkempt, with his beard long, unshaven and unwashed, his face caked in layers of dirt and filth. Conditions at the Boiling Rock had been poor for decades; Goto felt no need to take care of his prisoners, and his successor Mika would likely leave that policy unchanged. The Harrier sat there among frozen muck and bone-chilling cold.

"You shouldn't have come here, boy," The Harrier growled. Despite the years, he could still only see Sarin as the simpering child trying to walk in his brothers footprints.

"Your defeat at Gai Zhu was a disappointment, Harrier, but you were ambushed," Sarin said. "It's time for you to try again."

"And fail again," Harrier said with a scowl. He stood slowly and unsteadily. The cold was beginning to drain from the room. He could feel some of his strength returning.

"The guards always made sure to take time to mock me," Harrier said bitterly. "To tell me how the cause I believed in, fought for, was falling apart. How every day brought some new failure. How every choice you made destroyed us more and more."

Sarin froze as the cold creeped around him and out the door. The Harrier looked at his hands. The cold and thick metal made chains useless, so he had full freedom of movement. He made use of that to pace back and forth across the small cell.

"We all saw the writing on the wall the day you were born," he said grimly. "Not even a bender. How could such a weak spirit ever lead us to greatness. But Kalden talked us into it. He made us think you were worth following. Because we believed in him, like we could never believe in you."

"I am Kalden's successor, you swore loyalty to me," Sarin growled accusingly.

"I was only ever loyal to an idea, an idea you betrayed," Harrier shouted back. "You attacked innocent people without cause, you killed your own men, you recruited bloodbenders, Sarin! We were meant to be architects of peace!"

"I am fighting for our cause," Sarin protested.

"You are fighting for nothing!"

Sarin roared loudly and reached out with one hand. Harrier did likewise, and braced his fingertips against his shoulder. Sarin recognized his old soldier's trademark bending style and held a hand out to block his attack –his right hand.

The phantom limb served only as a reminder of how much Sarin had lost as the lightning raced towards his chest. The blow struck him unimpeded, and the blue lightning scorched his robes and burned his skin as it sunk into his chest. The pain was excruciating, though not lethal. Harrier had deliberately held himself back.

The once proud soldier looked over Sarin as he twitched in agony and scowled. As the pain in Sarin subsided, Harrier walked over and placed his foot on Sarin's chest, pinning him down.

"I could kill you now," He threatened. "Might even earn me a pardon from the Avatar."

Harrier looked down at the broken man pinned beneath his heel, at the stub of his arm and the red scar of his eye, and he sneered derisively.

"But I think it'll be more satisfying to let you live. To let the Avatar hunt you down, find you. Then you'll have the chance to face that destiny you're so obsessed with –and you'll fail. Like you always have."

Harrier removed his foot from Sarin;s chest and walked towards the door, turning his back on his former commander.

"You were born a failure, you've lived a failure, and you'll die a failure, and no alive will mourn you!"

The Harrier exited the chamber and slammed the prison door behind him, leaving Sarin alone in the cold and dark. Sarin laid there unmoving for quite some time. Somehow, he struggled back to his feet and kept moving. He always found a way to get back up and keep chasing his destiny. It was all he had. He pushed past the door and headed back to the only shelter he had left.

***

"The Siwong desert," Sensheng shouted. "His base is in the middle of the desert, an oasis where Wan Shi Tong's library once was."

Kalden had chosen the location specifically because of its spiritual significance and its isolation. No one who didn't know where to look for it would ever find it.

"And your pilot, he knows the way there?" Sen demanded. He pointed at the waiting helicopter and the pilot still nervously sitting behind the controls.

"Yes, he can take you there right away," Sensheng said quickly. "You can be there in less than a day!"

Sen nodded approvingly and looked to the southeast, in the direction of the Siwong. Sarin would have nowhere left to run. But that was still in the future. He had a more immediate enemy to finish his business with. He reached out grabbed Sensheng by the collar, pulling him upwards. He dragged Sensheng a few steps and then tossed him towards the White Lotus guards.

"Lock him up," He commanded. Sensheng looked at the temple behind him in shock.

"Here? You can't do this!" He protested "You said-"

"I said maybe," Sen growled. "And now I say 'no'."

Sen turned his back as Sensheng tried to resist the pull of the White Lotus guards dragging him into the stone protest. Sarin's former second in command tried to protest, but Sen didn't.

"Take one last look at the sun, Sensheng," Sen said idly. "You'll never see it again."

"You can't do this to me," Sensheng shouted back. "I surrendered! I have rights!"

He was right. Sen didn't care. He continued his walk towards the helicopter as the stone doors of the prison slammed shut, sealing Sensheng inside. He paused only to take one look at his friends, waiting far behind him. They were not walking with him, or even looking at him, their heads cast down in shame or disappointment. Only Hanjo was still looking towards Sen, his eyes making his disapproval clear.

"Are you all waiting for an invitation?"

Sen gestured towards the waiting helicopter. They were on the cusp of victory, just a few steps away from the end of the war. Yet they didn't move. Sen waited for them to react, but nobody moved. Miyani looked up for a second and quickly looked away when she caught Sen's eyes.

"I'll go alone if I have to," Sen said. He would only wait on them so long. Whatever meager scraps of an army Sarin had left, Sen was sure he could handle them.

"You shouldn't be going at all," Hanjo said accusingly. Sen switched gears and walked away from the helicopter, towards Hanjo. The rest of the group stepped back as they faced off.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Hanjo said, refusing to back down. "Are you even thinking about what you're doing, Sen? You just imprisoned Sensheng without trial."

"Everyone knew he was guilty," Sen said. "Having a trial would be a waste of time."

"And not having a trial is fascism!"

Hanjo jabbed a finger into Sen's chest accusingly. Sen refused to be pushed back by such a petty gesture, so Hanjo pressed harder.

"How many lines are you going to cross, Sen? How far are you going to go? You've already mutilated Sarin, let someone else bring him in."

"This isn't anyone else's fight," Sen shouted. "Since day one's Sarin has been out to kill me, and no one else. The rest of you are here because you choose to be. I'm here because I have to be. Because every day Sarin is out there, someone else is getting hurt, someone else is at risk, and it's my fault!"

Sen's face was red now, from his injuries and from his anger. His voice was echoing off the walls of the river valley, filling them with his thunderous yell.

"Don't try to pretend you're still doing this for other people," Hanjo shouted back. "This is all about you, Sen, and how much you hate Sarin!"

Sen suddenly dove forward and grabbed the front of Hanjo's shirt, pulling him close to scream in his face.

"How many people have to die before I'm allowed to be angry?" He demanded loudly. His voice was nearly deafening now. "How many widows and orphans do there have to be before my anger is justified?"

Hanjo said nothing. Sen released him and stepped backwards. He rubbed a hand across his red face, trying to soothe the stress and anger he felt. It didn't work. He looked back at Hanjo and demanded answers.

"Was Goto not enough? Yakkul, Moldun, were they not enough? Who has to die next, Hanjo?" He asked. "Does it have to be one of us for you to understand? Should we just wait until Sarin comes and kills Suda, orphans his-"

"That's enough," Ariak shouted, slamming the butt of his spear into the ground. The loud noise broke Sen's concentration, and he turned to look at Ariak. The hunter pointed his spear at Sen, not threateningly, but angrily enough to get his point.

"Just go," Ariak said angrily. "Take whoever will go with you. Finish this however you want."

Ariak put his spear away once again and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Just consider the consequences of your actions," Ariak said forebodingly.

Sen snorted angrily and turned his back once again, facing towards the helicopter.

"I'll give you five minutes to join me," Sen instructed. "After that you get left behind."

Sen walked away and boarded the helicopter without another word. The six friends he left behind looked around for a moment. They all considered their options, but were reluctant to be the one to make the first move. With a deep sigh of resignation, Miyani was the first to rise.

"I know this seems bad," She said, trying to explain herself. "And I don't agree with what Sen is doing, I don't, But just because…sometimes things have to be…"

Miyani rubbed her hands together nervously, recalling the bandages she had once worn.

"Before Sen and I became friends, I hated him. He insulted me, and made me feel…I hated myself too," Miyani admitted. "And I was right to hate him, he deserved it, but he changed. He came back, and he apologized, and made me realize the way people treated me, how they made me feel about myself…It wasn't my fault. But we had to hate each other for that to happen."

She bowed her red-marked head and looked at the ground as she walked slowly towards the helicopter.

"Sometimes you have to be wrong to learn to be right," She mumbled as she moved.

"Don't have to justify yourself to anyone," Whistler said. Miyani looked up. She hadn't even heard Whistler move. Whistler put a hand on Miyani's back and pushed her forward. "Let's just get this over with so Avatar Four-Eyes can get back to normal."

Ada was the next to rise, though hesitantly. She grabbed her sword and looked at the three still sitting.

"They have a point. Sen's…off, but he's still doing the right thing. Sarin needs to be stopped."

After Ada, naturally, came Suda. Ariak shook his head. Suda shrugged.

"Old habits die hard, I guess. Somebody's got to look after these kids," Suda tried to joke. It fell flat, and he sighed. "Look, I get it, and I don't really want to go, but, if you think something bad is going to happen, the best place to be is right there, you know?"

Ariak looked at the helicopter and groaned. He had backed away from confronting his father once before, and the results had been disastrous. Maybe Suda had a point. If Sen truly was going to go too far, then the best place to be was by his side –if only to stop him, not help him. Ariak clenched his fist and unwillingly headed off to join the rest in the helicopter. He took a look over his shoulder at Hanjo.

The first to join Sen's team was the last one to move. And he never did. Hanjo shook his head as Ariak looked, and planted his feet.

The five minutes were up, and the helicopter took off, leaving Hanjo behind.


	95. Book 5 Ch23: A Lifeless Waste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the precipice of the end, Miyani battles the mind-shattering Hssk, and Sen faces the point of no return in his merciless hunt for Sarin.

The white light of the sun burned down from above, baking everything it touched. The fingertips of Sarin's left hand only lightly brushed the helicopters exterior, and yet the hot metal burned painfully. He clenched his one remaining fist tight and limped forward. The landing pad was open to the air –hardly a good place to be in a scalding hot desert.

There was water and a small amount of vegetation around the oasis, but that slight touch of life did nothing to diminish the vastness of the wastes around them. The air was unbearably dry and stagnant. It was only slightly cooler inside. What few people remained in the structure gravitated towards the coolest center rooms, trying to hide from the heat of the burning sun.

Sarin limped through these central chambers, clutching his one hand to a lightning-scarred chest. He moved silently but with purpose, ignoring what few people he saw around him. Some were not so content to be ignored.

"Where's the Harrier?" Someone asked. Sarin shrugged him off, but the impatient soldier persisted.

"You said you'd be coming back with the Harrier," He insisted. He had watched too many failures to let this one pass by unexcused.

"I'll discuss the matter with Sensheng," Sarin said dismissively. "Where is he?"

"Been missing for days," The soldier protested idly. "Either abandoned or captured at this rate."

"He wouldn't abandon my cause," Sarin growled. The soldier shrugged broadly.

"Everyone else did," He fired back. He made sure to take a few steps away before he continued. "Only reason we're still here is because you and Sensheng took the only helicopters."

Sarin turned around sharply, instinctively reaching out with his right hand to strike against the one who had offended him. His phantom limb did nothing, however, and Sarin awkwardly adjusted his position to make the pointless motion seem more natural. His efforts failed, and the soldier watched him stumble aimlessly as he turned around for no reason.

"You're welcome to face the wastes," Sarin roared, trying to regain some semblance of control. The soldier stepped backwards quickly and retreated. Sarin did not try to attempt a pursuit. He continued to stumble forwards, trying to find his private chambers and some semblance of peace.

The subtle whirr of helicopter blades above provided a distraction from that purpose. Sarin tuned unsteadily on his heel and headed the opposite direction. He walked towards the helicopter landing pad, believing he would be welcoming his friend back. His new guest would not be a welcome one –nor would he waste time on a landing.

The spinning blades of the helicopter paused just above the hall where Sarin walked. He thought the delay was strange, but it did not cause him any worry –until the crumbling started.

The shelter in the middle of the desert had been constructed from rough sandstone. It was a serviceable structure for the mild conditions of the desert, but it crumbled easily under slight stress. The stress it was subjected to know was anything but slight.

The fragile stone shattered in an explosive burst of sand and rubble as the ceiling was crushed in a single furious strike. Sarin was struck by the rubble and stumbled backwards, managing to limp forward just fast enough to avoid the full extent of the crushing collapse. He waved his hand to push the choking dust back, clearing the air with a small burst of airbending. With the roof collapsed and the dust cleared, the burning light of the desert sun shone down once again, illuminating the Avatar as he lurched forward.

The helicopter roared overhead still, churning the sandy wastes with its blades. Sen and Miyani had descended from above to strike at Sarin directly –the others would land and pursue whatever scant forces still remained in the base. For now, Miyani stood some distance behind, just barely in sight. Sen took the lead, taking a few slow, hobbling steps towards Sarin.

Sarin froze for a moment as he saw his foe, but his obsessive pursuit of his 'destiny' quickly reasserted itself. Sarin extended his left hand, calling out for the Hssk. Sen simply smiled.

The black shadow of the Hssk crept forth, as it often did, emerging from the shadows of the world and sliding like a serpent across the ground towards Sarin. It slithered through the crags and empty spaces of reality, seeking its vile partner. This time it would not go unopposed.

The beast of shadow was met with a lance of light as it ran. The beam of forceful light split the dusty air and shattered the shadow of the beast. The air was filled with a shrill arcane scream as the Mind-Eater felt pain for the first time in millennia. Miyani stepped forward, following through with another blow as the strange beast howled.

The Energybender watched with wide eyes as his one source of power writhed in agony as Miyani's fire burned it. The combustion bender moved further forward, pressing the Hssk, forcing it to stay away. He tried to reach out his hand, to pull at the bonds that still united them, but the Hssk would not obey. It was a selfish beast, and the threat Miyani posed was now its first and only priority.

Sarin was alone.

The explosions rang and the howling of the beast continued, but all those sounds fell into the background. What Sarin heard, in the midst of the chaos, were footsteps. Slow, but determined, a hunter moving deliberately but carefully towards its prey.

Sen limped, moving unevenly, weakly towards his goal, but he did not stop. Sarin backed away. They both knew Sarin was powerless without his spirit ally. It was only a matter of how far Sarin could run.

One ran, the other chased. As it had always been. As it would always be, until one of them was defeated.

The two left behind the battle between two monsters. The Hssk, knowing full well it could not escape the burning wrath of Miyani's red eye, had turned its ethereal fangs and claws against her, hoping to best her in raw power. The Hssk stood alone as one of the darkest entities in all of history, its sheer power and malevolence second only to Vaatu –but even it found a worthy adversary in Miyani.

The black beast lunged forward, fanged jaws flaring, twisted limbs reaching out with harsh claws. Miyani caught the beast, keeping its fangs and claws at bay, and struck at its chest, pounding at it with a heavy blow. She was pleasantly surprised to see the spirit had enough form that physical strikes could injure it. Her single punch sent the Hssk reeling, and the two separated in their duel for a moment.

The Hssk sank low to the ground, becoming one with the shadows. Miyani did not let herself lose the trail. She reached out and grabbed the Hssk by its nether-black hide, pulling it out of the shadowy depths and back into the scouring light of the sun. She gripped it only briefly before it slithered from her grip, leaving her fingertips coated in a smoky black ichor. She looked at the strange substance in disgust for a moment before continuing her battle.

The jaws of the devouring beast reached out for Miyani's throat, but she caught it and retaliated, throwing the Hssk aside and blasting it with a lance of explosive light. The Hssk screamed, regained its form, and began to slither around the shadows once more.

It was fast, and despite the speed of her combustive strikes Miyani just barely kept ahead of the beast. It was hunting her now, analyzing her, seeking her weakness. Two dim blue eyes peered out from the void of its body, examining every aspect of Miyani's being, body and soul. Its gaze was violating, and Miyani struck out at it ever more angrily for the invasion.

The power of the Hssk reached out to touch her mind, and was repelled by the searing red mark. It growled quietly. Insight to pierce illusions. The slithering shadow slowed and changed course, racing towards Miyani. She readied itself for its strike.

The Hssk was no fool. It knew its own limitations, and so it knew that it could not touch her mind with illusions, nor make her forget. But the Hssk was the lord of all memory, not just that which was forgotten. If it could not make her forget, then it would make her remember.

The shadow of the Mind-Eater rose, and Miyani lifted her arm to block its strike. The blue eyes of the Hssk glowed white for only a moment.

The light struck her arm like a white hot iron, burning her skin. The faint scars that crossed her body burned red for a moment. Miyani twisted and contorted in agony as she heard screaming ringing in her ears. It was her own voice, but not the one she spoke in today. The scream was frantic, frightened, shifting in tone as a young girl struggled against her restraints.

Far on the other end of the base, Ariak and the others were quickly wrapping up their objective in the base. The small handful of soldiers they did encounter offered very little resistance as they were rounded up and restrained. Some tried to run, but none tried to fight. They knew well they were beaten.

Ariak prodded a soldier eying the door, reminding him that escape was impossible, and then turned towards the sound of conflict in the distance. He was under the impression that Sen and Miyani were fighting Sarin together. That purposeful deception from Sen was the only thing keeping Ariak sated right now. Even then, only barely.

"Why do I feel like Sen only wanted us out of the way?"

"Because he did," Whistler shot back. Even with her arm injured, she was capable of corralling Sarin's meager remnants of an army. "Miyani's tough enough to handle Sarin, the rest of us aren't."

Even as she spoke the explosions of the battle paused briefly. Ariak looked into the distance worriedly. After the sudden halt in the explosions came the first scream. It was strange, but still recognizable. It was clearly Miyani's voice, but in all the time they had known her, nothing had ever hurt her enough to make her scream like that.

Ariak spared just one glance at his friends before running off towards the source of the scream.

Miyani clutched at her face, trying to pull against chains she no longer wore, as her mind was pulled in two directions. She struggled to keep focus, to remember the battles of the present, as the Hssk pulled her back into the torture of the past.

"More," a phantom voice commanded. Another scar on Miyani's body flared, glowing with an echo of past agony. She could her herself screaming twice-over now, once in the past and once in the present. She stumbled backwards, tripping over rubble and falling to the ground. The Hssk pursued her, pushing forward with relentless memories of pain and suffering.

Fire burned and blades cut as darkness surrounded her on all sides. Cold metal chains kept her locked away in the dark, hopeless dungeons of the Seventh Kingdom. Every moment of agony she had forgotten came rushing back to her one by one. The monsters of the Seventh Kingdom forged her like one would any weapon, burning her in fire, tempering her in cold, pounding her into shape with violent blows. Her skin tore and her bones cracked as she screamed and pleaded with them to stop.

Miyani forced herself to her knees. She could feel the light of the desert sun burning her bare arms. She forced herself to remember that she had escaped the dungeon years ago, that the torture had stopped. No matter how hard she focused, the memories lingered, impressing themselves upon her mind and body. She crawled forward, trying to escape her own memories.

In the ancient past a hammer blow struck her arm, and in the present she collapsed as the pain wracked her once again. She fell face first into the sand, her tears staining the dry dust, before she pulled herself up again.

"We're going to kill her at this rate, Lokus," A phantom voice declared. It was no mercy, only pragmatism. It wouldn't do to break a weapon. She was a possession, not a person, to these people.

"We're almost there," The quiet voice of Lokus said. "Just a bit more."

Miyani kept moving. She could feel dry desert grass between her fingers now, a reminder of where she was. The desert oasis stood before her. Perhaps she meant to find some salvation there.

Her forward crawl came to a sudden halt as the Hssk slithered forward, pressing upon her mind once again. His black limbs hovered around her, claws scraping but never truly cutting her skin. His blue eyes glowed, and Miyani screamed aloud as her forehead burned.

The needle tore across her skin like the fang of a serpent, injecting the venomous ink into her skin. Her mind and body burned and warped. Of all the torture this had been the most agonizing. The pain was insignificant compared to the fire and blades she had endured earlier –but those had left wounds that could be healed. What happened now was the point of no return.

Miyani reached the still pool of water at the center of the oasis. The Hssk wrapped its claws tight around her, holding her in place as she saw her reflection in the water. In her memories she could feel chains around her arms, holding her in place as Lokus took hold of her, forcing herself to look into the mirror, into the red eye that now and forever marked her.

"Look at yourself," His voice echoed. "Look at what you are."

The red eye stared back, its eye widening, growing, consuming everything. The Hssk's blue eyes shifted to a deep purple.

After the pain there came the isolation. She was marked now. That red eye stood upon her forever, making a child into a monster.

She could remember the hate. Rahm's blade racing towards her throat, a layer of cold ice the only thing between her and a death she had done nothing to deserve. But even the man who had saved her from that blade and done nothing to help her further. He had run away, abandoning her, leaving her alone again.

The Sun Warriors had taken her in, but never truly welcomed her. They locked her away in a cold, lonesome chamber, keeping her just as much of a prisoner as the Seventh Kingdom ever had. Out of fear they attempted to placate her, throwing her toys as a distraction, leaving her dolls and blocks for company.

Miyani looked at her reflection in the water as her own image came slowly back in to focus.

She could remember the night that the Sun Warriors hatred had overcome their fear. Someone snuck into her chamber in the night, held her down, wrapped his hands around her throat. She had struggled, kicked, tore apart the room, knocked over blocks that had fallen apart all too easily.

The Hssk's fanged mandibles clicked in excitement. It pressed upon her mind further and further, forcing her through her terrible memories. After that she had been taken away from the Sun Warriors, dragged to a mist-shrouded island.

Miyani's back straightened. She looked away from her reflection in the water and stared blankly into the clear blue sky.

She could remember drowning now, the water filling her lungs and choking her as she struggled to stay afloat, to survive. She remembered clinging to a sandbar, lying motionless and despondent. In the present she looked blindly forward, blinking slowly.

She felt the pain, felt the water fill her lungs and the salt sting her skin, but she could not focus on that pain. All she could remember was fishing. She'd been fishing alone at the time. But she thought of fishing now and she didn't think of doing it alone. Just as she could not remember that violent night, those hands around her throat, and not remember the blocks that had too easily fallen apart.

The Hssk reared its head like a viper seeking to strike, its many fangs aimed at Miyani's neck. Miyani ignored the shadow of the beast behind her and looked at her hands. She could feel the bandages wrapped tight around them now. But she just as easily remembered the feeling of tearing those bandages away. Miyani clenched her fists and closed her eyes.

She sat motionless, immersed in memory, and the Hssk reared back to strike, its fangs bared and racing towards her throat.

Faster than the viper the Hssk emulated, Miyani turned and struck back. Her fist struck the beast and ended its snakelike blow, knocking it backwards. Miyani stood, fists tightly balled, all three of her eyes blazing with inner fire.

"Keep going," She demanded. "Make me remember!"

The Hssk roared in anger and confusion. Miyani lunged at it, striking it with a blast of combustive power before moving in to beat it with her bare hands. The Hssk had ceased its efforts to push through her mind. It didn't matter to Miyani. She could remember just fine on her own.

She remembered the blocks, and how easily they fell apart, and she remembered talking about how much better they could be. She remembered fishing alone, falling in the sea, and then she remembered fishing in good company. All her suffering was laid bare in her mind, all the pain freshly burning her skin –but she ignored it.

She remembered, remembered all the years of torture and the years of loneliness, and then she remembered the day a young boy had knelt on the ground before her, and asked for her help.

Miyani's fists fell upon the Hssk like hammer blows, pounding against its oily black skin. The beast screamed in pain, writhed in confusion, and could do nothing more. Miyani's blows were relentless, inescapable, unceasing. The Hssk desperately clawed at her, but she felt no pain. The torture had made her resilient. The Hssk was resilient as well, but it still felt the crushing weight of her blows. Struggling against hatred had made her strong. The beast attempted to escape, but she pursued, unwilling to let her escape. She had promised a friend she would defeat this monster. Years of isolation had taught her the true value of friends.

The Hssk roared at her, opening its jaws in a show of rage. Miyani seized an opportunity and it's jaws, holding onto two of the six mandibles that made up the Hssk's every-hungering maw. She pulled its jaws open, exposing the bottomless pit of its throat, the inky blackness that swallowed up secrets, thoughts, and minds.

Miyani's mind was just a little different.

A single spark of flame roared outwards, becoming a piercing beam of fury. The heat of the desert sun empowered her as she drove combustive force into the abyssal gullet of the Hssk. The white light choked the beast, sending it into frantic spasms of pain. Miyani released the twisted limbs of the creature and stepped backwards.

In a chaotic burst of light and shadow, the blast detonated in the heart of the Hssk, splitting its ethereal body in an explosive blast. Its gut tore open as fire and fury consumed it from within, and Miyani and all the surrounding area was showered in smoky black gore. The screams of the Hssk rang louder than the shockwaves of the explosion as its spirit form was torn to shreds.

The dust and sand cast up by the blast filled the air, and then faded. Miyani shook off the dust and looked at her prey. What was left of the Hssk was ragged and torn, its belly hanging open, leaking black ichor onto the ground. Its blue eyes stared dimly into the horizon.

For some strange reason, Miyani felt pity. She stared at the Mind-Eater in silence as it let out a low, pained groan, and crept away into the crevasses of the world. She did not attempt to pursue it or to strike a final blow. It seemed now like a wounded beast, confused and hurt, only wanting to creep back to its lair and lick its wounds. Miyani felt a darkness lift from the world as it crept out of this reality and back into the Spirit World, never again to return to the physical plane.

Miyani turned away and looked to a trembling sky. She had worn her battles, against the Hssk and against herself. It was time for Sen to win his. Miyani fell to her knees in the sand again and breathed a heavy sigh.

Arriving a few moments too late, Ariak found his way through the craters of Miyani's battleground, and found her kneeling by the side of the oasis. Ariak stepped up to grab her by the shoulder and examine her while the others followed in his footsteps.

"We heard screaming," He explained. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Miyani insisted. The pain of the Hssk's strange attacks had faded swiftly once the black beast departed from the physical world. By all appearances she was fine, so Ariak quickly shifted priorities. He took a look around at the battlefield.

"I thought you were helping Sen," He said. "Where's the Avatar?"

"I was looking after…something else," Miyani said. Ariak turned to her sharply, a scowl on his face.

"You left him alone with Sarin?"

The Avatar and the Energybender ran through the empty halls of the abandoned structure. They could both feel the shift in the world as the Hssk abandoned the physical plane. It made their footsteps that much faster. Sarin ran, and Sen pursued.

Sarin returned to his waiting helicopter, its black metal hull burning in the light of the sun. He grabbed a confused and frightened pilot and pushed him towards the airship.

"Move, now," Sarin commanded. "Fly!"

The confused pilot attempted to ask for clarification, but quickly stopped himself when he saw the nearby wall crumble. Sen was not distracting himself with halls and doors. The crude sandstone wall tore itself to pieces as he forced his way through. The pilot immediately jumped into his seat and started the engines. Sarin held tight to the seat with one hand and hoped they would make it in time.

The takeoff began, and Sen's footsteps, oddly enough, slowed. The Avatar's pace grew slower and slower until he came to a halt, merely watching as Sarin took off. His eyes looked past the helicopter and to the sandy desert around them. A sandstone quarry, the source of the material that had made this very building, was nearby. Sen looked at it, and his eyes narrowed. He gave a satisfied smile.

Sarin's helicopter rose and rose, and for a brief moment the Energybender thought he might actually escape. Sen would soon prove him wrong.

The Avatar cast his hands into the air and spun them slightly, slowly at first, and then in faster and faster motions. He focused everything on the Energybender's helicopter as it rose. For some time it seemed like nothing was happening.

Sen slammed his hands down, and the sky fell with them. The air shrieked like a banshee as it fell, hammering down on Sarin's helicopter to pull it out of the sky. The whirring metal blades stopped, reversed, then spun wildly out of control as the machine plummeted. Sarin struggled to keep his grip as the world tore itself to pieces around him.

The helicopter slammed into the ground, its engine igniting in a small fireball as it made impact. Sen bared his teeth in satisfaction and began to walk towards the crash.

In a pained lunge, Sarin pulled himself through the broken cockpit of the helicopter. He had to claw his way past flaming metal, and his hand caught on a jagged piece of glass, but he pulled forward all the same. His pilot was already long gone, leaving Sarin alone. He clutched the broken piece of glass and pulled himself away from the fiery wreckage, managing to clamber to his feet desperately.

He was standing in the midst of the sandstone quarry now. Loose dust had been kicked up by the helicopters crash. Sarin flailed his one arm wildly, kicking up as much of the dust as he could. He created his own miniature sandstorm, and airborne shroud to cover his retreat. He stood in the midst of the darkened cloud, blocking out the light of the desert sun, hiding from the Avatar.

"No!"

In an instant the dust was cast aside and the burning light returned. Sen stepped forward into the burning sun, still pursuing Sarin.

"No more hiding!" He declared, his voice causing the sand and stone to tremble.

Sarin turned to flee, running as fast as his injured legs would carry him. Sen swept his hand and a chunk of sandstone rose up and sailed fast as lightning, striking Sarin in the leg. He felt his bones snap under the force of the blow. He fell forward, stumbling unevenly on his broken leg until he hit a small pillar of sandstone, leaning on it for support, facing away from the Avatar.

"No more running!"

The Avatar was still after him. Sarin caught his crippled adversary and grabbed him by the back of the neck, meaning to turn him around and face him.

"No more-"

He was interrupted as Sarin turned sharply and swung his one arm in a panic. The blade of glass he still clung to swept upwards, towards Sen's face. Had the Avatar still been wearing his glasses the bladed chunk of window might have simply bounced off the lenses, but as it was the shard of glass dug into his skin and tore through his face, cutting a large gash across his temple and eyebrow. Sen recoiled in pain, clutching at his eye with one hand and striking Sarin with the other. The Energybender fell to the ground, still clutching his shard of glass.

Sen took a deep breath and pulled his hand away from his face. He barely registered the pain of the cut, but he could see the red blood on his palm. He clenched his fist, staining his entire hand deep red.

"You just had to," He growled lowly. "You just had to make one more cut, because it's all you've ever done, is cut, and hurt, and destroy!"

Sen's voice rose from a quiet roar into a loud scream as his rage grew. He stepped forward and slammed his foot down on Sarin's left hand. The glass was crushed, as were Sarin's bones, under the weight of the stomp. He contorted in pain as the glass shards dug into his skin, but he never forgot his purpose.

"Yes," Sarin roared through the pain. "It is all I have ever done, and all I will ever do!"

Sarin managed to set himself almost upright and glared up at the Avatar with hateful eyes.

"It's my destiny to end you, Avatar, and I will," Sarin screamed. "Break my body, lock me in your darkest prison, I will find a way!"

Sen's anger shifted. The fire of rage became a cold fury as blood dripped down his face. He stared down at Sarin in wrathful judgment.

"Do you think after everything you've done," He began. "I'd leave even the slightest chance you'd hurt me, or anyone, ever again?"

Sen stepped forward and pressed his foot down on Sarin's broken knee, breaking it ever further. He needed to make sure Sarin wouldn't run.

"I'm not going to capture you."

He kicked at Sarin's hand, casting the shards of glass away. No prison would ever be dark enough or isolated enough. He could bury Sarin at the core of the world and it still wouldn't be enough.

"I'm not going to cripple you."

Though the pain he inflicted was satisfying, no amount of torture would ever pay back the agony Sarin had inflicted upon the world. No broken bones would ever repair what had been destroyed, no bleeding cuts would bring back the dead. There was only one act that would avenge all the horrors Sarin had caused.

Finally Sen knelt on the ground by Sarin's side. He leaned over Sarin and looked deep into his eyes, warm blood still dripping from his cut onto Sarin's face. When he spoke again it was quietly, calmly, his words not a threat but a solemn, sincere promise.

"I'm going to kill you."

Sen's hands reached out and took hold of Sarin's throat. They found their grip and closed down, clamping tighter and tighter, choking out air and life itself. Sen's grip tightened until it could go no further, and Sarin's world was consumed, and all he could feel was the relentless pressure of Sen's hands around his throat.

Red blood covered his face and dripped into his eye, but despite this Sarin could still look up, see the hateful glare of the Avatar's eyes looking down upon him. There was no hesitation. There was no guilt. No remorse. Only cold, grim determination. Only death.

Sarin kicked out, struggling with broken limbs, gasping for air. Sen did not flinch. He shifted slightly to maintain his grip, to make sure Sarin did not escape, and nothing more. He did not blink. Not until Sarin's panicked struggling slowed did Sen allow himself to feel any satisfaction. His face slowly parted into a bloodstained smile.

"I…win," Sen choked out slowly.

Sarin's frantic gaze suddenly calmed, and looked up at Sen with clear eyes. There was a sound of discordant howling. Sen's grip tightened in a panic.

"Only in this world," A voice said, echoing inside Sen's skull.

Wan Shi Tong's library had rested in this desert once. Where it had once been, where Tong had torn it away, there was a weak spot between the worlds. Sen could feel it –just as he felt Sarin begin to release his grip on his body, and fall through that gap into another plane.

"No," He screamed. He would not let Sarin run away again. Sen abandoned his physical grip. Sarin's body no longer mattered. Sen threw out his hands and tried to grip Sarin's very essence, his soul, holding it in this world by force.

Sen reached out with an ethereal hand, grasping at the inky blackness of Sarin's soul, and found no purchase. He struggled again, finding nothing to hold on to. With desperate energy he tried once more, and still found no hold on Sarin's void-like spirit. He dug further and further into the vast emptiness that laid before him, and found no purchase.

With an angry cry, Sen looked long into the black abyss –and saw only the abyss staring back.

Sen froze, motionless in body and soul. The discordant howling stopped as Sarin slipped away. Sen did not react. The infamous howling of the Energybender settled, and the world shifted with his passing from it. Somehow, they all knew he was gone. The physical world shifted as the cold void of the Energybender left it, his black, hollow soul shifting into another plance.

The Avatar stood and turned away from the motionless body, and found himself facing the fiery wreckage of the helicopter Sarin had crawled out of. He turned further, and saw the dust-filled ruins of the base he had torn to pieces in his ceaseless hunt for Sarin. He turned further, not caring in which direction he was going, so long as he was moving away from what he had done.

He stumbled forward with an uneven gait, every step lopsided and slow. His eyes stared blankly onto a flat horizon as the burning sun glared down on his back. Sen managed a few more lopsided steps, ignorant of all the world around him. The blood flowing from his cut trickled down his cheek, a single droplet splashing onto the burnt sands below.

In an instant every injury that Sen had been ignoring fell upon him at once. Broken bones, bruises and cuts all seared his skin. He fell to his knees, overwhelmed by pain. He clawed at his face, acutely aware of the stinging cut over his eye. He clutched at his eye, then at his entire head, and then his heart, and then he looked up at the white, burning sun above him.

Then he screamed.

It was a long, lingering shout, echoing throughout the sky. More than mere noise, it rang with pain, with regret, guilt, suffering, anger –all these and more. Every ounce of pain and rage he had ever felt escaped at once in a thundering burst of noise. Sen screamed until he could scream no more, and then fell forward, planting his palms flat on the dusty ground. He felt like collapsing –and yet he felt as if a ten ton weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He stayed there, buried by guilt and yet liberated, until he heard movement nearby. He could feel shuffling footsteps through the sane, heartbeats he well recognized. He looked away, unwilling to look them in the eyes.

The battle had ended swiftly at Sarin's defeat, freeing up Sen's allies to catch up with him. They paused briefly to take in the battlefield and the flaming wreckage. Ariak was the first to see the motionless body lying on the sandstone. The hunter looked at the broken, lifeless body of the Energybender in disbelief, and then he slowly turned to Sen.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

Ariak stepped forward and grabbed Sen by the shirt, pulling him forward, off of the ground, to face Ariak's judgment.

"What did you do?" He screamed again.

His anger died suddenly as he saw the look on Sen's face, the regret in his eyes. Ariak released his violent grip, and without that tension, Sen stumbled and fell backwards. The Avatar landed limp in the sand, struggling to prop himself up on wounded limbs, not daring to look his friends in the eye. Ariak took a few deep breaths, looked over at Sarin's body, back to Sen, and extended a hand.

"What happened?" He asked calmly.

Sen reached out and took Ariak's hand. The hunter pulled him to his feet. Sen wobbled unsteadily, and nearly fell before Suda reached out to catch him. Sen gratefully leaned on Suda's shoulder for support, though he never looked Suda or any of his friends in the eye. He stammered and hesitated, but eventually began to speak.

"I- I tried to," He began nervously. "I had him, I couldn't let him get away again, I couldn't, I thought I had to-"

He tried to put a hand against his face, but that only made him see the red on his palm. He recoiled, unwilling to look at it. Sen paused his speech and took a deep breath, steadying his stance and standing upright, stepping away from Suda, though he still did not look towards his friends.

"Sarin got away," Sen explained. "He…let go, of his body, slipped into the Spirit World somehow."

Whistler buried her face in her hands and let out a groan of frustration before looking up pleadingly.

"How long can he keep running?" She begged.

Sen looked at the sand below his feet, and then finally he looked up, scanning across the small crowd of his friends. The absence of Hanjo made him feel sick to his stomach.

"No more," Sen said. "He'll be waiting for me now."

It would end the way Sarin had always thought it would. The Avatar and the Energybender, Raava and Vaatu against the Hssk and Ta Jide Shui, a battle of diametrically opposed forces under the lights of the Undying Bloom. There was only one way it could end.

Sen's attention shifted, and his eyes slowly lost focus as he looked into the distance. There was a vast expanse between him and Sarin now, thousands of miles to be crossed. Sen took a lurching step forward and almost immediately toppled off his feet. He was quickly caught by Suda again and set upright, standing unsteadily on the burning sand.

"Sen, you should try to rest," Ada suggested. They had been telling him that for weeks now, but now it seemed like he might actually listen. The tension and the rage inside him had vanished almost instantly. Ada might have thought it a good thing, if not for the clear fatigue, pain, and guilt that filled the void where that anger had been.

"No," He protested weakly. He tried to take another step forward, and Suda held him back. "I have to- this has to end, he can't keep…"

Sen trailed off distantly as he realized how he sounded. Faint concern was visible on the faces of his friends. He looked down and explained further.

"I know I was wrong," He admitted. "I was angry, and stupid, and dangerous, and I know you have no reason to trust me."

His voice trembled as he spoke. Suda released his grip, and Sen managed to stand firm, though she shook slightly as he stood. He grabbed at the cut on his face. The sweat of the hot desert dripped down his face and into his open wound, stinging it with bitter salt.

"But I need you to. I need to end this. I need to do the right thing."

Silence rained as the white eye of the sun stared down. The five gathered there with him exchanged awkward glances between themselves. They knew they needed to say something, but they weren't sure what. Sen's rapid change of attitude was not unwelcome, but it was surprising. Nobody knew what had changed, and so they couldn't quite understand how to deal with Sen.

The first person to step forward was perhaps the closest to understanding how Sen felt. Miyani stepped forward and reached out, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and pressing her other against the side of Sen's head. He winced slightly as a rough pressure brushed against the wound on his eye.

"You're hurt, Sen," Miyani said firmly. She understood how he felt, but she didn't agree. She gently brushed the blood and dirt away from the cut on his face, cleaning it with a small scrap of cloth. Once his wound had been cleaned to the best of her ability, she bent over slightly, matching her amber eyes with his shining green ones. Sen averted his gaze, looking away from her.

"Let us help you," She pleaded.

The cloth brushed against his cut a few more times, and Sen quivered slightly. Miyani began to slow, and then stop, but Sen's subtle shaking did not. She abandoned any attempts to clean or bandage his injuries. The most severe pain he felt was not on the outside.

In a slow, gentle, motion, Miyani stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pressing his face into her shoulder. He remained limp and tired in her grasp, finding no comfort in her embrace. His eyes still stared blankly at an empty horizon.

Nothing had changed. For all his screams, for all his anger, for all his violence, nothing had changed. The horizon was still empty. Nothing broken had been repaired. Nothing lost had been returned. All of the destruction, from Shen's Post to Fort Ganhwa, was unchanged. All the lives lost were still lost. Raisu, Kim, Moldun, Yakkul, Goto, so many others- they were still gone. Nothing had changed.

Sen tried to say he was sorry, to beg for forgiveness he didn't deserve. The words caught in his throat and emerged only as a choking sob, and Sen finally broke down. The dry and lifeless wastes of the Si Wong were stained by falling tears.


	96. Book 5 Ch24: The End of the Energybender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After years of battle, years of fear, years of anger, Sen must face Sarin one last time.

Sen's motionlessness had been pleasant, even convenient, at the beginning, but the longer it went on, the more uncomfortable Tlun felt. He poked, prodded, tested, but the Avatar never reacted. Tlun had seen cadavers more reactive than Sen's current state. The fact that he was sitting upright and taking slow, shallow breaths were the only clue he was still alive.

A deep, meditative trance had occupied most of Sen's time since his return from the desert. His request for Tlun to examine and treat his injuries over the next three days had been the last thing he'd said before slipping into what Tlun could best describe as a self-induced coma.

Whatever the nature of Sen's restful state, it was doing wonders for his healing. Tlun's efforts proved minor compared to the restorative powers of Sen's meditation. Bruises, cuts, and broken bones had healed completely over the course of just a couple days. Oddly enough, the slight cut over Sen's eye, the mark of Sarin's last strike, was not so easily healed. The cut remained, and, despite Tlun's best efforts, would likely leave a scar.

The small cut had already been thoroughly treated and bandaged, leaving Tlun with little else to do but prod Sen's other injuries. They had mostly vanished, but injuries that extensive always left a few lingering aches and pains. Sen would be mildly uncomfortable, but otherwise in perfect health.

Tlun checked the nearby clock. In a matter of seconds it would exactly three days since Sen had entered his meditation. He showed no signs of waking just yet. Tlun took a few steps back. He wasn't exactly sure why.

The clock struck the very minute Sen had fallen into his sleep, and just like that, he awoke once more. Not disoriented in the slightest, Sen stretched out his limbs, stood up, and yawned. Tlun stepped forward again.

"Good morning, Avatar," Tlun said. "You've had quite a nap."

"I had some things to work out," Sen joked idly. He stretched out his right arm and flexed his fingers, pleasantly surprised at how good he felt. "Got my soul sorted out, mostly. How's my body doing?"

"Astonishingly well," Tlun said. "I didn't believe you'd be ready to move in just three days, but here you are."

"Be honest with me, Tlun," Sen said. "If I need more rest just tell me so."

"I am nothing but honest," Tlun said, offended. "You are in perfect health."

Sen tried to hide his slight frown. Perhaps he had been expecting a reason to stay behind just a little longer. Tlun shook his head. The chaos had gone on long enough. It was time for Sen to restore the balance.

"You should get moving," Tlun said. "People are waiting on you."

"I know, I just-"

"I meant that literally, Sen. There's people lined up outside and everything. We told them you'd be waking up today."

"Oh, right," Sen said. He nodded awkwardly and turned around to head out the door. Tlun followed him and directed him to a small side-room further down the hall.

"The whole world is watching," Tlun advised. "You should be properly dressed."

The thin, ragged garments Sen wore now were hardly befitting a hero on his way to vanquish the enemy. Sen stepped in to the side room while Tlun carried on. There was no massive wardrobe to be found, rather a single neatly-folded outfit with a single pair of glasses resting atop it. A simple shirt and trousers fit him rather nicely, and Sen took a moment before putting on the glasses.

The glass lenses found their place over his eyes, and the world came back into a sharp focus. He had learned enough that he didn't need the glasses quite as much anymore, but they still helped him to focus. The world became clearer when he had them on. Sen nodded, looked at the world around him for a moment, and headed out, still feeling somewhat under-dressed for reasons he didn't completely understand.

The answer to his dilemma came as he walked out the hallways towards the exit and found Detective Zas holding out a paper-wrapped parcel. The Detective swiftly handed over the package to Sen as he approached. It had the weight and feel of fabric.

"I took the liberty of calling your tailor," Zas said playfully. "I believe this might suit you a little better than your last coat."

Sen unwrapped the brown paper, finding, to no surprise whatsoever, a brown longcoat. Sen took it out and put it on, finding it fit perfectly. Zas nodded to a nearby mirror as Sen finished buttoning the coat. It was a far better fit for Sen's frame. While it would be a disservice to call him scrawny, Sen wasn't exactly muscular either. His last coat had been made with wide shoulders and broad chest to mimic muscles Sen didn't have. This one was more suited to his slender frame, a more honest representation of himself.

"I have been right quite a bit," Zas said. "But I have never been more right than the day I said a brown coat would suit you."

Sen ran a hand along the fabric and looked himself over. He looked –and felt –right again. He nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Zas," Sen said. "For understanding me so well."

"You're simpler than you think, Sen," Zas said. He rested a hand on Sen's shoulder. Sen smiled. As smart as Zas was, he often underestimated how much he meant to Sen. The Detective had been the first person to come to Sen because of his own talents. Zas had sought Sen out; not for being the Avatar, but for being clever, not for the hero he'd been born as but for the man he'd become. It filled him with pride to be recognized for his own merits, not his birthright.

"Good luck, Detective, and be quick about it," Zas instructed as he pushed Sen towards the door. "We'll expect you back soon."

"Goodbye, Zas," Sen said with a smile. "I'll see you soon."

With his looks in order, Sen headed out to face the world. The fluorescent lights of the hospital halls gave way to a dim orange light. The sun was setting over the mountaintops, painting the sky above the Republic in a variety of colors.

The sky below erupted in a white flash the moment Sen stepped through the doors. A thousand cameras ignited at once, all attempting to capture what they believed would be an iconic moment. Sen ignored their flashing lights. It would be easy to mischaracterize them as nosy paparazzi. They all cared, in their own way, about what was happening here today.

Sen moved past the crowd easily –a path was cleared for him the moment he stepped forward. They had been expecting his arrival and prepared accordingly. The portal was not far from the hospital, but they wanted him to arrive as quickly as possible. Tlun's sentiment was shared across the world: it was time for this to end.

The path was lined with former soldiers of the Coalition, holding the crowd at bay and saluting sharply. Sen acknowledged their show of respect but did not slow his pace. What was left of the White Lotus likewise lined the path, with Master Jung at their helm. The order had been through much, but they would endure, as they ever did. The ideals they stood for were eternal –in one form or another, there would always be a White Lotus.

Interrupting the stoic lineup of the White Lotus, as was her penchant, was Whistler. She pushed her way past her former master, offering some kind of snarky insult as she did so, and stood at Sen's side if he walked.

"Hey Sen," She said. "Heck of a nap you just took."

"I needed some time to heal," Sen said. "Inside and out."

"Yeah, sounds serious," Whistler said. She made sure to acknowledge his troubles while also clarifying she was completely incapable of talking about them in a meaningful manner. Instead she held out her hand.

"You've been asleep for three days," She said. "You want a snack?"

He was in fact quite hungry, so he took some of what Whistler offered as he walked towards the Spirit Portal. The thought of the journey ahead occupied his thoughts, but one wayward notion managed to slip through as he chewed in Whistler's snacks.

"Whistler, what exactly are these?"

"No clue," She said as she ate another. "But there's a guy on Roku Street who sells them for two yuan a pound."

"That's quite a deal," Sen said, as he also ate another. Whistler nodded.

The two of them continued eating and walking in silence until they reached the very edge of the crater. The green beam of light that marked the entrance to the Spirit World soared into the sky above, painting the red hues of the setting sun with a verdant green light. Whistler and Sen paused.

"Rest of the guys are all waiting up ahead," Whistler said.

"Why aren't you with them, by the way?"

"Wanted a little privacy," Whistler said awkwardly. She turned to Sen slowly. "I'm about to say something with some actual emotion and I didn't want any of the other guys to hear."

Sen raised an eyebrow. This was going to be good.

"There's about a million ways I could put this, and about all of them are some stupid sentimental thing, but I just want you to know," Whistler said, not looking Sen in the eye. "I'd come with you, if you asked. I know you don't need me, I know maybe you don't even want me, but…I want to be where you are. My life is better with you in it."

Sen spared Whistler the trouble of further sentimentality by interrupting her. The renegade was quite upset to find herself being grabbed and held in a solid embrace. Her first instinct was to punch someone, but she restrained herself when she realized it was Sen holding on to her. She hesitated, and then for just a moment she reached out and put her arms around him in turn. But only for a moment.

Whistler forcibly pushed herself out of Sen's grip, stepped away, and punched him solidly in the arm. Feigning indignation, she turned her back on him and walked out, but Sen knew it was all an act. He smiled to himself and proceeded forward into the crater.

The vines and ruins filling the crater around the Spirit Portal were abuzz with energy. The vines that grew here were connected to the vast web of life that connected all things. He could feel the pulse of the world pounding through them. The world itself was excited, nervous, tense, feeling many things with the advent of Sen and Sarin's final confrontation. Sen brushed his hand along a vine, and his own calm aura pulsed through the veins of the world, soothing the restless energy.

At the center of the crater, near the glowing circle of light that bridged the worlds, stood a few of Sen's closest friends. The first to cross his path was Ada, holding a small pack of supplies.

"Everything you need to get you there and back," Ada said, handing him the bag. "Except, of course, a trusty blade at your side."

"I'm going alone, Ada, we talked about this," Sen said firmly.

"And for all our talking, I never agreed to that," Ada countered. "None of us came all this way to leave you at the very end."

"You're going to handle retirement very poorly, you know that?" Sen joked. He nodded at Canto, lurking behind Ada, and Canto nodded awkwardly back. Ada's beau was still not entirely sure he belonged here.

"Stay out of the fight for once. Spend some time with Canto," Sen advised. "Try to remember the reason we fight-"

"-Is so we can stop fighting," Ada concluded. "I know. That's why I want to go this time. You know me, I'm going to keep fighting no matter what. I'll find something else to use my sword for soon enough."

Ada stepped forward and reached up to put a hand on Sen's shoulder.

"But you aren't meant for that. You're meant for better things," She said. "I want to help you fight, so you can stop fighting."

Sen reached to his shoulder and wrapped his hands around Ada's, pulling it away from his shoulder, but not releasing it quite yet.

"This one's my fight," Sen said. "I think you're right. When this is all over I'd like to avoid violence for a while. But this time, this battle –I want to fight this. I have to fight it. I know you understand that."

Ada frowned, remembering her own pursuit of Ko Rin. She had attempted to do it alone, and paid a price for it. But she had done so out of a cold mix of paranoia and anger. Looking in Sen's face, she saw neither of those things. In his eyes was written a righteous determination and nothing more. Almost nothing. Behind his courage there was only the slightest note of a bitter pity –a pity Ada did not quite understand.

She pushed him away slightly.

"Well, go on then," She said. "Fight your fight."

Sen nodded and moved on. There was a bit more to be said yet, to a few more people. Ariak had likely been helping Ada prepare Sen's supplies, given how close he was. Or perhaps he simply wished to be one of the first to speak with Sen, though not quite the first.

"Sen, I should apologize," Ariak began.

"No you shouldn't," Sen interrupted quickly. He extended his hand. "You saw me doing something wrong and you fought against it. I think it's the responsibility of good friends to call each other out on their mistakes."

Ariak smiled slightly and took Sen's outstretched hand, gripping it firmly. The last time he had questioned authority had gone much worse. He was glad to see his friendship with Sen was stronger than his relationship with his estranged father.

"Just as it's our duty to quickly forgive when those mistakes are corrected," Ariak said. "And for what it's worth, I have no doubts about your current course."

"That is a lie," Sen said flatly.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Ariak admitted. He, and most of the others, were worried. Sen understood it well. Lately he had given them reason to doubt. He hoped he would soon prove them wrong. "You know we'd all follow you if you'd let us."

"And that's part of why I need you to stay," Sen said cryptically. He released Ariak's hand and gripped his shoulder briefly before moving on. He quickly found himself face to face with a large wall of black metal.

"If you're not taking the rest of us, you should at least take this," Suda said, offering his shield. "I'm not using it much and you never know when you need a giant invincible shield."

"Suda I could hardly lift this," Sen said, pushing the shield aside. "Besides, I'm not exactly going to be throwing punches with a spirit."

"Right, Spirit World stuff," Suda said, cringing slightly. He'd always hated the Spirit World. The thought that a spirit could live after death in that realm made him hate it even more. Despite that, he'd still follow Sen into the depths of the Spirit World if he asked.

"I'm just worried about you, Sen," Suda admitted. He then tried to cover his emotions with a joke. "I mean if you get killed I'm going to have to name my kid after you, and what if it's a girl, Sen is a terrible name for a girl!"

Sen laughed, more at Suda's overbearing concern than at his joke. Sen reached out and gave Suda a sarcastic pat on the shoulder to 'calm' him.

"It'll be alright, Suda, I'll stay safe and you can name your child whatever you want," Sen promised him. Suda sighed deeply, letting his real emotions shine through again. Sen braced himself. He knew what was coming.

The massive, muscular arms of Suda reached out and wrapped Sen up in a disconcertingly powerful bear hug. He squirmed slightly, found himself mostly unable to move, and gave up. Suda acknowledged that he was slightly crushing the Avatar and put him down quickly enough.

"I'm holding you to that," Suda said. "And try to make it quick. I want you here to welcome the little one to the world."

"I'll try my best," Sen promised, and then he moved forward again.

The closest and last stop on the path to the Spirit Portal was watched over by Miyani. She relaxed against a large chunk of wall that had once made up someone's home, long ago. Unlike the others, she did not step forward as Sen approached.

"Miyani," Sen said flatly.

"Sen," Miyani said with equal flatness. Sen paused and watched her for a beat. Miyani was always difficult to read, but she seemed almost too casual now. The others had been very transparent in their worries and concern. He felt no such doubt from Miyani.

"You don't have anything to say?"

"Nothing I can't say when you get back," Miyani said. She turned away from Sen to look over the crowd that was watching them from afar.

"You really aren't nervous at all? Not going to offer to follow me into the Spirit World? You're not even going to wish me luck?"

Now Miyani finally paid full attention to Sen, stepping forward to look him in the eyes. She walked forward until they were face to face and rested a hand on his right cheek, her thumb resting just a hairs breadth away from the rough cut on his eyebrow.

"You don't need luck," She said, echoing words Sen had spoken to her once, long ago. "You're the Avatar."

She stepped away, letting go of his face, and gave him a smile as warm as the summer sun. In that moment Sen finally understood her. It had been this way since that fateful day on Hayao's island, when Sen had first spoken those words to her. Sen had asked for her trust, and she had given it, completely, unconditionally, for all time. For all the years they'd spent separated, for all the months Sen had been sinking deeper and deeper into his own anger, Miyani had never doubted him once. She never would.

Miyani took another step back, and found she could go no further. As she pulled away, Sen had grabbed on to her by the hand, holding it tightly as he looked up at her. Miyani glanced at her hand and then looked back at him. Her faint smile brightened just a little bit more, and she gripped his hand tightly as their eyes met. The look on his face was not yet a smile, but a simple look of contentment, as if he was exactly where he wanted to be.

But Miyani felt a cold chill run through Sen's blood as reality sank in. Where Sen wanted to be and where he needed to be were two very different places. Sen regretfully released his grip on Miyani's hand and turned away, towards the gateway between worlds. Miyani cast her eyes downwards as Sen departed.

The Avatar stood to face the glowing pillar of light. He spared one last glance over his shoulder, to look at the people, the world, that had gathered to see him off. He turned away from it all at last and stepped forward. One world faded into another as he crossed the planes.

The familiar vistas of oddly colored flora and strange terrain gradually came into view. Sen paused a moment to look around and take in the scenery before he spun to the side to grab the person sneaking up on him.

"Not today," he declared firmly, picking Hanjo up and slamming him against the ground. Hanjo's attempted tackle came to a disastrous end as Sen pinned him against the soil.

"Come on," Hanjo said indignantly. "I exploited interplanar boundaries and I still can't sneak up on you?"

"You forgot one important thing," Sen said. In a puff of dirt and with a loud huff, Gun's head popped out of the ground in front of Hanjo. "I have a spy."

Hanjo glared angrily into Gun's blind eyes. Sen had been suspicious the moment he'd not seen Hanjo gathered with the others. No way he'd leave Sen alone on a day like this. A simple scouting mission from Gun had confirmed Sen's suspicions.

"You betrayed me," he said. Gun snorted and retreated into the soil of the Spirit World. With his defeat solidified, Sen released Hanjo and let him stand upright and shake the dirt off. He continued to complain as he cleaned himself off.

"I still don't understand how he does that," Hanjo moaned. Gun emerged completely from the soil and sat down on the ground, examining his two masters.

"I doubt we'll ever understand him," Sen said, running a hand across Gun's fur. Over all the years Gun had served as Animal Guide, only two things had become apparent. He was a bit feisty, and he was unfailingly, unflinchingly devoted to his friends. Gun had followed Sen across miles, across oceans, and across worlds. Though Sen was often forced to neglect Gun when faced with his other duties, Gun never failed to appear when Sen needed him. Sen continued to stroke the badgermole's bristled fur as Hanjo continued.

"Well, I was going to use the whole surprise attack element as a segue," Hanjo whined. "Now I kind of don't know where to start."

"I do," Sen said. "I'm sorry."

Hanjo had been trying to keep the mood light, but Sen had gone and thrown that all out the window. Apparently they were going to be serious today.

"I screwed up," Sen admitted. "I did so many things wrong, and I ignored so many problems, and you had every right to hate me-"

"I never hated you, Sen," Hanjo corrected. "I was just afraid you'd lost your way."

"I know you didn't, I'm just saying," Sen said awkwardly. "I know I let you down. I should have been better. Not just in the way I acted with the war…with the way I acted with you."

Sen crossed his arms and looked down in shame. Hanjo shook his head. Sen had been a jerk, yeah, but it was nothing unforgivable. Still, he would let Sen vent. He'd feel better afterwards.

"I never thanked you, did I?" Sen asked. Hanjo had not been expecting him to take that angle. "For what you taught me."

"What, for the handful of earthbending lessons?"

"Well yes, those," Sen said with a slight chuckle. "But, not what I meant. Something a lot more important."

Sen stepped forward and put both hands on Hanjo's shoulders, gripping them firmly.

"The day we met, all the way back at Beaker Hall, when you fought those bandits," Sen said solemnly. "That was the day I realized, maybe fighting was better than hiding. Watching you, I learned how to be brave, how to face life's problems."

Sen continued to surprise Hanjo by stepping forward and moving his arms off Hanjo's shoulder and around his back, grabbing him in a tight embrace.

"You taught me courage," Sen mumbled. "And that's the most important thing I could ever learn. Everything I've done since then, everything I have, everything I am…is all because of you."

The magnitude of that statement struck Hanjo silent. The tone of Sen's voice made his meaning very clear. When he said everything, he meant it –all the power he had, all the incredible things he'd done, all of his friends –he thanked Hanjo for all of that. Hanjo wasn't sure he deserved that kind of gratitude.

"I don't think I can ever thank you enough," Sen continued. He released Hanjo from the tight hug and stepped back, looking him in the eyes. "But I'm going to try. I love you, Hanjo. And I will never let you down again."

Hanjo found the moment enjoyable –but also somewhat awkward. He had things he'd rather be doing than listening to Sen be heartwarming. Hanjo pulled his hand away and stomped his foot, calling to Gun, who quickly placed himself between his two favorite people.

"Alright, yes, much appreciated," Hanjo said. "Now what say the three of us get going to that Undying Bloom place."

Gun and Hanjo stood waiting for Sen to join them. The Avatar turned his eyes out to the depths of the Spirit World, towards the Bloom, and shook his head.

"No," He said firmly. He had said it to all the others, and he would say it to Hanjo as well. "I do this alone."

"Sen, I know, you've got a lot of good reasons to want to work alone," Hanjo said. "But come on, it's us. You, me, and Gun. It started with us working together. That's how it should end."

Sen took a step away, towards the Undying Bloom. He faced the vast expanse between himself and his final battle briefly before turning back to Hanjo.

"Things shouldn't end the way they started," Sen began solemnly. He looked into Hanjo's eyes and then turned away. "I've been through too much, learned too much, to think that. I needed you once, just like I needed Ada, Suda, Whistler…All of you. But I don't need you anymore."

Sen stood up straight, squared his shoulders, and looked Hanjo in the eye without flinching.

"The seven of us-"

Gun huffed impatiently. Sen smiled slightly.

"The eight of us," Sen corrected. "Will always be a team, and we'll always be a family. But we're also individuals. We need to be able to stand on our own. I believe that the rest of you are strong enough to do that."

Sen trailed off slightly and ran a finger along the rough scab across his eye where Sarin had cut him.

"But I don't know that about myself," He admitted. "Not any more. Not after what I've done."

Sen removed his hands from his face and held them at his waist. He had let his anger consume, let his rage blind him to what was really important in life. He had faced one of life's most important tests –and failed. He had put hate before love, and let his heart and mind be ruled by someone else's actions.

"I need to do this on my own," Sen said. "So that I can believe in myself as much as the rest of you believe in me."

Hanjo bit his lip. He didn't want to admit it, but Sen made sense. He'd lost faith in himself, and that was a horrible thing to go through. Hanjo didn't see any reason he shouldn't have faith in himself, though.

"Come on, Sen, you're the Avatar," Hanjo said. "We all know you could do this alone, even you know that. Just a few seconds of those glowing eyes should be enough to-"

There was an odd twitch to Sen's features as Hanjo spoke that gave Hanjo pause. He interrupted himself mid-sentence and examined Sen's face for a time. Sen had always been bad at lying. Something was wrong.

"You do –you've been meditating for a long time, you have to have-"

Hanjo pointed at his eyes, indicating the burning white light of the Avatar State's power. Sen lowered his head and shook it quietly.

"I haven't tried," Sen admitted. "I don't want to."

"Sen, this is the end, you can't just cripple yourself because you feel bad! What if you can't- what if Sarin," Hanjo flailed for a moment to find the right words. He couldn't let Sen continue like this. Sen saw things quite differently.

"When I said I would do this alone, I meant it," Sen said defiantly. "Not with you, not with Miyani, not with Suda, Ariak, or anyone else, not even Korra and Raava!"

In three days of meditation Sen had never bothered reaching out to the light he was connected to. He had never cared to. His first concern, his only concern, had been himself.

"This is my last challenge," Sen said solemnly. "If I can't overcome it as myself –with my own strength, with my own will- then I don't deserve the victory. I will win, Hanjo, I promise you. But I need to win as myself."

Hanjo grit his teeth. Sen was being too stubborn. All Hanjo could think about were the risks –he didn't want to lose his best friend, not to something so foolish.

But Sen had promised to win, and he'd promised never to disappoint Hanjo again. Breaking a promise would be a fine disappointment. Hanjo managed to crack a wry smile.

"Alright fine," Hanjo said reluctantly. "Go. But make it quick."

With a quiet nod and a quick turn on his heel, Sen turned back to face his destination and his destiny.

***

The weeks passed by in solitude. The journey was long, quiet, and lonesome only growing worse in every respect as Sen approached the Undying Bloom. The forest was as quiet as the grave.

Light burned from every branch in a storm of luminescence. Sen did not avert his eyes. No light without was brighter than the light he carried within. He kept his eyes forward, planted on the massive dead tree at the center of it all.

His course never wavered and his feet did not falter. He moved without hesitation towards his goal. The silence of the forest was chilling to the core. Despite their abundant leaves, the trees seemed dry and lifeless. A sickening chill pervaded the air, trying to consume Sen in its cold grasp.

He remembered this feeling all too well. He had lived steeped in it for years. The orphanage that had imprisoned him with its cold, uncaring darkness had felt the same way. It was a feeling impossible to describe, for it was itself void. Emptiness. The absence of hope, of purpose, of life. No amount of light could ever fill such an abominable darkness.

The lights dimmed. The trees grew sparse. The center of the forest stood ahead. Sen did not falter.

His unwavering pace led him to the heart of it all, and Sen stepped forward, his march finally ceasing as he laid eyes on his quarry.

Sarin stood, unmoving, his ethereal form still and quiet as he stared back at the Avatar with one eye. His cyclopean gaze was unblinking, his chest unmoving without breath through his lungs. There was not even a heartbeat beneath his ghostly skin. Sarin was still, and cold, his one remaining hand clenched in a tight fist.

Motion finally came in the form a twisting circle of darkness and light. With slow, predatory movements, the black beast and the great tiger encircled Sen, keeping their distance but making it clear they had him right where they wanted him –or so they believed.

Sen turned first to the Mind-Eater, the shadow of ignorance that lived in the dark places of the human spirit. Its belly was still torn and ragged, bleeding black ichor from its gullet, the mark of its battle with Miyani. There was anger in its cold blue eyes: it sought vengeance. Four jaws flexed hungrily as it observed the Avatar with its night-black face. Soon, it believed, it would be all-powerful. The death of the Avatar would birth an age of ignorance and despair, ample feeding ground for the Hssk.

He turned his attention to the massive tiger. Contradictory elements shifted as the gargantuan ta Jide Shui encircled him. Massive paws both stone and mist padded the ground, sharp claws bared. There was anger in its eyes, but also desperation. It was a prisoner in life, longing for a freedom it thought only death could bring. For a thousand lifetimes it had lived, condemned to the prison of this dead tree, unable to die or even forget its own ceaseless existence. The death of the Avatar could finally bring it peace.

At last the Avatar turned his eyes back to Sarin, the black emptiness, the root of all this age's suffering. He stared forward unblinkingly at the Avatar, his purpose, his destiny, his sole reason for being.

"You are surrounded," Sarin observed, finally breaking the silence.

"You cannot surround me any more than the air can," Sen said in reply. He turned his eyes between the three of them. "You are empty. Immaterial."

Sen planted his feet and stood in defiance of them, and the terror they tried to impress upon them. His body was still and his heartbeat steady –he would show no fear. The circling of the twin spirits of black and white paused, and they rested on either side of Sarin. Sen could sense the connection between the three, the shared bond that empowered them. Sarin believed the bond made him invincible. Sen knew otherwise. It was simple mathematics. Nothing added to nothing was still nothing.

"You," He said, turning to the Hssk. The black beast faltered slightly under his gaze.

"You cannot see your own ignorance. For all the knowledge you take, you do not learn, do not think what the future may hold," Sen said. He pointed at the shadowy blackness of the Hssk accusingly. "You think that by removing ambition, curiosity, the desire to learn, you will make yourself immortal."

Sen had always sought knowledge, searched for greater wisdom and greater purpose. That quest had made him ever more aware of his own foolishness –a perilous dichotomy the Hssk did not understand.

"Ignorance exists only because of those who have curiosity," Sen said. "Without that drive to learn more, we would sit complacent, unaware of our foolishness. Victory here will not make you stronger, Hssk, it will destroy you. Curiosity is what birthed you and sustains you. You will die without it."

The shadow of the Hssk's body twitched slightly as it absorbed Sen's words. Just as light cast shadows, only knowledge could illuminate the empty spaces of thought. The Hssk's ignorance was a mere shadow of the greater light of wisdom.

But it was ignorance, only able to steal the wisdom of others, not learn it. Sen's words meant nothing to the Hssk. It persisted in its self-destructive path. Sen nodded, as he had never expected a different outcome. The Hssk was unable to change its course.

"And you," Sen said, turning his attention to the mighty form of Ta Jide Shui. The tiger of stone and mist was far more defiant in his rage against the Avatar.

"Do not proselytize to me, Raava," The tiger growled. His fangs bared in a vicious snarl. "You and your kind laid out this world, defined my purpose. You imprisoned me in this place, condemned me to this suffering!"

Sen endured the roaring rage of the Ta Jide Shui. It eventually calmed, and Sen continued.

"You are a prisoner of no one's accord but your own," Sen said. "You have lived here for a thousand lifetimes, never forgetting your own suffering, but you never thought to see beyond what was laid out for you."

The Avatar held out his hands briefly, focusing on the soil around him.

"In ancient times you were bound to the roots of this tree," Sen said. That much was true. The ancient spirits had 'imprisoned' the Ta Jide Shui. "They gave you a purpose. But it was your own foolishness that made it a prison."

Sen swept his hand aside, casting aside the dirt below his feet. With the soil torn aside, the roots of the ancient dead tree stretched outwards visible to all, stretching to the edge of Ta Jide Shui's eternal prison –and then stretching further.

The tree roots entangled and grew together, joining as not a thousand lives but a single living thing. The roots spread far and wide, never separating, extending for miles in every direction, growing throughout the Undying Bloom and beyond. All life was connected. These same roots pierced soil and stone throughout the Spirit World, entangling even the roots of the Tree of Time that bound the planes, and growing into the mortal world in turn. Ta Jide Shui had been bound to the roots, yes, but they were no prison. Only a test, a test he had failed.

"No," The great tiger gasped desperately. The truth was laid bare before him now. A thousand lifetimes he had wasted, laboring under his own delusion.

"You," He growled, his eyes turning away from the truth and towards Sen. "You deceived me! You did this!"

Sen shook his head, but offered no further explanation. No matter how much was shown to him, the great tiger would not see. He had no one to blame but himself, but he was unwilling to see that.

"Sarin," Sen continued. He looked up at his lifelong nemesis, without anger, without pity, but only with understanding. "The lesser of both. Unable and unwilling to change."

Sarin was silent. Sarin stood face to face with his destiny and did nothing. He would never get a chance better than this. He had all the power, all the opportunity he would ever have, and yet he did nothing. Sen understood why.

"For so long I saw the black void that consumes you and thought it was a shield, some defense or trick to obscure you," Sen said. His voice was tinged by pity, not malice. "But it isn't. The blackness I see isn't a shield. It's you."

Even now he could see the emptiness in the world where Sarin stood. The abyssal blackness of Sarin's empty soul drew in the light and warmth around him, leaving behind only the hollow nothingness that Sarin himself felt inside.

"You were born, raised, and trained for one purpose," Sen continued. "The destiny your family gave you was all you had. You were never brave enough to seek anything else, to question your course, to be more than what others tried to make you! Look at yourself, Sarin! Even now you still cling to the way others shaped you!"

In this world Sarin was as a spirit, but he still clung to the form he'd worn in the physical world. He could be anything, his ideal self, but he still bore the old scars, the burned out eye, the short stub of a severed arm, every cut, scrape, and bruise Sen had given him. His form, as his spirit, was decided entirely by what others had done to him.

Sen stepped forward now, his shoulders squared and his fists clenched. He bit his tongue for a moment as his eyes focused on Sarin. He spoke accusingly, but his voice faltered. He knew he was guilty of the same crimes, in his own way. Sarin likewise changed his stance, anger twisting his form.

"You clung to that destiny, never daring to look away from it for even a moment. You defended it at any costs. It never mattered what you had to consume or sacrifice, not your enemies, not your friends-"

Sen paused and planted his feet, staring Sarin in his one eye.

"Not your family."

Sarin's broken spirit form took a single step back.

"You know nothing," He spat.

"I know everything!"

He had no real evidence, and yet he had never been more certain. For months he had wondered what had become of Kalden, of the first energybender, Sarin's older brother. It had only taken one look into the blackness of Sarin's soul to finally put the broken pieces together.

"Kalden was controlling, he never really wanted to pass the power or leadership on to you," Sen continued. He proceeded forwards towards Sarin. Sarin held out his hands and drew on the power his spirit allies offered. The twin spirits of black and white began to fade as Sarin parasitized their power.

"He knew the powers they offered could heal him," Sen said. The Ta Jide Shui and the Hssk circled ever closer around Sen as he grew closer and closer to Sarin. "He knew with their help that he wouldn't have to give over his destiny to you."

The bonded souls of spirit and man could accomplish great things –even restore a soul withered by Energybending. He could feel the echoes of that long ago moment in this place. He could nearly hear Kalden bargaining with Ta Jide Shui and the Hssk –just as he could hear Sarin interrupt.

"But you couldn't lose your destiny," Sen said venomously.

"Be quiet," Sarin demanded harshly. He drew further on the power of his spirit allies, consuming them nearly entirely. Shrill, fierce howling filled the air.

"You couldn't see any other path," Sen said. "You knew that without their power, your life was meaningless! If you could not devote it to destroying me then your life was nothing! You couldn't, you didn't, let Kalden take the power for his own. Because you had no other purpose in life, you did the unthinkable-"

"Shut up!" Sarin shouted. Sen was only a few steps away now. Sarin drew on the fullness of the power available to him, draining anything, everything. The black hollow of Sarin's soul was a void that drew in all around it –even his closest allies. The Hssk was consumed, cursing in arcane tongues as he was destroyed, as was the Ta Jide Shui, breathing a sigh of relief as oblivion overtook him. The howling grew louder and louder as Sarin drew on more and more, unwinding the world around him in search of more power.

Sarin turned his all-consuming hunger on life itself, and the white forest began to wither and die. Death and decay spread throughout the forest, turning that which had once been blindingly beautiful into a dark, dead waste. The full breadth of existence was tugged towards Sarin's empty soul as Sen took his final step forward. The howling rose ever further, drowning out all sound, and yet even against this arcane cacophony Sen managed one final defiant shout.

"You killed your brother!"

With a loud scream, Sarin lunged forward. The full weight of three souls, all the power he had gathered, coalesced into a single grey light, furious yet small. That terrible orb of gray pain howled as it travelled, and struck against Sen's soul like a hammer.

No amount of light or power could fill a bottomless abyss. Sarin struck like a hammer indeed –a hammer of glass against a mountainside. Hollow and fragile, Sarin's willpower broke against the implacable fullness of Sen's heart.

The howling stopped, quiet resumed. The grey glow shattered and broke into a thousand fragments of light, scattering into myriad colors as the energy dissipated. Beams of light danced amidst the dead branches that had once contained them as Sarin's stolen power flittered away.

Amidst the scattered remnants of his own self, a single sliver of the Energybender remained, a tenuous fragment of a soul, clinging to existence by a thread. Barely alive, barely cognizant, the fragment of a hollow soul drifted backwards, coming to rest at the dead roots of the great tree behind him. The hollow fragment of a man landed amidst a world equally lifeless.

The last fragments of light, sound, and life, left the world around him. The Undying Bloom, once a place of infinite light, became a horrifying, all-consuming dark. In the midst of the lifeless forest there was only one light.

Above Sarin, tall and unmoved, untouched by the full weight of Sarin's rage, Sen stood. His eyes glowed, the only light in the darkened abyss where they now stood. But it was not the harsh light of the Avatar, no blinding white glow. It was softer, sharper, a keen glimmer in the green eyes that hid behind glass lenses. It was a light all Sen's own. A light slightly darkened by the pity he felt.

"It was always going to end this way," He said. "Ever since that first day in the orphanage. I gained the courage to be more."

Sen closed his eyes. Despite himself, tears welled up in his eyes. There was still anger in him, but consuming that rage, overpowering it, was a deep, abiding sadness. He understood the emptiness Sarin had inside him. In spite of everything Sarin had done, Sen felt sympathy for him.

"I almost lost that," Sen explained. "I let myself be blinded by the anger I felt towards you. I hated you for what you did, the lives you took. You destroyed so much that I cared about, you filled my life with so much fear, you nearly took Hanjo from me…"

Sen rubbed a hand against his eyes to wipe away the few tears he shed. He kneeled down on the ground to put himself level with Sarin, looking the fading spirit in his one eye.

"But I forgot –I never understood," Sen said correcting himself. "That without you I might never have met him."

Sarin had destroyed so much, and put Sen through more pain in just a few years than most people felt in a lifetime. It was because of Sarin that Sen had spent years condemned to the bleak orphanage –but it was there he had met his best friend.

"If you'd never taken Hanjo, I would've never met Miyani. The announcement you made that day in Republic City, it guided me to Whistler. The horrors you created, the pain you caused…it put the pieces together, guided me to Suda, Ada, Ariak, all of them. And they're happier because of it. So am I."

Together they had come so far, accomplished so much. Together they had learned patience, friendship, virtue, love, understanding –but all of that had arisen from the pain, the fear, the anger.

"I will not be so blind again," Sen explained. "This is my life, and my choices to make. I choose to accept the bad, and embrace the good."

He looked once more at Sarin, with a faint, melancholy smile on his face.

"I choose to be happy."

Sen stood, tall and proud, unburdened by hatred, fear, regret, or sorrow. These things would try to hunt him for the rest of his life. They would fail. He was strong enough to choose the course of his own life, and if that strength ever failed, his friends would be there to correct his course.

"I wish that was a choice you could make," Sen said pitifully. Sarin still looked up at him from the base of the tree. Bitter anger marked his one fading eye.

"Don't mock me," his faint spirit choked out. "End it."

Sen closed his eyes, bowed his head, and shook it sadly. Even here at the end of all things, at the end of his own life, he could not, would not understand. All Sarin would ever have was his purpose. His only reason for being was to kill the Avatar –or die trying. Sen pitied his blindness.

"If you want an end, Sarin, then for once in your life, be your own man," Sen began.

With that said, the Avatar turned his back on the Energybender. He did not look over his shoulder. Sen would never again lay eyes on the pitiable emptiness of Sarin.

"Do it yourself."

He walked away, without another word spared for the man who had once consumed his life. Sarin watched the Avatar walk away, abandoning the battle that had been Sarin's entire life. Slowly, horribly, as the Avatar vanished amidst the dead trees of the forest that had once been undying, Sarin realized the truth.

The Avatar was gone. There would be no final battle, no great destiny. Sarin had consumed a thousand lives, innocents, his own allies, his own brother, in the pursuit of a goal that was impossible and always had been. His will, his purpose, his very existence, was entirely meaningless.

From the depths of that dead forest came a scream, a scream unlike any that had been heard in any world. It echoed across the Spirit World, echoing dimly in the faintest regions, miles and miles away, and yet it carried no weight. Within the scream there was no rage, no pain, no despair -it was noise, and nothing more.

And then, it was nothing.


	97. Book 5 Ch25: Avatar Sen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to say goodbye

Hanjo changed his seating position just one more time. He looked good, but he had to look better for the camera. A few lights came on, and a signal was given, and the broadcast began.

"Good morning Republic City, and the world, I'm Shinji Shinobi," The host said exuberantly. "Joining me today is one of our most exciting guests ever, Hanjo, teammate and best friend of Avatar Sen!"

"Hello, world," Hanjo said with a wave at the camera. Shinji turned to Hanjo excitedly.

"So, Hanjo, this marks the first public interview from a Team Avatar member since Sen's return just a few weeks ago. Where have you all been, what have you been up to, why are you reaching out to us now?"

"Well, I've always been bigger on the whole fame and fortune part of being Team Avatar," Hanjo said. That drew a few laughs from the audience, as he had hoped.

"And, well, as far as where everyone else it, it's not like we're avoiding anyone," Hanjo said. "We just…"

He rested his head in his hands contemplatively for a moment. He really should've been given a script for this.

"We have our own lives to live, you know? For the past couple years, we've all been devoting ourselves to saving the things and people we care about, and now…they're saved. We want a little time to appreciate all the things we fought for. And we all have different things we wanted."

Their duty had not quite ended at Sen's return. There had been a storm of activity. Parties, at first, celebrations of life. The Coalition had been officially disbanded and worldwide peace was declared, Princess Mika had been crowned the new Fire Lord, Yoki and Suda had been married. After that, somber remembrances had followed, with Goto and the other fallen heroes being memorialized. And after the sadness there had come a slow but steady sense of normality. The battle was over. The good guys had won. Life went on.

"And what is that you're devoting yourself to, now that the fight is won?" Shinji asked. Hanjo dragged himself out of his memories and focused on the present, and then the future.

"Well, frankly, I haven't entirely made up my mind, for the far future," Hanjo said. "I know that there's a lot of work to do in Hua-Long province, and the Earth Kingdom in general for that matter."

Hanjo rested his hand on his chin and smiled slightly. That did seem like a plan.

"In general, I think," Hanjo continued. "It's about time we made the world a better place."

"Most people would say you already have," Shinji noted.

"Ehh, I wouldn't say so."

Hanjo gestured oddly with his hands and explained his point of view.

"You see, the thing about saving the world, no matter what it's from, is that, generally speaking, you're just keeping it from getting worse," Hanjo explained. "We got rid of a problem, yeah, but now we've just put the world back to the way it was before that problem was there."

Shinji nodded towards the camera. Hanjo continued.

"We have, all of us, all my friends, been fighting. We destroyed something bad," Hanjo said. "But we can do so much more than that. These people, that I was lucky enough to be part of a team with, they are so much more than their powers, their bending, their swords. They are so…they're funny, and caring, and intelligent, and hopeful."

He looked out at the world with a bright smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

"I know that we can do so much more," Hanjo said. "We can make this world so much better. Each of us alone…or all of us together."

Hanjo took a deep breath. He was on the edge of crying, and he was not about to do that. The whole world was watching.

"But that's all in the far future," Hanjo said, changing the subject. "In the near future, well…I have somewhere to be."

***

The streets of Zaofu were darker than they had been before. The shining pillars of the city had dulled, the electric lights had gone out.

The financial crisis that had hit the Earth Kingdom after Ko Rin's ousting had hit Zaofu the hardest. The city had changed overnight. It had been robbed of its beating heart of industry, and stood hollow and lifeless in the absence. Ada felt a pang of guilt, but knew it would pass. Ko Rin's treachery had done this, not her.

Despite all the change in this city, it was still her home. She stood on the front porch of her home, bathed in a familiar light, and held Canto's hand. She looked at the young boy who'd been so patient with her, in years of her absence, and still loved her.

"You know, I remember having our first kiss here," Canto said idly. They could walk through the door any time they wanted, but they lingered a bit.

"So do I," Ada said. It was one of the memories that made Zaofu still feel like home, despite the chaos and confusion she had been through. She leaned in close to Canto's face and whispered to him.

"You're the numbers man," She said playfully. "How many does this make?"

She kissed him gently, briefly, before pulling her face away to stare warmly at him.

"Never could keep track," Canto said. "They're all just as exciting as the first."

Ada blushed and turned away. Hand in hand they stepped inside. The sound of their entrance alerted Ada's father quickly.

"Ada, you're home!" He shouted excitedly. "Good timing! Some of your friends are waiting for you."

"I didn't think I had any friends left in Zaofu," Ada said as she walked through the halls. Her actions ousting Ko Rin and ruining Zaofu in the process had alienated all but her closest loved ones.

"Well, we aren't from around here," A familiar voice said. Ada's eyes narrowed curiously as she rounded the corner into the living room.

"Tomoe?"

Ada's one-eyed doppelganger from the Bac Ria orphans was sitting in her living room. She was sat right next to a portrait photo of Ada, making their resemblance even more uncannily clear. Canto looked between his lover and her apparent twin with confusion.

Sitting next to the sword-obsessed orphan was a morose-looking Kunik, clutching a long, narrow package wrapped in paper. He stood and bowed at Ada's entrance, still clutching his mysterious parcel.

"Hello, Ada," He said blankly.

"Kunik," She said sadly. "I'm sorry. About Yakkul, I mean-"

"I know," Kunik interrupted. There was just a slight quiver in his voice, to show he was almost –but not quite- done mourning his beloved master. Ada stepped forward and hugged him warmly. She missed Yakkul's playful energy as well, though the loss did not strike her quite as deeply as it did Kunik.

"You were always his favorite student," Ada said.

"Thank you," Kunik said with a barely audible sob. He pulled away and took a deep breath, calming himself by gripping the narrow parcel he held.

"But I was never his best," Kunik said sadly. "That was you. And I think…I technically inherited his- He bought this, but he never had the chance to collect it, because…"

Kunik stopped himself and held out the package he held towards Ada, placing it in her hands.

"I think this should belong to you," He said firmly.

Ada began to unwrap the paper, though she already suspected what it was. To stave off bankruptcy, Zaofu had been auctioning off valuable items, heirlooms, and museum pieces. There was only one thing a man like Yakkul might have been interested in.

The paper fell away at last, and Ada held in her hands the black sword once wielded by Sokka. She gently ran her fingers along the handle, the White Lotus emblem on the hilt, and then unsheathed the blade by a fraction, exposing the black meteorite iron.

It was a symbol of the lineage of sword masters Ada had always hoped to inherit, but for Ada personally it was so much more. This blade had, albeit indirectly, changed her life. It had just been an idle fancy, a brief detour to see an old relic, that had led to her crossing paths with the Avatar. It had been on their mutual path to see this ancient sword that Sen and Ada had first met, and Ada's life had changed forever.

She smiled softly at her own reflection in the black blade as she thought of all she had gained. All the adventures she'd had, all the skills she'd learned, all the friends she'd made…such a small thing had been the root of it all.

She replaced the blade and looked back to Kunik and Tomoe, nodding thankfully.

"Thank you," She said warmly. "This means…more to me than you could ever know."

Kunik and Tomoe shared a look.

"It…Doesn't necessarily come free," Tomoe said awkwardly.

"As I said, I inherited Yakkul's estate, his school…and his students," Kunik said, nodding to Tomoe. "But I'm not exactly equipped, or trained, to handle that kind of burden."

"There's a lot of people out there who need some lessons, Ada," Tomoe said. "But there's only one master."

Yakkul, Sorikami, Rahm, Ko Rin –they were all gone. There was only one great master left in the world. Realization slowly dawned on Ada. She looked at the sword held in her hands. It was a symbol of a lineage that went back to Piandao, the first great master of the sword. A lineage that was now entirely in Ada's hands.

"I…Don't know what to say," Ada said quietly.

"I'd recommend 'yes'," Tomoe suggested. Kunik elbowed her in the ribs. This was a time to be a little sensitive.

Ada had never been one for sensitivity, though. She was a woman of action.

"I'll do it," She said firmly, taking a strong grip of the sword she carried. She nearly put the blade in her belt alongside her other swords, but thought better of it. It was made of meteorite iron, an easily bendable material, hardly of any use in the modern age of metalbending. It was a stronger symbol than it was a weapon.

All of her experiences had taught her to temper her energy with caution. She loosened her grip on the blade slightly, treating it as a museum piece should be treated, and continued.

"But I'll need some time to think," She said. "I need to approach this the right way. I've never thought about teaching before."

She had learned much, but never thought about how to teach another in turn. It would be a new experience for her, but an illuminating one. She was excited to see what the future held for Master Ada. But first, she had other concerns.

"It might be a while," She said. "We have somewhere to be."

***

The room was dark, quiet, and restful. There had been quite a bit of screaming and yelling here earlier, but things had quieted down. The lights were dim and the screaming had been replaced by an exhausted sleep for both parties.

As the only who'd done none of the screaming, Suda was far more alert than the others. He couldn't imagine closing his eyes with such a precious face before him.

She was so small, so incredible, so beautiful in ways he couldn't find words to describe. He ever so gently brushed a fingertip across her cheek as she slept, careful not to disturb her rest.

"Hana," he said quietly. His daughter. She hadn't even opened her eyes, hadn't existed for more than a few hours, and yet Suda loved her more than he had ever loved another. She was such a tiny thing, and only seemed smaller compared to Suda's massive frame, and yet she filled his heart to bursting with a love he could not even begin to express. Suda held his daughter gently yet firmly to him, wishing to himself that he might never have to let her go. There were tears in his eyes as he whispered words to her that she would never understand.

"You're a pretty lucky girl, Hana," he began. "You're going to have a good life."

He did not pull his eyes away from his darling, precious Hana for even a moment, but he did allow some space in his mind for other parts of the world.

"Thanks to your mom and your…uncle," Suda said. He was still having trouble with being Kaizo Uehara's brother in law. "You'll never have to worry about money. And thanks to all your other aunts and uncles, I think you're going to have one of the most exciting lives a kid could ask for. You're going to live an incredible life."

Suda looked at his daughter, at the small, incredible life he'd helped bring in to this world, and he tried to smile. It faltered slightly.

"It's not enough," He admitted quietly. "I could give you the whole world –both worlds- and it wouldn't be enough."

A few tears dripped down Suda's cheeks as he continued to whisper to the sleeping Hana.

"I will never be able to show you how much I love you," He said apologetically. "But I promise I will never stop trying. I hope that will be enough."

What had happened to Suda would never happen to his daughter. There would not be a single moment in Hana's life where she felt unloved or abandoned. He would be there for her, to guide her, to love her, whenever he was needed. He would always be her father. He promised this to her, and to himself.

"You big softy," Yoki sighed wearily.

"Oh, hi, uh, good morning," Suda said awkwardly. "You heard that?"

"Every word," Yoki said with a smile. She sighed contentedly. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve someone as wonderful as Suda. He was going to be an amazing husband and father.

"Ditto, by the way," Yoki said to her daughter. Hana remained perfectly still, unmoved by their words. She wouldn't even understand their words for another few years anyway. Yoki and Suda shared a smile.

"I love you," Suda said to Yoki. As overcome with affection as he was for Hana, his heart still belonged to Yoki. The two girls would just have to share from now on.

"Love you too darling," Yoki said wearily. "Now please, get me some water. I feel awful."

"Right, of course," Suda said. He stood, careful not to disturb Hana, and set about his duties as husband and father. "Got to get you back on your feet, after all. We've got somewhere to be."

***

The fog was no longer as obscuring as it had once been. Perhaps weather had thinned it. Perhaps Miyani just saw more clearly now. It didn't matter regardless. Her feet had walked these stones a thousand times, and she remembered them well.

The fog gave way to the darkness of the cavern, and she paused briefly on her course. She diverted her path slightly, heading for a chamber to the right. She had lived here for nearly a decade, spent every night and many of her waking hours here. Now it was abandoned and lifeless. The chamber stood empty, damp, and quiet.

Miyani peered behind a long-abandoned bedroll and found what she was looking for. An old hidden supply. White fabric, hidden away, sheltered from the elements, still dry and neatly wrapped. White bandages.

She had worn these every day for years, hiding herself away behind them. She had used them as a shield against pain, against the confusion of the world outside. All she had done was tie down the pain within.

Her wrist flexed slightly, and the white cloth ignited. She dropped the burning roll of fabric on to the ground and let it turn to ash behind her. She carried on, pushing aside the curtain.

Sitting on a pillar of stone, in exactly the same pose as she had last seen him, rested Hayao. His dark red robes draped over him, obscuring his form, his face ever hidden behind the white skull mask. A small circle of candles illuminated him in the darkness of the cavern.

"Miyani," his deep voice said. He sounded almost shocked to see her.

"Hayao," She said. Her voice was strange, indecisive, as if she did not know what to make of her former caretaker.

"I hardly expected to see you here again," Hayao admitted. Her time here, the care he had given her, had hardly been a positive environment.

"I didn't expect to come back," Miyani admitted in turn. She had been hoping to leave this place behind her forever. "But I've been through a few things, and I realized, I owe you as much as I do Sen."

"You do me too much credit," Hayao said defensively. "I was never ready to teach the lessons you needed to learn-"

"I know," Miyani said. "And for a long time I did resent you, for the way you treated me."

Hayao was silent, and the darkness behind his mask seemed to deepen for a time. Miyani continued.

"But you did the right thing," Miyani said. "And you did it even though it was hard, and it felt wrong. And you did it for me. You did what was best for me, even though you knew I would hate you for it."

In a sudden motion that Hayao did not expect, Miyani stepped forward, gingerly stepping past the burning candles, crossing Hayao's circle and kneeling in front of him on his rocky pedestal. The pool of clear water behind Hayao rippled slightly as Miyani knelt down.

She looked long into the white skull mask that Hayao wore, hoping perhaps to see some trace of the man beneath, but the obscuring shadows of his hood hid all. She frowned slightly, but accepted this. What he looked like, the man he was underneath, didn't matter at all. Miyani knew this firsthand. What mattered were his actions, and Hayao's actions had proven one thing beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Continuing to surprise Hayao, Miyani leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his robed form, just softly enough to avoid disturbing his meditative stance.

"Thank you for loving me," She whispered. It had been distant, near devoid of affection, but Hayao had always, in his own way, loved Miyani. Perhaps even he didn't understand that, but Miyani did. She held him close, only wishing she could have understood sooner.

For a brief moment, only a fraction of a second, Miyani thought she felt robed arms wrap around her in kind. She pulled away in surprise, looked at Hayao, and saw him sitting exactly as he ever had, unmoved. Miyani backed away slowly, stumbling past the pools of wax on the floor. Perhaps it had only been a trick of the mind. Hayao's body had not moved, but something inside had.

"Miyani, I have meditated for many decades," He said. "All this time I have been hoping to find true peace. But what you have said…You have done more for me in this moment than a thousand lifetimes of meditation ever could. Thank you."

Miyani averted her eyes and wiped away a few shallow tears. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and managed to crack a smile.

"Does this mean you can get off the rock now?"

Somehow, without even putting the slightest shake in his robed body, Hayao managed to laugh. It was a warm, boisterous laugh, loud and hearty. Miyani found it infectious, and she laughed in turn. The two laughed together as Miyani sat down, and their raucous laughter echoed throughout the cavern and across the fog covered island.

Eventually, after Miyani's gut started to hurt from laughing too much, their laughter mutually faded, and silence returned to the cavern for a moment before Hayao spoke again.

"No," He said quite firmly.

"I should have seen that coming," Miyani said, shaking her head with a smile.

"We all have our paths to follow, Miyani," He said. "Mine is quiet meditation. Yours is far different."

"I'm making a pretty good career in children's toys," Miyani said. She had partnered with Pak Raisu and his plastic manufactory to produce her long-considered idea for toy blocks. They were quickly becoming some of the most popular children's toys on the market, which was allowing Raisu Province to make a swift economic recovery –and making Miyani a very rich woman. Many found it odd that a combustion bender had produced such a beloved children's toy.

"I am happy for you, Miyani, but that is perhaps a bit literal," Hayao said. "I was speaking in much broader terms."

"I know," Miyani said. "You're meant to stay here, and be disconnected from the world."

Miyani stood, squared her shoulders, and planted her hands on her hips. Her eyes drifted past Hayao as she thought of the outside world.

"I'm meant to be a part of the world. Despite what some people say, I'm no monster. I'm no different than other people. I have to connect, to learn, to grow. I need companionship, I need friends, I need love."

"You can find much of that here on the island," Hayao said pointedly. "But perhaps not so much as you desire. But if not here, where?"

"I have a few ideas," Miyani said slyly. "I have somewhere to be."

***

There was no shortage of open road to be found in the Earth Kingdom. Vast stretches of terrain spread out in every direction, holding flat valleys, rolling hills, canyons, mountains, swamps and deserts. One could spend a lifetime travelling and never see it all. That wouldn't stop Whistler from trying.

The wheels of the motorcycle she had liberated from the Coalition kicked up clouds of dirt as she went off road. Whistler had her eye on a certain spot that held great potential.

She was briefly tempted to play chicken with the cliffside, but decided to brake before she sent her motorcycle plummeting over. She could land safely, but the bike was not so easy to glide. If she lost this one she'd have to get another one, and she wouldn't be liable to get a free bike twice. She decided to hold on to this one for a while.

Whistler took her staff and a small bag of supplies off the back of the motorbike. She walked the remaining distance to the edge of the cliff and looked over it all.

The valley before her was vast and heart wrenchingly gorgeous, a spectacular panorama of all the beauty this world had to offer. Mighty trees cloaked the rolling hillsides in an evergreen cloak, painting the entire world a deep, vibrant green. Whistler sat down and enjoyed the view in silence.

She had come to appreciate views like this more and more in the time she'd been away from civilization. They made her feel right, in a way she couldn't quite put into words. She was alright with not being able to express her feelings. Nobody was around to hear her say it anyway.

She had spent the past few weeks alone, wandering aimlessly. For the past few years she had been chained to other people, bound to them by obligation. She liked Sen and the others, she truly cared about them, but at her heart Whistler was a loner. She needed to spend time on her own.

Other people aggravated her, brought out some of her worst aspects. Spending too much time in society made her feel and act worse than she was. In isolation, in constant travel, she felt free, unbound by anyone's expectations, even her own. She felt happier than she had in a long time, and she felt that this in turn would help her when she did need to get back to civilization.

Whistler lived up to her namesake and whistled a short, melodic tune, letting the gently blowing breeze carry the song away. As it echoed in the distance she was reminded of the music of the birds that flitted about the trees.

That seemed about right, and she felt she was one step closer to understanding the way she felt. She was like a bird. She could go anywhere, do anything, the world stretched out beneath her wings, offering infinite potential.

But she had to have a nest. She had the potential to go anywhere, and she wanted to test that potential, but she also needed a place to come back to. Whistler reached into her supply bag and rummaged around a bit, stopping to grab a snack, and then grab something else. A small piece of paper, with another few small scraps crudely pasted upon in and then preserved in a small plastic sheath, like a single page out of a scrapbook.

The team had never all posed for a photo together, at Whistler's obstinate insistence, but now she slightly regretted that. She'd been forced to scrounge together what she could from old newspaper headlines and war journals. It wasn't cohesive, or even particularly well-put together, but it had everyone she needed.

Sen, Miyani, Ada, Hanjo, even Ariak and Suda had found their way on to Whistler's makeshift scrapbook. She looked fondly at it. Though she needed to be away from them for a while, she did not want to forget them. It was the only sight she appreciated more than the infinite expanse of the world spread out before her. More so than all the places she could go, she cared about the one place she really belonged.

Her longing for her old friends briefly sated, she put the collection of photographs away, making sure to hide it carefully. Partly to keep it safe, and partly because she never wanted anyone to find it. She didn't need anyone thinking she was sentimental.

Whistler stood up, stashed her supplies safely, and stretched her legs. She took another scan of the horizon stretched out before her, and memorized the cliff around her so she could find her way back.

She had one other thing in common with birds. She needed to fly.

Kicking off for a running start, Whistler dove for the cliffs and leapt free, glider at the ready. She caught the wind and soared, racing out over the vast expanse of nature below her. The sky embraced her as one of its own and carried Whistler wherever she longed to go. She closed her eyes and went nowhere in particular, enjoying the unfettered freedom of flight.

Eventually, she opened her eyes once again and set a course, twisting and turning, and eventually, setting herself back on track to return to her starting point. She couldn't stay airborne forever, as much as she wanted to.

Besides that, she needed to get moving. She had somewhere to be.

***

Kida sat motionless in an empty cell, staring blankly at the world laid out before her. There was not much to see. Four metal walls and a mirrored glass window that allowed her to be observed, though she could only see her own reflection in the mirrored side. She had no desire to look at herself, so she turned away from the reflective pane.

The heavily locked and barred door began to slide open. Kida didn't react. They came in every now and then to throw rice and water at her, and sneer angrily. At first they had come with heavy guards, armed to the teeth, but as weeks went on and she showed no signs of resistance, they had grown more relaxed and now only sent a single soldier.

Rather than dropping the tray on the ground and kicking it towards her as they usually did, this one walked forward and placed the tray safely by her side. She did not recognize the guard, but she could easily recognize the meal by its scent.

Mochi and green tea. Her favorite. She stared in confusion at the offered meal. Alongside it, there rested a small paperback book. The title was all too familiar. She had been reading this series for a while now. She had never expected to see how it ended.

From the other side of the mirrored glass, Ariak and Surma watched as she cautiously took a bite of the mochi, sipped the tea, and finally, cracked open the book and began to read.

"It's better than she deserves," Surma said.

"Yes, it is," Ariak said flatly. "But she has suffered worse than anyone deserves. I hope to even it out."

It had taken a lot of pull just to keep Kida away from execution, much less to earn her these small favors. But as an associate of the Avatar, the man who had saved the world, Ariak had quite a bit of pull.

"I suppose she's earned a few small indulgences," Surma reluctantly admitted. She did feel some small measure of pity for Kida. Not quite enough to bury her anger at all the bloodbender had done, but enough to admit that maybe, just maybe, she didn't deserve a spear through the chest.

"I hope you don't plan on pampering her, though," Surma said, only half joking.

"No," Ariak said sadly. "This will be the last time I see her."

"I thought you convinced Atana not to-"

"By choice, Surma," Ariak said. "It's time for us to stop being entangled in each other's lives. The story of Ariak and Kida was a tragedy, but it's over now. We had as happy an ending as we could get."

Ariak turned around, facing away from Kida.

"It's time to move on."

Ariak's eyes were cast downwards regretfully as he moved, but still he moved away. He would be glad to put this place behind him. He and Surma left the prison halls and exited the building.

It was surprisingly sunny and warm in the North Pole. It was still bitingly cold, but it was about as warm as one could expect it to get in the arctic climates.

The vast white expanse of the north was pockmarked by black spots where one could find cranes or scaffolding. Reconstruction after the devastation of the North had been a long time coming. With an age of peace laid out before them, the Water Tribes had turned their joint attention to rebuilding what had been broken. Serving alongside one another in the Coalition had mended many bonds that the dispute of the Shorewatchers had broken. The two tribes were enjoying better relations than they had in decades.

"There's talk of expanding the Shorewatchers too, you know," Surma said casually. "Kesuk and Atana approve of the new direction we've been taking. Kesuk is even considering allowing an expansion into the South. Provided we have leadership he can trust."

"Is that an offer?"

"It's a suggestion," Surma said. "If you put yourself forward as the new Huntsmaster, you'd win hands down. We could use someone like you in charge."

Ariak considered this for a time as he examined the reconstruction of the North. He shook his head.

"I have a suggestion of my own," He said. "Abolish the Huntsmaster entirely."

Ariak stood up straight and looked over the city he had sworn to defend –and failed. By his own actions he had begun a chain of events that had caused so much of this city to be destroyed. He forgave himself for what had occurred, but he understood his role in it.

"None of us have any right to stand above others in judgment. All of us make mistakes, all of us are fallible," Ariak said. "Even the best of us can go astray. No one person can stand above us all and say they know what is right."

Ariak turned to Surma and put a hand on her shoulder firmly, leading her to look out at the expanse of the North.

"I believe in the Shorewatchers, and I will lead them. But I will not do it alone. I have made too many mistakes to do that in good conscience," Ariak said guiltily. "But the two of us, and others besides, can work together to be the leader none of us could be alone."

"A council, then?"

"Exactly," Ariak said. "A real council, not a bunch of lackeys chained to the whims of a Huntsmaster. It will be a council of hunters, mostly, but other voices have to be considered as well. If we are to protect the people we must work with them, not above them. There must be checks and balances, accountability and transparency."

"I think Kesuk will like that idea," Surma said with a nod. "And the rest of the world will too. I'll spread the word right away."

"Perhaps wait a while," Ariak suggested. He looked out at the seas and smiled. "We have somewhere to be."

***

Hyeon made sure to take off his shoes before he came any closer to the house. He needed to be as sneaky as possible. Otherwise he'd been seen coming from a mile away.

His feet tapped lightly against the dirt as he ran across the open plains. They had been hurting for a while. It was a long way from his hometown to the house on the hill. He'd run it a couple times already back when the house had been abandoned and a good place to play, but he hadn't come since the new owner had moved in.

They had told him stories about the big house on the hill, about who had used to live there, but Hyeon had never believed them until a few weeks ago. The day the Avatar had come to town.

He'd only stepped off of his motorcycle for five minutes to ask for directions, but he'd been the talk of the town ever since. Some of the older people still remembered the days Korra had lived in the big house on the hill, but to everyone else the coming of the Avatar was a tremendous surprise. Ever since then the small town had seen a lot more visitors. Some were deliverymen come to drop off furniture and personal belongings at the Avatar's house. Most were pilgrims come to see the Avatar. Only the deliverymen got through the door. Some of the pilgrims had tried sneaking in disguised as deliverymen, but the Avatar had seen right through that.

Hyeon intended to be the first person to get a good look at the new Avatar. He had studied all the different ways that Avatar Sen could see things, and he made sure to prepare himself for them. He was wearing his best coat so that all his heat would stay inside and the Avatar couldn't see him, he made sure to hold his breath as much as possible so the Avatar couldn't hear him breathing, and he'd taken off his shoes to sneak better.

As prepared as he was ever going to be, Hyeon slowed his steps and began creeping around the bushes that bordered the backyard of the Avatar's house.

"I know you're there," a scolding voice called out. Hyeon's shoulders drooped.

"Sorry," He shouted sadly. He turned his bare feet back towards his hometown. He took a few steps back down the dirt road that led home before he heard movement behind him.

"I didn't say you had to leave," The same voice called out, from far closer this time.

Hyeon turned around to see the Avatar leaning on the fence, looking over the bushes. His glasses glinted in the light of the setting sun as he looked over the young boy. He had a faint, peaceful smile on his face, and he stood relaxed, leaning against his fence. He hardly seemed the warrior he had been only a few months ago –the only mark of violence upon him was the faint scar across his temple and eyebrow.

Hyeon froze in awe, overcome with the Avatar's presence. Sen, were it not for his status as the Avatar, would still be quite impressive physically; he was handsome with an intellectual flair, and strong of build, with piercing green eyes, but to a young boy he was the greatest thing in the world. Hyeon's jaw dropped as Sen extended his hand.

"You're pretty far from home," Sen said. "Come on, I got the phones working yesterday. You can call your parents to pick you up."

Hyeon slowly reached out his hand and cautiously touched the Avatar's extended palm, as if he were afraid lightning would strike him down on the spot if he dared to touch the living god. Once he was assured of his safety, Hyeon took hold and let Sen lift him over the fence.

"Wow," Hyeon said. He was standing in the Avatar's backyard. It was merely an open plain of dry grass with messy hedges bordering it, the only decoration being a lawn chair and a table with a glass of tea on it. Sen had been trying to enjoy the sun before Hyeon had showed up.

"Pardon the mess," Sen said as he examined the unruly hedges. "I've been wondering if I should call landscapers or take up gardening myself. I do need a hobby."

"I think it's amazing," Hyeon said. Sen rolled his eyes. This was why he wasn't taking on visitors yet. Everybody was too awestruck by his presence. He'd give it a while to settle in, let the presence of the Avatar become a normal thing, before he enacted an open door policy.

The home he'd inherited from Korra was a decent place, all things considered. Plenty of room for himself, and for visitors, and it was in a good location. A few dozen miles from Republic City, it was nearly at the exact center of the world, and close to major lines of transportation. He would be able to respond quickly to threats worldwide, while still maintaining his privacy.

Sen hoped that the privacy would be employed more than the ability to respond to threats. The world was calm now in the wake of his victory, and he hoped it would stay that way for a while.

"Does the rest of your team live here too?" Hyeon asked. There was an excitement in his voice that made it clear to Sen he was hoping to meet some more of his idols. He might be pleasantly surprised.

"No, they don't," Sen said. "It's just me."

And Gun, of course. The badgermole was napping quite happily in the soil, having carved himself a cozy nest beneath Sen's backyard. Sen doubted he'd ever be too far from Gun. That didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Just you?" Hyeon asked. "Don't you get lonely?"

"Lonely, hmm," Sen snorted. He put his hands on his hips and paused their walk to the house for a moment.

"Let me tell you something about being lonely. I've been lonely before, at the orphanage I lived at when I was young. I was alone, because I chose to be. I looked around at people and I was afraid of them, for a lot of reasons. I looked around, and I didn't see the potential for happiness."

Sen shook his head.

"I was wrong. My best friend was hiding in one of those faces I was afraid of."

He resumed walking Hyeon inside, but he then strolled past the telephone and towards the atrium. It was a lovely home, if a bit dusty. There were a lot of rooms to clean and a lot of work to be done, but it would soon become a fine place to live –and to entertain guests.

"Nowadays I understand the potential in other people," Sen said. "I look at strangers and I know I can find a friend. Because of that, I will never be alone."

Sen came to a halt and placed one hand on the doorknob.

"Plus, you know, this," Sen said as he opened the door. He revealed Hanjo, holding his knuckles up as if he had meant to knock. Hanjo threw up his hands and shrugged broadly.

"Honestly, why did you even bother?" Sen asked.

"I really don't know, buddy," Hanjo said. He stepped inside and looked around. "Who's the kid?"

"Showed up in my backyard," Sen said. "Table's in the next room. Have a seat."

"You have a table set up for us?"

"Like I said, why did you even bother? You should know by now I-"

"Know everything," Hanjo said with a resigned sigh. He leaned out the front door and shouted. "Surprise parties a bust, way to go idiots!"

There was a loud boo from an unseen crowd behind Hanjo. Hanjo shrugged and waited nearby as the next guest came in.

"I told you it wouldn't work," a smug voice said from outside. Miyani ducked her head as she walked through the door and then looked at the doorframe.

"If I'm going to keep coming here these are going to need to be bigger," Miyani said. Hyeon looked up at her, once again frozen in awe.

"Called the carpenters last week, couldn't get here in time, unfortunately," Sen said.

"Thanks for thinking of that," Miyani said with a smile.

"It was a priority. I want you to come over a lot."

Miyani's face turned a subtle shade of red as the procession of guests continued. A pair of very large hands holding a very small baby jutted through the door.

"Meet Uncle Sen!" Suda shouted. Sen's face lit up and he eagerly grabbed Hana out of Suda's hands and held her close to his chest. The baby smiled brightly and waved her hands aimlessly, nearly whacking Sen in the face multiple times.

"Boy, she's energetic," Sen said. Suda and Yoki stepped through the door arm in arm, beaming proudly. Their daughter was adorable and they knew it.

"Oh, by the way, Sen, speaking of energy, if you could do that thing that you do, you know, with the reading?" Yoki asked. She was a curious person and she wanted to know a little more about her daughter. She was being vague, as she had a habit of being, but Sen got her point.

"Yes, exactly, it's a bit early so no guarantees, but," Sen paused for a moment while he focused on Hana. He smiled slightly. "Little Hana is going to be just like her mom."

"Oh, man, that is a relief," Suda said. "I can't imagine a toddler throwing rocks around. It'll be good to raise an easy non-bender kid for starters."

"For starters?" Miyani asked. She held out her hands and Sen handed over her niece.

"Of course! We want a big family!" Suda said.

"But not too big," Added a slightly nervous Yoki. Miyani giggled as Hana flailed her hands at a loose strand of black hair.

Ada and Canto followed the happy couple through the door. Adawas quick to turn her attention to Suda and Yoki, quite deliberately ignoring Canto at her side. Sen leaned in close to Canto's side and asked what he had done to make her mad.

"She's a little upset that Suda got married before she did," Canto admitted sheepishly. "Even though we've been dating longer."

"So put a ring on it," Whistler said. She dove through the door and leaned quite aggressively on Canto. "Because believe me you do not want a relationship with that chick to end badly."

Whistler looked around and spotted Hana.

"Baby!" She shouted excitedly. Miyani handed over the little one. Hana had ceased playing and was starting to fall asleep.

"Oh, a nap, you are just precious," Whistler said, being startlingly affectionate. "I like naps too, Hana."

Ada stopped her conversation with the newlyweds long enough to ask Whistler if she could hold Hana. Whistler obliged easily. Babies, like all people, were best in small doses.

"Speaking of naps, Sen, I need a place to crash, where's the comfiest bed in this place?"

"Down that hall, third room on the left," Sen said. Whistler grabbed him by the shoulder, grateful to have such a good friend looking out for her napping needs. She would make liberal use of his hospitality after the party.

Ariak was the last of Sen's teammates through the door, followed closely thereafter by Tlun. Ariak spread his arms wide and grabbed Sen in a warm embrace.

"Sen! It's been too long," he said. "I hope you've had plenty of time to rest."

"Eh, it's been a little work setting up the place, but I'm perfectly comfortable. Korra picked out a nice spot. Very good view, close to the city, good climate too."

"Heh, and here I was hoping you might have gotten a taste for the cold northern air," Ariak said.

"Not likely," Sen said with a chuckle. "The cold is not my thing."

"Some of us quite like it," A small voice at Ariak's back said. He nearly jumped out of his boots, and Tlun had to pull him back down to earth. Ariak whipped around to look at the intruder. The all-too knowing eyes of Warmth stared back up at him. She smiled wickedly and turned her attention to Sen, grabbing him around the waist in a lingering hug. She eventually broke off and turned her attention to Hyeon. She'd never met someone her own age before. Ariak watched the two of them run off together to play.

"How did she get here?" He demanded. "Who invited her?"

"Honestly, who didn't we invite," Hanjo said. He had been given a chance to hold Hana now, and he held her tight as he looked out the door.

Detective Zas was the next to step in, straightening his coat as he looked around the entryway.

"Lovely décor, Detective," Zas complemented. "Was this Korra's choice, or-"

"Mine, actually," Sen said, looking at his decorations. "Got a taste for this style back in Xian. Carved wood just seems so elegant."

"Ah, Xian, I should have recognized it," Zas said. "This is why I need you, Sen, to keep me sharp in my old age."

"Always happy to help, Detective," Sen said.

"One of these days you and I need to take a week to track down Doctor Crime again, I feel like it shouldn't be too long before he rears his ugly head again."

"Good idea, Detective, but what will we do with the other six days of the week?"

Zas laughed and clapped Sen on the shoulder heartily before moving into the dining room. He was followed through the door by two eagerly moving bodies carrying a large box of papers between them. The heads of Taina and Buddy popped out from behind the stack of papers to smile broadly at Sen.

"If you need to occupy some brainpower, try these," Taina said, offering up her papers. They were coated in complex mathematical equations, schematics, and lists of ideas.

"Ever since you got back my brains been full to bursting," Buddy said with a smile. "I can think again!"

Sen smiled. That would be happening worldwide now. The predator hunting down ideas had been slain. Innovation would happen rapidly. Sen was looking forward to seeing what the geniuses of the world had in store –and throwing a few ideas of his own into the mix.

"Take them to my office, down the hall here," Sen directed. "And good to see you both again."

"Yes, very good," Taina said. "Do you have a calculator? I just thought of something."

"Me too!" Buddy shouted excitedly. The two scuttled off down the hall towards the study. Sen laughed at their crablike shuffle.

"Good to see she's only gotten smarter," Alrok said. He stepped forward and watched Taina shuffle down the hall. "Only makes me feel dumber."

"Yes, but can she say she helped save the world?" Sen asked. He grabbed Alrok's hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you all for that, by the way. I never got a chance to say it in person."

"Hey, any time, buddy," Alrok said. "You can tell Kunik yourself, he's down the line a bit. Couldn't find Pankha and Rohtan though, oddly."

"That's because they're making us dinner," Sen said. He had hired Pankha to bring her teashop expertise to their dining event, and Rohtan had tagged along too. Apparently the two of them had become business partners. Rohtan was supplying special ingredients only the Sun Warriors cultivated.

"Go say hi, and tell them to prepare a bit extra if they can," Sen warned. "I have a feeling that Hyeon kid is going to be staying."

"Having kids in this place is never a good idea," An elderly voice chimed. The four Air Nomads scuttled through the door in a group. Ikki looked around fondly. "Why I trashed this place more time than I can remember."

"I wonder if my gum is still on the ceiling fan in the lounge," Meelo wondered aloud.

"Oh shoot," Jinora said, suddenly recalling an old memory. "I left my headband in one of the guest bedrooms!"

The four elderly airbenders scuttled off to explore their nostalgia, letting their younger protégés fill the gap. Master Jung took a quiet look around. He paused when he saw Whistler.

"Hello…Whistler," He said, using the name she'd chosen unsteadily. He still felt the urge to call her Nimh.

"Hey, Master Old Fart," Whistler said, bowing. Jung tilted his head. He supposed that was the best he was going to get. He bowed in kind, and smiled slightly, happy to have some semblance of peace with his old protégé. He left it at this, and quickly moved on before Whistler's very thin patience wore out.

"Who invited the fox?" Canto asked as he looked out the door. Ada whacked him on the shoulder.

"Ow," he cried out. "I meant an actual fox!"

Proving Canto correct, a large red fox stepped through the door, stopping in front of Sen. A large ribbon hung from its mouth, with a scroll carefully tied to said ribbon. Sen grabbed the strange scroll and unfurled it as the fox excused itself from the building.

"Huh, it's from Wan Shi Tong," Sen said. It bore his gratitude for ridding the world of their mutual enemy, as well as a request. "He's writing my biography. Needs me to come in and fill in a few details for him."

"And you're actually going to go?" Suda asked. He shuddered at the thought of returning to the Spirit World.

"Probably," Sen said. He had been meaning to return to the library. He'd have plenty of time to read, at least.

"Maybe I'll go with you," Miyani said. "I never did get to go to the Spirit World."

Sen nodded affirmatively as the rest of the guests continued their procession.

Kunik and Tomoe stepped through the door and took a look around at the spacious interior. While they shared some small talk with the Avatar, Cia and Takuga likewise stepped through the door, arm in arm. Cia looked sideways at Tomoe and Kunik.

"I think those two might be together," Cia whispered to her lover. Takuga's face had softened in the months she'd spent away from the orphans of Bac Ria, but she still found a way to laugh harshly.

"Please, I worked with Tomoe for years, I would know if-"

She was elbowed in the ribs by Cia and directed to look at Tomoe, who was now kissing Kunik passionately. Takuga rolled her eyes and walked past the awkward sight. Sen nodded at her as she passed.

"Good to see you again, Bear," Sen said.

"Please, it's just Takuga now," She said awkwardly. As she continued into the dining room, Tomoe and Kunik's kiss broke up, leaving Kunik rather confused.

"We are not a couple," he said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I know, I wanted a little revenge on Takuga for keeping her relationship secret," Tomoe said. "Though…you are kind of cute."

Kunik raised an eyebrow, as he always did when about to flirt. Sen pushed them towards the dining room.

"Not in my house, please, there are children here," He said harshly. He turned his attention to his next guest. Or guests, as it were. They came in a set.

"Luan! Zouf!"

The paired agents stepped through the door together, examining the surroundings.

"Pretty nice place, right Luan?"

"Never was a fan of hardwood flooring, Zouf," Luan said dismissively. He turned to the Avatar.

"You should really consider a throw rug in the main space," Luan said. "A deep red with some gold accents can really complement the colors, open the space. It'll work best if the walls stay white, although you might consider an eggshell or cream color if you want to move towards a neutral color palette. Of course it'll never really work with that chandelier overhead, way too much gold, I'd spring for a more modern light fixture if I were you."

"I will keep that in mind," Sen said flatly.

"Luan has been pursuing interior design as a post-retirement career, haven't you Luan?" Zouf said.

"Sure have, Zouf," Luan said.

Following her trusted agents, former Princess, now Fire Lord Mika stepped through the door, bearing her imperial regalia proudly. She had stepped into the role of Fire Lord graciously despite the unfortunate circumstances, and was doing well in continuing her father's firm but fair ruling policies.

Sen and the new Fire Lord shared a solemn nod. The Avatar had officiated her coronation and her father's funeral, and they had spoken much on those occasions. For now there was little to be said between them. They would have a long future together, however, as the Avatar did with all world leaders, a horde of which now stepped through the door.

Kesuk, Atana, Saruk, and President Dahaka walked through the door in a trio, bearing no guards with them. Most of the worlds most powerful people in the world were already here, what did they have to fear? Sen greeted them all in kind, warmly welcoming them to his home. Kesuk and Atana quickly broke off to speak with Ariak, dragging Ambassador Saruk in tow, to discuss their plans for the future while Dahaka looked to Miyani.

"You've been doing well for yourself, I see," Dahaka noted. "Some of my kids have been begging me for those bricks of yours."

"I'll put in a good word for you at the factory," Miyani said.

"No free samples," Pak Raisu said. He had wormed his way inside when no one was looking. "We can hardly rebuild an economy if we give things away."

"Surely I get a presidential discount," Dahaka jested.

"No. Your terms up in two months anyway," Pak said dismissively. Dahaka sighed heavily. He'd be glad to finally pass off the reins to someone else. He'd put up with far too much trouble in his brief tenure. He'd be glad to retire.

The flow of guests was briefly interrupted by a sudden horde of tiny footsteps pounding across the front lawn. The door was nearly knocked off its hinges by the first of the Bessalisk spirits to charge through the door. The swarm of fishlike spirits jumbled their way through the house and then out into the backyard to begin gnawing on Sen's various shrubberies.

"Well, looks like I won't need gardeners after all," Sen said, as Aquila's former wards began to nibble on his bushes.

"How did they even get here?" Whistler asked.

"I blame the Witch for this," Ariak said, casting a leery eye towards in the direction Warmth had run off to.

"I'm not the only one who saw the fish thingies, right?"

A somewhat bewildered looking man in a uniform stepped through the door, shaking his head as the Bessalisk continued to devour the shrubs.

"Tserang!" Hanjo cried out. "Man, has it been a while!"

"Yeah, quite a while," The helpful train operator said. "Been a rollercoaster for you guys, hasn't it?"

"Bit of an understatement," Sen said. "What about you, what've you been up to?"

"Well, not much, until recently when you guys shut down Zaofu and bankrupted all the rail lines that run through it," Tserang said. Ada briefly looked guilty. "But I mentioned you guys and got a new job at the Republic Terminal, so I'm good! Also I'm apparently getting a free dinner, so I'm doing great!"

Tserang smiled broadly and headed for the dining room. Some of the other guests who had ambled their way in likewise began to head for seats or sit down on whatever was nearby. Sen looked around, shook his head, and snapped his fingers.

"Alright, cut it out," He said, looking up at the chandelier.

Amidst the sweeping metal arches that made up the intricate chandelier, the noodle-like purple limbs of a sloth spirit began to take form. Natae's head bobbed idly as he turned to look down at the Avatar.

"You said sleeping later," Natae said. "Now is later."

"That was years ago, Natae," Sen scolded.

"I am not fast," the sloth mumbled.

The lethargy induced by the grape-colored sloth spirit faded, and alertness returned to the guests. Sen turned to Hanjo, the apparent orchestrator of this event.

"Did you invite literally everyone I've ever met?" He asked.

"Well, not technically," Hanjo said defensively. "We left out all the people who directly or indirectly tried to kill you."

"So that's the obvious, you know, the bad guys, Nura, that bunch from that city Zang you guys visited," Ada said, listing off a few such choices.

"I didn't bother inviting Hayao also, you know, because of the whole sits on a rock thing," Miyani noted. Sen frowned slightly. It was hard to have a bad mood in such pleasant company, so Sen only managed a few seconds of concern, but it was noticeable.

"Is there a problem, Sen?"

"Oh, nothing really," Sen said. "It's just strange that we spent all that time in Gai Zhu, but nobody but Miyani is here with us today."

Almost everyone they'd met in Gai Zhu besides Luan and Zouf had tried to kill them at one point or another. It felt odd to have such a strange gap in their social lives.

"Not entirely true," Suda said. He had thought of one person who had never tried to hurt them. "Though I would have expected him to be here by now…"

"I think I have him," A frail old voice shouted. Granny Loqo stumbled through the door, bearing an unconscious young man on her shoulder. Sen lifted up his limp head and recognized the slightly-bruised face of Mogoshu.

"Mogoshu?" Sen said, turning to Suda. "The screw-up firebender from the gym?"

"Well, I figured he'd be happy to finally be invited to something…" Suda mumbled.

"He was quite excited before he tripped and knocked himself unconscious," Granny Loqo said. "I'll take him and get him fixed up in time for dinner, I promise."

Sen sighed and guided her to a place she could take care of the unfortunate Mogoshu. It seemed he would always be a bit of a klutz.

"I think you guys are starting to stretch it a bit with these invites," Sen said.

"Then it's a good thing we resisted the urge to invite the entire Coalition," Colonel Kujo said as he marched through the door. "Though we did bring a few of the old crew."

"We're kind of worried about the capacity of your dining room table," Lahn said nervously as he followed Kujo through the door. A few other soldiers of the Coalition followed through, including their old Quartermaster, but not many.

"Don't be," Sen admonished. "I plan ahead."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to get good furniture when you're the Avatar," Su said. Bolin's granddaughter pushed past the Coalition soldiers and briefly stopped to talk to Suda before moving on.

"We've got to be almost out of people by now," Whistler observed.

"No, there's a couple more," Sen said. He could feel the last of their guests waiting just outside the door.

"I wanted to wait for the crowd to clear out a bit," Surma said apologetically. The Huntsman seemed sheepish amidst the massive crowd of strangers.

"And I didn't want to be pushed through the door," Sang Lug said aggressively as he stepped forward in kind. He had planned a much longer conversation with the Avatar, but was interrupted as he was pushed through the door by Whistler. She'd made her peace with Jung, but the less time she spent with Sang Lug the better.

"And that stick in the mud wouldn't let us go before he did," Noto said as he shoved his head through the door. He was quickly pushed forward by the rather bulky Eurus, and then they were both shoved ahead by Nia, eager to reunite with Whistler. She received these three airbenders rather more warmly than she had Sang Lug.

"What's for dinner, anyway?" Eurus asked as he was shepherded into the dining room.

"Pankha and Rohtan have prepared a surprise for us, apparently," Sen said. He had left it up to their discretion what to cook. He was not exactly a gourmet. He checked his watch.

"We should actually be ready to eat soon, once we're all done playing welcoming committee," Sen said. "Those three came in together, so that leaves-"

"None other than the life of the party himself," Kaizo Uehara shouted as he made a dynamic entrance. He posed fabulously for a moment before looking around in disappointment. He had spent all this time waiting to be last, and yet nobody was here to appreciate it.

"There's usually more cameras around when I walk into a building," He said.

"Didn't befriend any paparazzi, sorry," Sen said, feigning an apology. Kaizo took a look around, making extra sure there were no camera's nearby, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah well, I'm not looking my best anyway," he said. He composed himself and turned to his new niece with a smile on his face. "Didn't want this little goober puking on anything nice!"

Suda had his reservations, but Yoki happily handed over Hana to her brother. The mover star took the baby and found a way to shower her in affection while not waking her up. He showed surprising care in his movements for one who was so naturally flamboyant. Yoki gave her husband a look, and Suda shrugged. Perhaps Kaizo wouldn't be such a bad uncle after all.

Canto began to pester Kaizo for an autograph, which greatly pleased Kaizo, and the two went into the dining room together. Yoki kissed Suda on the cheek and followed her brother, leaving the seven teammates alone. Sen took one last look out the door to check for any stragglers and held it in his hand, though he didn't close it quite yet.

"Alright, now that everybody's here, I have to ask," Sen began. "Why invite them all in the first place? Why now and not weeks ago?"

"We thought it was worth celebrating," Ariak said. "It's your birthday."

"I celebrate my birthday on New Years," Sen said. Orphaned as he was, there was no way to tell when his real birthday was. He simply added one to his age every new year.

"That seemed very impersonal, kind of heartless," Miyani said. As an orphan herself she understood how important it was to have these little pieces of an identity, things you could call your own. She had chosen her own birthday as the day she'd taken off her bandages.

"So we had a different idea," Suda continued. After all the trouble he'd gone through to throw himself a birthday party back in Gai Zhu, he had put much more effort into Sen's.

"Instead of the day you were actually born, which we don't know, we're celebrating the day you became…well, you. The Sen we all know and love," Ada said with a smile.

"In other words, the day you and I met," Hanjo said. "The day you realized you were the Avatar."

"Happy birthday slash anniversary, Avatar Sen," Suda said. "It's been five years now."

Sen paused thoughtfully for a moment. Five years seemed like too short and too long of a time all at once. So much had happened, and yet it had all gone by so quickly. So many lives had changed, so many things were different.

Sen turned slightly towards the dining room. Conversation had spread amongst his dinner guests, prompting occasional bursts of laughter, shouting, cheering. Dozens of people all united to celebrate his life, his accomplishments. And theirs, in a way. They had all contributed to part of a greater whole. Some more than others, but each one was a part of the life that Sen lived, the tapestry of lives and destinies that had been interwoven with his.

"I know that look," Whistler whispered to her friends. "He's getting introspective."

"Better cut it out before he gives a speech," Hanjo mumbled back. "Hey, Sen, dinners about ready. What say we sit down?"

Sen had, in fact, been about to give a speech, a rather heartfelt one indeed, but he was cut off at the pass by Hanjo's invitation. With a second to rethink it, any heartwarming speech given to these six would be rather redundant. They, better than any others, understood how far Sen had come, and what that progress meant to him.

"Yeah, let's eat," Sen said. "We've got people come from all over the world here, they must be starving."

His teammates headed for the dining room while Sen took a moment to close the door, lest anyone else wander in. The table was practically full to bursting already, Sen thought to himself, and this was just with five years' worth of time. If he made any new friends he'd have to buy an even bigger table.

Taking one more look at the world stretched out beyond his front door, Sen looked over the nearby hilltops. It was a very large world. He'd been travelling it for a long time, yet still only seen a fraction of what it had to offer. Sen decided to do some furniture shopping, and left the door open.

**

THE END

**

I'll never quite be satisfied with that.

"The End" is without a doubt the hardest phrase I've ever had to write. There was so much more potential, so many more stories to be told. Three more chapters would not have gone amiss, sending us to a nice even 100 chapters, but by the time I realized that it was too late to add filler. Even the format of the finale itself is troubling to me. I mulled over a lot of ideas. Set it in the future, the next Avatar, looking back on Sen's life, maybe? Keep it simple, and have Sen reminisce about his adventures? Ultimately I decided this was the best course. This story started with death and then isolation. Let it end with a celebration of life, an acknowledgment of Sen's journey, show all the lives he's touched and all the people he's met. And give me one last chance to play with all my lovely characters before I say goodbye forever :'(.

It's been one year, eight months, and one week since I uploaded the very first chapter of this story. I promised myself then that I'd update every week, and I'm very proud to say I've kept that promise. 97 chapters have been uploaded like clockwork, despite all manner of setbacks. Over the course of this story I've become an uncle, moved to a new apartment, and even broke my hand! (Thank goodness I'd built up a buffer by then.) Thanks to Sen's adventures I've learned a great deal about discipline, what I can accomplish and what my limitations are. I look forward to applying those hard-earned lessons on my next project.

As to what that project will be…It's hard to say. I'm certainly going to take a break and enjoy some free time, but the call to tell another story will soon prove irresistible. Fanfiction has its merits, but I'm very tempted to do something original. We'll see.

Thank you for reading, and thanks to those of you who have left the glowing reviews that have pushed me forward so often. It has been my great pleasure to tell this story and have you enjoy it, but now it's time for it to end. Sen's story is over. The characters are happy, I'm happy, and I hope you are happy.

It's time to say goodbye.

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Synergy:

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The interaction of several elements to produce an effect greater than the sum of its parts

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	98. Anniversary Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy two year anniversary! I'm celebrating with a special bonus update and some news on the future.

Hello and Happy Two-Year anniversary! It's hard to believe it's already been so long since I started -and when I wrote "The End". As a celebration of two years, here's a special chapter featuring something I always felt was missing...a touch of sappy romance. Stay tuned after the cut for a bit of blogging and updates on the future.

Post Script: Power Couple

Shuffling footsteps kicked up dirt on their way up the dusty road. A path that had stood empty just months ago was now well-worn. The strangers swift footsteps left footprints alongside a hundred others as he headed for his destination.

There was a worn-out spot on the door where many before him had knocked upon the door. Paying no heed to this, the shuffling man lined up his knuckles with the worn spot and knocked on the door.

Muffled sounds of argument followed shortly after this knock. Three voices alternated yelling at one another for a few minutes, until finally one of the loudest voices relented. The door was, quite slowly and reluctantly, unlocked.

"Yes, hello, what do you want," Whistler said in her "I want to do you bodily harm" voice. The stranger at the door was unimpeded.

"I am looking for Avatar Sen," He demanded. His pencil-thin mustache bobbed atop his lips as he spoke. Whistler squinted at the strange facial hair for a moment before responding.

"He's not here," she responded flatly.

"He lives here," The mustache man protested.

"He's out," Whistler said. She moved to close the door, but the man insisted on staying, sticking his foot in the door. Whistler pushed the door closed on his foot until he gasped in pain.

"He's on vacation," Whistler shouted. She looked to the side of the door. Sen had prepared them for just this eventuality. She grabbed one of the statements Sen had prepared -and a pen.

"Listen here, Whistler, I am a representative of the Institute of Cephalotacean Research, and I have a serious-"

"Yeah, uh huh," Whistler said. She had begun writing a short note on a piece of paper. "What's that in simpler terms?"

"We deal with certain kinds of marine life," The Institute representative clarified. Whistler nodded and finished up her note.

"Avatar Sen left these for people like you," She said. As much as she hated answering the door, the "statements" Sen had prepared actually were a bit fun. He had made sure to consult Whistler on some of the important parts.

Whistler handed over the prepared statement to the increasingly confused man trapped at the door.

"Make sure you read all the way to the bottom," Whistler advised. Then, in a rush of air, the rep was pushed out the door and it was slammed closed behind him. He carefully unfolded the message from Avatar Sen and read it to himself.

"Dear Sir Or Madam,

I am unavailable at the moment as I am taking a long-overdue vacation. If there is a pressing matter that demands an Avatar's attention, members of my team are ready to attend to it. If you are reading this, it means whatever you were going to complain about was not a pressing matter. These issues fall into one of two camps; A: things outside my sphere of influence, and B: things that are pointless.

If A: Please understand that I am deeply concerned about most social and economic issues, but the Avatar is not an official government authority and as such I have no power to directly change government policy. If you want change, please contact your local representatives to receive information on how you can participate in your local governing process.

If B: We're all very impressed that you consider your interest in-"

At this point a blank space had been left open, which Whistler had filled in. In her crude handwriting was inscribed the words "Boring Fish Garbage", and then the message continued.

"-is just as important as me bringing about world peace, the lowest crime rates in two decades, and massive socioeconomic improvement. Rest assured that if you have enough determination to bother the Avatar in his home, you have enough determination to fix your problems yourself. Please proceed to do so.

Get off my back,

Avatar Sen"

Whistler stopped watching out the window when she saw that the bothersome man had reached the last line. The face they made as they read it was always priceless. Whistler chuckled to herself and returned to the couch.

"There you go, boys," She said as she slammed back down onto the couch. Ariak and Hanjo nodded.

"There we go," Ariak said. "Now I get it next time, like we agreed upon."

Whistler had conspicuously lost track of when it was her turn to receive Sen's bothersome guests. Ariak and Hanjo had been on hand to "gently" remind her.

"Yeah yeah," Whistler grunted. "What'd I miss?"

"Turtleducks scored," Hanjo said blankly. They had no real stake in the game they were watching, but it was on and they were bored. Housesitting had gotten boring after the first few days. Trying to break into Sen's bedroom had been an amusing endeavor for a while, but even Whistler had given up on that. The Avatar's chambers were built like a fortress.

"We got enough of the insult papers left out there?" Ariak said. He did not exactly approve of the harsh language they used, but understood why Sen used them. In the months since his victory, he had burned through most of life's actual problems and had since been harassed by people wanting the Avatar to address their meaningless complaints.

Rather than face the stream of inane whining, Sen had elected to take a vacation. There had been little debate that he deserved one after everything he had done for the world. Ariak, Hanjo, and Whistler had elected to take care of "business" in his absence, while Suda tended to his new family and Ada to her new school, respectively.

"We got plenty," Whistler assured him. "Enough to spare for sure. Think I might make paper airplanes out of some of 'em, just chuck them at the next person to bother us."

"You are bored out of your mind, aren't you?"

"Why yes, yes I am," Whistler grunted. She hopped up, away from the televarrick, and tried to find Sen's phone -and then Sen's phone book. He had quite a large collection of phone numbers, but those of his closest friends were at the forefront, easy to find.

"If you order food we're not paying for it," Ariak cautioned her. Whistler lived without much in the way of possessions -mostly money. Whistler shook her head.

"I'm getting entertainment, not food," She shouted back. She had spent a few days stuck in a house with these two now. While she would begrudgingly admit that the first few days had been a little bit entertaining, the novelty had worn off. Their trio needed new blood. She found the number she was looking for and dialed it.

Hanjo came into the room, deeply suspicious of whatever Whistler was doing. He checked the phone book expecting to see the number of someone who might entangle them in some kind of violence or debauchery. The book was, however, only open to the front page. It was easy to figure out what Whistler wanted.

"Don't bother Miyani, she said she'd be busy," Hanjo said.

"Busy messing around with her plastic bricks," Whistler said. Hanjo was about to interject that Miyani was technically in charge of a company, but Whistler never let him get a word in edgewise. "I'm going to convince her to come, and it's going to be great because she's great."

"Ariak, back me up," Hanjo said.

"I'm all for it, actually. If she can talk Miyani into joining us, that is," Ariak said. She'd be a welcome addition to the group. Unlike Suda's family or Ada's school, Miyani's role in her company was small enough that she could take a few days off.

The telephone buzzed slightly as Whistler's call was finally answered. She leaned into the phone while Hanjo shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, hello mister secretary person," She said idly. "This is Whistler, I want to talk-"

She paused and stared forward awkwardly.

"Yes, that Whistler. How many Whistler's does your boss know?" She paused again. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let me talk to your boss."

There was yet another moment of pause as the other end of the line spoke. Hanjo watched as Whistler's face bounced between boredom, aggravation, and concern.

"Well where is she? She said she'd be working there."

The final bounce in Whistler's expression was to a look of dawning realization.

"Oh," She said quietly. Followed by a much louder, more drawn out "Oooh".

Whistler hung up the phone without so much as a goodbye and looked towards Hanjo, her eyebrows raised.

"She's on vacation," Whistler said with a wicked smile.

"Okay, well all that means is-"

The realization that Whistler had made appeared to be contagious.

"Oh."

"It's about time!" Ariak shouted from the living room.

***

Clothes laid strewn across the beach haphazardly. They'd been shed without a care in the world. They were far enough away from civilization that they didn't need to worry about prying eyes. Sen had made sure to choose an isolated location well in advance. What he intended to do here was a bit...shameful.

"You suck at treading water," Miyani said. She was sitting on an ocean rock, watching Sen meander in the ocean.

"That's what we're here for," Sen said with a sigh. He shook some seawater out of his eyes and repeated the steps Miyani had taught him.

After long years and many distractions, Sen had finally resolved to finish learning how to swim. It only seemed appropriate to ask Miyani, the one who'd given him his first lessons, to give him his last. Or at least that was what he'd told her. Neither of them really believed it.

"Remember to spin your legs in opposing directions," Miyani said, wiggling her finger in circles to emphasize her point.

"I know-" Sen began to protest but was interrupted as he sank beneath the waves for a moment. "-that. I just keep -sinking."

"Almost like there's something weighing you down," Miyani suggested playfully. She leaned forward. "Anything you need to get off your chest, Sen?"

Her prodding question prompted Sen to sink slightly beneath the waves, just enough that his mouth was covered by the waterline. Miyani leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest. She was debating whether it would be more to finally get it over with, or to keep teasing Sen.

She was no longer entirely sure who exactly was toying with who. Did Sen just want her to crack first, or was Sen enjoying the playful back and forth as much as she was? The Avatar had gotten in his far share of flirtatious jabs, despite his bashful response to this one. His darting eyes showed he was working on a proper response.

After a moment of consideration, Sen finally pulled his head fully above the waves. He appeared to open his mouth to speak for a moment, but quickly turned his head downwards.

"There is something on my-" He hesitated slightly and looked at the water. Miyani's whimsical curiosity turned to concern when the first clawed tendril popped out of the water.

With a loud yelp of surprise and an unconscious burst of waterbending, Sen catapulted himself to shore. Miyani felt a rush of air and a splash of saltwater as Sen rocketed past, abandoning the water to seek shelter on land. Before she'd even had time to run around and jump into the water she heard Sen slam into the sandy beach and begin grunting in conflict with whatever had latched onto his chest.

Such was Sen's panicked speed that by the time Miyani had swum back to the beach to join him, he'd already had time to assess his situation and calm down. Miyani stepped onto the sandy beach to find Sen taking deep breaths, struggling to free himself of the ocean beast that had latched onto his chest.

"Huh," She said, observing the armored creature. "It's just a little Crabtopus."

Given Sen's reaction, she would have thought it to be much larger. She supposed that the combination of tentacles and pinching claws would be enough to catch anyone off guard.

"I haven't been snuck up on in a while," Sen said defensively. He poked the tentacled beast still clinging to his chest. In the ocean waves, the extrasensory abilities that allowed him a limited omniscience didn't function well -or at all. It had been years since anything had gotten the drop on him, but the crabtopus had managed.

Miyani stepped up and grabbed at the tentacled beast, pulling on it with all her might. Sen was lifted slightly off the ground, but the crabtopus went nowhere. Sen's skin stretched out as Miyani pulled and he pleaded with Miyani to stop.

"Stop, stop, you can't brute force it," he said. "You've got to be gentle. Haven't you ever solved one of those Earth Kingdom finger traps?"

"Yeah, I played with one once while I was wandering around," Miyani said. The woven finger trap had been a way to occupy herself while wandering the woodlands of the UEK. "I don't think that's how we deal with this, though."

"What? You have to be gentle," Sen said. "You solved the trap by pushing your fingers together, not pulling apart, right?"

The sound of ocean waves lapping against the beach filled the air as Miyani stared blankly forward. For a moment Sen ignored the pincers digging into his skin and stared at her.

"How did you get out of the finger trap?"

"Let's get that thing off of you," Miyani said evasively. She struggled with the crabtopus in futility for a bit while Sen stared at her.

"Miyani," Sen said firmly. "Did you blow up the finger trap?"

Miyani let out a deep sigh.

"I blew up the finger trap," She admitted. "And before you say anything I had to do a lot of practicing to make an explosion that small, so it was still really challenging."

"It's not supposed to be challenging," Sen protested. "It's one of the simplest puzzles in existence!"

"Okay, here's a puzzler for you," Miyani snipped. "Who knows how to get the creepy crabtopus off of you, and who isn't going to do it while she's getting sassed?"

Sen was silent. Miyani nodded confidently and returned her focus to the matter at hand.

"Hold still," Miyani cautioned. She had a better angle on the ocean beast. Sen held his breath while Miyani drew her fist back and slammed it down on the crabtopus' globular head. The force of the blow was enough to rattle its brains and loosen its tentacular grip on the Avatar's chest. Sen could feel the shockwave of the punch through his ribs as the suction cups released as one.

Miyani picked up the stunned creature and tossed it into the ocean. Sen gingerly examined the marks on his chest where the tentacles had latched on to him.

"Is that thing going to be okay?"

"Meh, it's just a crabtopus," Miyani said with a shrug. "Who even cares?"

Sen stood up to retrieve his clothes from where they had been thrown earlier. He was glad to put his shirt back on and cover up the unsightly suction marks on his chest. He made amends for his earlier jabs at Miyani by tossing her her clothing as well. He looked on with some small regret as her bathing suit was covered by the sundress.

With a heavy sigh and a sandy thump, Sen laid down on the beach and looked up at the blue sky. There were many clouds above and one passed in front of the sun, briefly casting the beach in shadow. Despite the brief spot of darkness, it was still a pleasant day. Sen had chosen this location, a former White Lotus outpost, for it's climate as much as its location. It was warm, sunny, there were decent beds in the old outpost, and most importantly of all, it was isolated.

The only other human being for miles, Miyani, sat down alongside Sen at the beach. Sen watched the pincer and suction cup marks fade from his chest.

"So," He said.

"Yep."

"You're going to blackmail me with this story, aren't you?"

"Not right away," Miyani said with a smirk. "I'll be filing it away for the future, though."

"I'll be sure to tread lightly."

"Your subservience can start by cleaning me off," Miyani said. She ran a finger through wet strands of black hair. With a lazy flick of his wrist, lingering droplets of seawater and clinging grains of sand flew off both of their skin and outfits. In an instant the two were as dry and clean as if they'd never entered the ocean in the first place. The dry, thin sand here did not stick well to dry skin, so they would remain mostly undisturbed by any further sandy messes.

"Done swimming for the day?" Sen asked.

"Well I doubt you're going back, and it's not much fun going it alone."

Sen nodded and nestled into the sand around him.

"I'm sticking to solid ground from now on," He said. "I'm an Earth Avatar, I belong on earth. No flying, no swimming, just...solid ground beneath my feet."

He had never felt fully comfortable in the sky or in the water. That was only natural, Sen supposed. With a quick nod of agreement, Miyani shifted in the sand and laid down next to him. The two glanced at one another briefly before turning their eyes skyward.

"So...Are we cutting the vacation short, then?"

"Why would we do that?" Sen asked.

"Well, we did come here to teach you to swim," Miyani said. There was a note of mischief in her voice that Sen well recognized. "If you're not going to learn, we might as well leave. It's not like you had any other plans here, right?"

Miyani turned onto her side, resting her head in one hand and poking Sen in the shoulder with the other. Sen tried to pretend he was unimpressed by her prodding questions. In reality, his heart was pounding so fast he was surprised the sand around him wasn't shaking too. To say he was nervous was a bit of an understatement.

"I may have had something else in mind," Sen said. Miyani was not impressed by his obtuseness.

"Please, elaborate," She requested. Sen turned his head to look at her. She was still perched expectantly, waiting to get the answer she wanted.

"I have the feeling you already know."

In this case, it was only a feeling. Miyani had always been hard for him to read. Her very nature obfuscated things like her heartbeat and chi, aspects Sen could use to get a good read on most anyone else. Miyani was one of few people in the world capable of truly surprising him.

"Oh believe me, I'm clueless," Miyani said. "Say it."

"Miyani..."

Demonstrating her capacity to surprise him, Miyani moved suddenly. She turned further, leaning over Sen, not quite laying on top of him, but holding herself above his face. She no longer wore her hair tied back as she had done months ago, and loose strands of black hair fell downwards, framing Sen's vision until all he could see was Miyani staring down at him. The massive red eye on her forehead gazed down blankly, while two eyes of amber yellow had far more focus.

For a moment the focus in her eyes broke, and they seemed aimless as she turned away from him. Miyani quickly regained her determination and looked down at Sen. Despite her renewed focus, the sight of that aimlessness, of being lost, that Sen had seen in her eyes lingered with him. Oddly enough, it calmed him. His heartbeat slowed and his nerves steadied.

It was all too easy for him to idealize Miyani. Sen looked at her and focused on her best aspects -her strength and wit, her determination and compassion. He often did not realize someone so incredible had her moments of frailty, doubt, and loneliness. It was hard to believe someone so perfect had the same fears as he did.

"Sen," She said. Her voice was hesitant, nervous, but still firm. "There was a time in my life, I thought no one would even see me as a person, much less..."

She averted her eyes again, but not out of doubt. An awkward smile crossed her face. Still half pinned beneath her, Sen had managed to reach up and grab her waist in one hand. The other went towards her head, brushing an errant strand of hair out of her face. Miyani saw the redness in Sen's cheeks and took comfort in the fact that he was just as nervous as she was.

"I want to hear you say it," She pleaded quietly. Sen had to bite his tongue and take a deep breath. Miyani's face tilted just slightly more towards his as he gathered his courage. His fingertips trembled slightly as he brushed them against Miyani's cheek.

"Miyani," Sen began. Just saying her name was all it took to cast aside his doubts and shaken nerves. He continued, now speaking with an unshakable certainty. Suddenly Sen wondered what he had ever been worried about. It was so easy to say something that he felt with all his heart and soul.

"I love you."

He saw a smile part Miyani's lips just before they pushed forward to meet his.

Their noses bumped together briefly before they managed to rearrange and kiss properly -almost. Neither had any clue what they were doing. Any observer would have said it was an awkward, awful kiss. Thankfully, no one was observing. Their opinion wouldn't have mattered anyway. To the two love-struck souls on the beach it was nothing short of perfect.

Pulling away from her partner with a contented sigh, Miyani rolled to the side, letting Sen see something other than her face hanging above him. He immediately turned to his side and looked at Miyani's face again. She looked right back, with a sparkle in her eyes to put the brightest stars to shame. She bashfully looked away and turned her eyes skyward, towards the blue sky.

After a long and contently quiet delay, Miyani turned to look Sen in the eyes. She seemed happier than Sen had ever seen her, as if everything was right in the world.

"What happens next?" She asked quietly.

Sen stared forward longingly. Miyani watched him closely. After a few minutes he started to smile knowingly.

"You have no idea," Miyani said with a chuckle.

"I'm thinking," Sen said playfully. Miyani smiled broadly. She reached out and grabbed Sen, pulling him close to her chest. Scarred arms clung tightly to him as they wrapped into a familiar embrace.

"We'll figure something out."

 

 

And that's that! As a special bonus, I wrote up a design document that features a lot of information on my writing process and how I came up with the characters and story that I did. It's mostly a bit of trivia and tidbits about my thought processes, so don't expect a riveting narrative. If you're interested in a lot of raw information, you can find it at this link: /xK5DkC5B

On a personal note, my post-story break is well wrapped up and I'm off to work on my next project. I'd actually hoped to be launching it soon, but life has been rough lately and I'm making less progress than I'd like. I'm aiming for a mid-year launch, but I make no promises. As for the content, it's an original work -not fanfiction- and I certainly hope you aren't sick of superheroes, because that's what I've decided to write about. It'll be launching on FictionPress (unless I find a better hosting site) sometime this year.

Thanks once again for reading, and I'll see you soon in another adventure!


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